Brawl in Runcorn over religious tensions
Fifteen men have been arrested following a brawl in Runcorn.
Acting Superintendent Simon Tayler says it would be alleged that the motive for the fight, involving more than 50 people, was a power struggle between two groups of people involved in the Brisbane Sikh Temple in Eight Mile Plains.
Sergeant Wade Domagala described the incident as a “frenzied attack” and told the court there were allegations of previous threats being made to gain control of the Sikh temple’s committee.
New technology helping to find more platypuses in the wild
Forensic crime scene technology is being used to trawl streams in eastern Australia in a bid to find more of the elusive platypus.
The species, which is endangered, were pushed further towards extinction by the devastating 2019/20 bushfires that scorched their habitat and pushed ash into streams.
Scientists are desperate to find more platypuses in the wild in hopes to boost populations.
Using cutting edge DNA technology to identify microscopic traces of the animals, scientists are hoping to track platypus populations and restore their habitat.
Call for schools to join program to find and catalogue insects
A new “Insect Investigators” program led by the South Australian museum is now calling for 50 schools across Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia to join an official program to help scientists find and catalogue insects.
University of the Sunshine Coast ecologist Andy Howe says, “There are an estimated 200,000 insect species with 62,000 identified and described”.
With the program running for four weeks in February next year, more than 50 schools will be participating.
Haitian migrants camp in Del Rio, Texas
Thousands of Haitian migrants are camping in the remote Texas city of Del Rio.
The US government has plans to swiftly send them back.
According to an official, three flights have already left San Antonio for Port-au-Prince.
The US has also blocked the border at Del Rio.
The Haitian prime minister, Ariel Henry, wrote on Twitter that he was concerned about conditions at the border camp and that the migrants would be welcomed back.
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QLD's "record-breaking" vaccination weekend
Queensland is close to a 60 per cent first dose vaccination rate after the the last two day's ‘Pfizer weekend’.
Around 31,000 Queenslanders received vaccinations on Saturday on the first day of the walk-in-hubs.
Some people had to be turned away due to the high demand, but Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk assures people that there are still lots of vaccines available.
Concerns teenagers at risk of being influenced by white supremacist propaganda
There are concerns that teenagers are most at risk to white supremacist propaganda.
A group of Sunshine Coast students were seen on social media promoting anti-government, anti-trans, pro-Hitler, separatist ideas.
There is a call for more education to prevent teenagers being unknowingly recruited into these groups under the guise of a “local club”.
Outback QLD tourism on the rise
Outback Queensland tourism is on the rise as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to keep the borders closed.
New demographics of tourists are heading west for travel, including school groups, glampers and couples.
More than 700,000 tourists visited outback Queensland between September 2020 and July 2021, which is a 37 per cent increase on the region’s tourism target.
Christian Porter resigns from federal cabinet
Former attorney-general Christian Porter has resigned from the federal cabinet.
In a bid to keep the people who financially backed his legal battle against the ABC a secret, Mr Porter has stepped down potentially saving Prime Minister Scott Morrison from a devastating byelection.
Mr Porter promises to stay in the Federal parliament.
Mr Porter said he was assured none of the anonymous financial contributors were lobbyists or prohibited foreign entities but instead people who wanted to avoid retribution for supporting him.
VIC Gov concerned over exploitation of people with NDIS packages
Victorian state authorities are concerned that some clients with disabilities and mental illness in supported residential services are being exploited for their NDIS packages.
State regulated, but privately run, supported residential services house several thousand Victorians living with disabilities and mental illness.
With NDIS packages, which can be worth more than $100,000 a year, managers at competing sites are feuding, with allegations of competing providers luring residents away.