A third Chinese city has been subject to strict lockdowns and flight cancellations due to a COVID-19 outbreak, raising the number of people confined to their homes in China to 20 million. 

The lockdown of Anyang, which is home to 5 and a half million people, was announced after two cases of the Omicron variant were reported. 

These lockdowns are the broadest since the shutting of Wuhan and nearby provinces in early 2020 at the start of the pandemic.

Russian soldiers are set to withdraw from Kazakhstan over the next few days after successfully diffusing civil unrest sparked by fuel prices.

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called on the Moscow based Collective Security Treaty Organisation to send troops and help stabilise the growing conflict, in what he has described as an attempted coup d’etat.

The withdrawal of troops is expected to take no more than 10 days, following conflict that left dozens dead and over 10,000 detained.

A Gold Coast company is currently in talks with the Australian Space Agency to potentially launch new technology capable of detecting bushfires.

The rockets developed by Gilmour Space Technologies are able to produce 110 kilonewtons of thrust over a 75 second test period last week, which is the most powerful in Australia’s history.

Chief Executive Adam Gilmour is confident the successful test will allow space agencies to launch low-Earth orbit satellites capable of detecting bushfires in seconds later this year.

Brisbane train timetables will change to week-end style run times this month as patronage declines and more public transport workers are forced to stay home due to the Omicron out-break. 

Buses and CityCat services are also set to be cut possibly in early February, as Queensland adjusts to the pandemic wave. 

Authorities met yesterday to discuss how much public transport service will be scaled back, with final logistics to be decided on at the end of the week. 

Queenslanders can expect to see petrol prices continue to rise across the South East, following last year’s records for the highest average retail prices of regular unleaded petrol.

RACQ’s Annual Fuel Price Report for 2021 reported an average price of 150 cents per litre, increasing on 2020’s average by almost 30 cents.

The report attributes the price increase to the sudden influx of demand for oil products worldwide, as economies reduce COVID restrictions and people begin to travel more.

Crisis talks have been held overnight between ‘essential' industry groups and the federal government, as businesses try to deal with widespread supply chain issues. 

Supply chains of essential services have been impacted by coronavirus-induced staff shortages, forcing major retailers to enforce product limits on several items. 

The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee released advice yesterday that staff in essential services would be able to continue to work after an exposure provided they return a negative RAT test. 

A lawyer representing the Tamil family from Biloela has slammed the Australian government’s handling of Novak Djokovic’s immigation case, outlining the double standard between the tennis player and the treatment of Asylum Seekers in Australia.

Carina Ford who represents the Murugappan family says the Djokovic case shows it would only require the stroke of a pen from Immigation Minister Alex Hawke to allow the family to return home to Central Queensland. 

Maya Angelou has become the first African American woman to appear on a US quarter dollar. 

The late civil rights activist and poet is the first in a group of women who will appear on the quarter as part of an American Women Quarters program which aims to honour women and their achievements in shaping the nation’s history.

The image depicts Angelou with her arms uplifted, a bird in flight and a rising sun behind her.