The number of female Liberal MPs serving across the six states’ parliaments has gone backwards compared to five years ago.

The liberal party’s lack of female representation has been brought to light following the disendorsement of Liberal minister Jane Prentice on the weekend.

Currently, women make up 22 per cent of the Liberal party compared with 24 percent in 2013.

Catalonian MPs have elected a new leader, Quim Torra, who has pledged to continue the fight for independence from Spain.

Others have criticised Mr Torra as being just a puppet for separatist leader Carles Puigdemont, who remains in a self imposed exile since Catalan declared independence in October last year.

Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, says he has offered to talk with Catalan’s leader.

A windshield panel of a passenger plane has cracked and flown away mid-flight, causing cockpit equipment to malfunction and injure the crew.

The pilot and co-pilot were saved from being sucked out by their seat-belts, and went on to land the plane at Chengdu twenty minutes later.

Passengers on the Chinese airliner experienced a sudden loss of pressure and uncomfortably cold temperatures before the cabin crew closed the cockpit door which had flown open.

New laws in Australia to boost counter-terrorism efforts at airports will give police more power than before.

The law will allow the federal police to ask anyone for ID and to eject them from airports.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told 3AW radio this morning “police are being trained to observe behaviour [and] place very close attention to people who are looking anxious or creating a suspicious environment”.

Under a new Turnbull government plan, migrants who come to Australia on regional skilled visas could be forced to stay in rural areas even after securing residency rights.

Multicultural minister, Alan Tudge, said that many migrants did not stay long in the region once they are granted a permanent visa, contributing to labour shortages in regional areas.

Legal challenges have been raised with the plan potentially restricting long term freedom of movement.  

Australia’s biggest Greek festival, the historic  Paniyiri festival, is on this weekend in West End and celebrates the successes of the Greek-Australian community.

This is the 42nd year the festival has been run by Brisbane’s local Greek community.

The festival runs on Saturday and Sunday in Musgrave Park, showcasing traditional Greek dancing and providing plenty of Greek food to eat.

A Brisbane Uber driver, who was filmed driving on a footpath in Fortitude Valley on the weekend, is claiming he resorted to driving on the footpath because a group of taxi drivers blocked his exit.

The driver, Max Foley, said the taxis refused to move for him after he picked up a passenger.

Police said they are investigating the incident.

The origins of the chytrid fungus, the fungus blamed for huge global declines in amphibian populations have been traced by researchers in the UK.

The fungus attacks the amphibians’ skin, affecting the ability of the animal to regulate its water and electrolyte levels, often leading to heart and other organ failure.   

By examining the different modern lineages of the fungus researchers were able to trace its origins back to East Asia and said this supports the theory that the disease has been spread by the global pet trade.