Turkish police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets at thousands of women protesting against male violence in Istanbul.

The demonstrators gathered in the capital on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, hoping to see a return of the Istanbul Treaty that aims to protect women from violence.

Human rights groups say violence against women is on the rise in Turkey.

Saber Astronautics and Axiom Space have agreed to facilitate Australian astronauts’ future participation in missions to the International Space Station.

Saber Astronautics plans to use this agreement to build up interest with human space flight and space-based research.

The agreement will allow Australians to keep their Australian citizenships in their training to become astronauts, eventually leading to Australian astronauts entering space and having access to the international space station’s facilities.

Despite worker shortages caused by COVID, Queensland farms produced the same amount of fruit last year as they did in 2019.

A report by The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences shows despite the number of workers employed across Australian fruit farms dropping, the output of the farms remained relatively unchanged. 

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud says the report speaks volumes about the resilience of the Australian Agriculture industry.

Sunshine Coast couple Alan and Stacey Franks have been responding to a shortage in tree hollow habitat for native animals by building nesting boxes.

The couple have collaborated with researchers including Queensland Herbarium principal zoologist Geoffrey Smith in order to combat the shortage of habitat for endangered species such as greater gliders and powerful owls.

Hollow tree habitat can take up to a hundred years to form and is uncommon due to habitat destruction and human intervention.

Rising floodwaters have turned the small New South Wales community of Wee-Waa into an island overnight.

The community may be cut off for the next ten days while floodwaters recede after the local Namoi river reached a height of 7.07 metres, 37 centimetres higher than predicted.

New South Wales SES' Dave Rankin says they’ll be keeping a close eye on the community and managing any resupply or medical issues via boat and helicopter.

Greens MP and Housing spokesperson Jenny Leong MP introduced a bill in New South Wales Parliament yesterday designed to alleviate pressure on those living below the poverty line.

The Private Members Bill proposes the installment of free Wi-fi in public housing as an essential service and waivers on rent while approved property maintenance works remain uncompleted.

Leong says allowing people to live under the poverty line is a political choice and  there are huge structural barriers preventing people from accessing work and education.

A newly identified COVID mutation in South Africa is being described by officials as the worst version of the virus yet.

The UK Health Security Agency said the variant, called B.1.1.529, was much more likely to evade the immune response generated both by prior COVID-19 infection and vaccination.

This is due to a spike protein that is dramatically different to the original coronavirus variant the vaccines were based on.

South Africa's Health Minister, Joe Phaahlahas, said the country had seen an "exponential rise" in new infections due to the B.1.1.529 variant.

The Queensland Government says it is hesitant to announce a Gold Coast-Tweed border bubble due to new COVID-19 cases in Byron Bay. 

Frustration has been expressed by Tweed locals that the upcoming testing requirements upon entering the Queensland border would be impractical for residents living on the Southern side of the border. 

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says the Government is considering the Byron Bay case in their decision on border bubble restrictions.