The Coalition government have publicly defended their childcare policy after accusations emerged from Labor that 279,000 families will be worse off under the new reform, with the families most negatively affected from the lowest income bracket.

The government has responded by claiming that close to a million families will benefit from the package.

An African community in Victoria recently faced political criticism over youth crime and allegations of gang violence.

Dr Mimmie Watts, a migrant from Cameroon, said the coverage was upsetting, but agreed there were “pockets of disengaged rascals” doing the wrong things.

The debate only continued to intensify in Melbourne due to a series of high-profile incidents and pointed commentary from the federal government.

The RSPCA is receiving a growing number of complaints about pet owners posting videos of animal abuse online according to a spokesperson.

The comments followed the recent charge of a 17 year old, Central Queensland woman with animal cruelty after she filmed herself repeatedly kicking her dog and then posted it online.

For the first time in history, an unaccompanied adult woman was allowed to enter a professional football match in Saudi Arabia.

A United States company that processes Australian pineapples came under fire recently for allowing the fruit to rot on Queensland farms.

Kraft Heinz’s Golden Circle factory remained open for an extra 3 weeks during Christmas to process excess fruit, however upset consumers as they neglected to open their Brisbane factory earlier to allow more fruit.

A Palestinian summit responding to the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital is set to be boycotted by fundamentalist political movements.

A missile was detonated near civilians in Syria’s Idlib yesterday, at a camp for displaced citizens from the neighbouring Hama province.

The missile strike was declaimed as a major violation of a recent peace accord agreed between Russia, Turkey and Iran.

The report from AL Jazeera states that many Syrians believed the violence to be part of a leverage game before another political meeting between the countries.

A north-west local council has used treated sewage to trial biofuels to boost development.

Cloncurry Shire Mayor, Greg Campbell, and his team have trialled an assortment of crops to test what can be grown in the harsh climate of western Queensland using the treated effluent.

Councillor Campbell said the outback town has “huge potential as far as irrigation goes, and it’s the first step to show that it can produce”