Egyptian singer imprisoned after Nile joke

Egyptian Singer Sherine Abdel Wahab is sentenced to six months in jail following a joke that was made about the cleanliness of the Nile.

The celebrity is a judge on the Arabic version of The Voice and jokingly told a fan that drinking from the river would give them parasites.

She was convicted in a Cairo court of spreading fake news.

 

What do a lightsaber and a bird feeder have in common? They're both lost!

Have you left your lightsaber or bird feeder on a bus? The Brisbane City Council says these are just some of the items left on buses in 2018.

The Brisbane City Council will categorise the lost property according to how much they’re worth for monetary or sentimental reasons.

Anything under ten bucks will be chucked out, items between ten and one hundred dollars will be stored for one month and any over one hundred dollars or of sentimental value, will be kept for two months.

Congestion set to rise due to insufficient infrastructure

Congestion costs are set to rise by $3 billion by 2020 due to insufficient infrastructure.

RACQ reports the Centenary Bridge in Jindalee and the Walter Taylor Bridge in Indooroopilly must be widened or duplicated within the next ten years to avoid traffic turmoil in the area.

However, if the upgrades become “political”  like in the case of the M1 or Bruce Highway, motorist could be in for a long ride before any improvements are made.

University funding freezing widening education gap

University funding freezing may cause the education gap between regional and urban Australian students to widen.

Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham stated last year that funding to Commonwealth-supported universities would be capped for two years, freezing funding in 2017.

About twenty-percent of regional students have degrees, compared to forty-percent in the cities, while Dr Caroline Perkins, executive director of the Regional Universities Network, says they are a generation behind major cities and have a long way to catch up. 

German Government approves cities right to ban Diesel motors

Germany’s top administrative court ruled that cities have the right to ban diesel motors in order to improve air quality levels.

 

The historic decision could affect up to 12 million vehicles with environmental campaigners celebrating the change.

The ruling upholds the current ban of diesel motors in two of the most polluted German cities.

One in Six Australian women are still being abused

One in six Australian women are still physically or sexually abused by their partners, according to a landmark report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

 

The report identifies vulnerable groups such as children, young, pregnant and Indigenous women as the most common victims.

 

It also reveals key gaps in national data as LGBTQI people, individuals with disabilities as well as immigrant and refugee communities being underrepresented within these statistics.

NDIS could owe up to $300 million

The National Disability Insurance Scheme could owe service providers up to $300 million.

Anne Bryce, vice president of National Disability Services and CEO of Achieve Australia, says NDIS could owe New South Wales $120 million  alone, and nationally up to three hundred million dollars.

 

Bryce said hundreds of organizations are owed significant amounts of money.

 

Two Hundred Safety Visits later, State Government investigating work site

Two state government safety probes are investigating why trucks have rolled over seventeen times, in Toowoomba’s one point six billion dollar Second Range Crossing.

 

Transport & Main Roads and Industrial Relations both demanded audits into the project which has already been delayed by four months.

 

Workplace Health and Safety officers made two hundred safety visits and ordered eighty-seven notices for improvement in the past eighteen months.

Piped gas prices pumped higher

Queensland piped gas prices have been pumped higher than any other state, as we pay 3.5 cents more per megajoule than the national average.

 

Costs relating to distribution distance and lower usage have been blamed for the price hike, but the commission cost of retailers AGL and Origin is more than double the national average.

 

The Queensland Energy Minister, Anthony Lynham said he will be studying the report findings to find a solution for Sunshine State residents.