Protesters have marched through The Hague city centre in the Netherlands with flags, banners, horns and loudspeakers denouncing new government Covid-19 measures. 

Police estimated 20,000 demonstrators took to the streets of The Hague in a demonstration march over the new anti-corona measures. 

The demonstrators oppose the use of vaccination certificates and QR codes. 

The city vowed that  COVID lockdowns were a “thing of the past” after it reached nearly 85 % of its adult population fully vaccinated. 

Queensland’s tourism industry is ramping up efforts to get some workers back in jobs ahead of the border reopening and in time for Christmas. 

Around 50,000 jobs have been lost throughout the sector during the course of the pandemic, as a result of closed borders and restricted travel. 

Now that Queensland will reopen its domestic borders, businesses are concerned there won’t be enough staff to cope with the Christmas rush. 

It’s prompting businesses within the sector to advertise positions with major incentives, such as free holidays, birthday leave and cash.

More than 25 community groups have been successful in the latest round of the Investing in Queensland Women grant program for 2021 and will share in $270,000 to drive community initiatives set to empower women.

Minister for Women and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Shannon Fentiman, announced the grant recipients on Wednesday alongside Queensland Rugby League who received $10,000 to run an education program to dispel inappropriate behaviour and take a zero-tolerance approach to abuse and violence.

Two people have shut down the Newcastle Coal Port on Awabakal and Worimi country in Mulubinba this morning, halting operations at a critical piece of Australia's economic infrastructure.

A community worker, 61 years of age, was locked onto a coal operating machine using a metal pipe and at the same time a law student, 23, entered the site and disabled operation of machines.

This is the 20th action to target the Port of Newcastle and surrounding railway in a series of disruptions over the last 11 days.

The Taliban has announced that it plans to ban the production of opium in Afghanistan but farmers and traders say they are not the only ones who depend on the drug to survive. 

The announcement immediately saw prices of opium almost double. 

Farmers say that the Taliban has benefited from opium production over the last 20 years and that there would be “backlash” from poppy farmers, drug lords and the public if the Taliban bans or restricts production. 

Only half the holiday vouchers handed out to winners of the Palaszczuk government competition designed to boost Queensland’s struggling tourism sector resulted in actual bookings, with 42,000 winners failing to redeem their vouchers. 

The Premier had hoped the Holiday Dollars travel vouchers would encourage Queenslanders to holiday at home after tourism suffered a $12 billion dollar blow in 2020 as domestic and international border closures shut out millions of potential visitors. 

Queensland is a few weeks away from hitting its vaccine target – but those hoping to cross the border should be prepared to “pay up.”

Even when the state hits the milestone 80 % double dose vaccination rate, a number of restrictions are expected to stay. 

All Australians, even those living in hotspots, will be able to cross the border on the condition that they’ve returned a negative COVID test within 72 hours of their flight into Queensland and are fully vaccinated. 

Legal experts are calling for rational debate of Victoria’s Pandemic Management Bill, as protests grow radical outside parliament. 

Chants during the protests called to “kill” and “hang” Premier Daniel Andrews over the controversial bill which would transfer the power to declare a state of emergency from the Chief Health Officer to the Health Minister and the Premier.

The Bill’s proponents say it reflects lessons the government has learned from dealing with the pandemic the past two years.