Queensland will welcome the return of international students from January next year in time for semester one.

More than 20,000 international students enrolled in Queensland universities have been continuing their studies online from more than 160 home countries. Under the plan, 250 international students will return each fortnight before that number is increased.

Students must be fully vaccinated, with priority initially given to those studying medicine, medical research or in the allied health field.

Queensland's Health Minister says she is not concerned about widespread disruption in the state's hospital system after the suspension of thousands of health workers who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19. 

Ms D'Ath said there would be disruptions while dealing with the staff shortfall, but Queensland Health director-general, John Wakefield, told staff that unvaccinated employees would not be allowed to work on-site and could lose their job if they cannot provide a valid reason for refusing the mandate.

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the annual cost of living increased by more than 2.5% in the September quarter. 

The change is driven by petrol prices, which have risen 25% over the past year. 

Though the cost of living has increased, wages rose just 1.7% over the year to the June quarter.

Australia has joined China, Iran, India and Russia, as one of the few nations at the COP26 summit refusing to adopt methane reduction targets.

Behind carbon dioxide, methane is the second largest contributor to global warming worldwide.

Over 100 countries have signed up to the US and EU’s pledge to reduce methane emissions targets by 2030 so far.

Almost 200 Queensland police officers have been granted exemptions for the COVID-19 vaccine while more than 130 staff have suspended for not complying. 

The Queensland Police Service said last Monday that it had granted 197 exemptions on either medical, religious or other grounds but added in a statement that they cannot provide specific numbers for members who have resigned due to the vaccine mandate.

Around 2,300 staff have applied for exemptions and several officers have legally challenged the policy with one matter now before the Supreme Court.

Queensland's Health Minister, Yvette D’Ath, is standing firm on a decision to require hotel quarantine for returning overseas travellers after state borders open up to people from interstate COVID-19 hotspots next month. 

It comes as Queensland records no new cases in the state, however new exposure site details have been listed for a Goondiwindi truck stop after a truck driver passed through on the weekend before testing positive interstate. 

Prosecutors have abandoned a criminal case against ANZ and a senior executive that would pursue the bank for cartel conduct. 

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecution’s case was labelled a “schamozzle” in a hearing at the Federal court and soon after, the CDPP dropped the charges.

Those charges had been the culmination of a two year investigation by Australia’s consumer watchdog that alleged A-N-Z had engaged in “collusion” with other banks, by offering 80.8 million shares to large, institutional investors at a discounted price.

Activists in Minneapolis push to disband the police in an upcoming vote in November to decide whether to replace the existing police department with a public health approach, opting for social workers and violence interrupters over the police-only model that the city has now.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that in the past 20 years, more than 200 people have been killed in "a physical confrontation with law enforcement" in Minnesota and at least 36 of those deaths occurred in Minneapolis.