Pope Francis has apologised for insisting victims of paedophile priests need to show ‘proof’ to be believed.

He said he realised his words hurt many, but went on to defend Chilean Bishop Juan Barros, who is accused of covering up sexual abuse.

Pope Francis said Barros will remain a Bishop, as there is no evidence for his involvement in the cover-up, despite victims confirming Barros witnessed the abuse.

More than 27,000 people around the danger zone of Mount Mayon in the Philippines were evacuated, after ash and lava spilled out of the mountain.

Local authorities have set aside about 5.5 million pesos (around 135,000 Australian Dollars) worth of assistance for evacuees affected by the volcano.

Mayon, which has erupted 47 times since 1616, making it one of the world’s most active volcanoes, is a popular tourist destination for its symmetrical cone shape.

A recent survey by the LiveLighter campaign has found more than two in three Australian children are being driven to school.

This follows the results of recent studies finding that almost 60 percent of parents say their children’s schools are too far to walk, with 35 percent saying time was a factor and one-quarter of parents believing there is a lack of safe routes.

A recent investigation by an international housing affordability think tank, has discovered Australia’s five biggest cities have 'severely unaffordable' housing markets.

In its 14th annual report, Demographia found Sydney was ranked ‘second worst’ in the world, with house prices almost 13 times higher than the median household income.

Head of CoreLogic Tim Lawless agrees that under the urban-containment policy, the boom in apartment buildings across many of the states isn’t helping with affordability.

A hardware incubator is opening its doors in Fortitude Valley this February, offering Brisbane startups the opportunity to develop and commercialise their products.

Partially funded by a federal government grant of $268,000, the incubator offers a space for creative individuals to bring their creations to life and features labs for developing and testing product ideas, tools like 3D printers, and support staff.

Commuters were left sitting on stationary buses for up to 40 minutes last night, after a breakdown in Brisbane’s inner-city bus network.

Passengers were reportedly not informed as to what was going on, and not given the option to get off the buses.

A TransLink spokesperson said the gridlock was caused by a broken down bus at an outbound platform of the Cultural Centre.

Public transport fares in south-east Queensland have increased by 1.5 percent as of yesterday, meaning most passengers will have to pay an extra 5 to 12c per trip.  

In a change announced by Translink, the fares will now be based on the Brisbane Consumer Price Index, and are said to reflect the increased cost of providing transport services such as staff wages, fuel, and vehicle costs.

Tokyo held its first ballistic missile evacuation drill involving choreographed evacuations of 300 volunteers.

Japanese government official, Hiroyuki Suenaga, says that a missile from North Korea would arrive in less than ten minutes, with the first alert coming three minutes after launch, giving citizens around five minutes to find shelter.  

Police clashed with protesters who criticised the drill as ‘a war game that fanned public fear’.