Flooding in India and Nepal has caused landslides which combined have killed over 150 people in recent days

Heavy late monsoon season rains have caused flash flooding, wiping out crops and destroying homes, in parts of India, with the states of Uttarakhand and Kerala the worst hit.

In neighbouring Nepal, at least 77 people have died with fears the toll may rise as 40 people are still left unaccounted for

Rescue efforts are ongoing in both countries

New research has found the majority of Queenslanders want to join with their southern state counterparts to introduce daylight savings. 

The University of Queensland’s Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, Thomas Sigler, has contributed with new research showing that 60% of Queenslanders now support daylight savings, growing as high as 70% in the capital. 

Research from earlier this year suggested that the economic cost to Queensland of resisting daylight savings is more than $4 billion.

Reports of refugees and people seeking asylum in Australia’s immigration detention system testing positive for COVID-19 have confirmed the worst fears of medical experts and reaffirm the need to release all refugees from detention immediately. 

On Sunday October 17 refugees in Melbourne's Park Hotel Alternative Place of Detention said at least three people have tested positive for COVID-19 after reporting symptoms the previous week, with serious concerns of further cases. 

Music venues in Victoria have sent out the desperate message that there is no roadmap to reopening Victoria’s music venues. 

The current roadmap ends at 1 person per 4 square meters which is just a fraction of normal licensed capacity. You can have up to 150 people but only if your venue is over 600 square meters which means most venues won’t be opening at all at that level, or be able to trade sustainably. 

The new rules impact artists, bookers, promoters, technicians, suppliers, publicists and others in the music industry.

The Victorian government has been ordered to release details of confidential lockdown briefings after the state's privacy commission found there was significant public interest. 

The state opposition, which applied for the release of the documents under Freedom of Information laws and has been calling for health advice to be publicly released since the start of the pandemic. The request was initially rejected, a decision partially overturned by the commission. 

Chinese president Xi Jinping recently vowed a reunification with Taiwan amid rising tensions, contradicting his last major speech in July this year where he pledged that China would “smash'' any attempts at formal independence in Taiwan. 

Taiwan responded shortly after by calling on Beijing to abandon its coercion, reiterating that only Taiwan’s people will decide their future.