A group of Indigenous Australians has filed a complaint to the United Nations over Western Australia’s draft heritage protection laws.

This comes more than a year after mining company Rio Tinto legally destroyed historically and culturally significant rock shelters to expand a mine.

The group is making a formal request for a UN Committee to review the state’s cultural heritage bill, calling it incompatible with Australia’s international obligations.

The Taliban have released a statement that women of Afghanistan will no longer be able to play sport on the grounds that  such activities will expose their bodies or expose them to the media.

Twenty-five female cricketers were awarded contracts by Afghanistan's Cricket Board in November last year and it's understood it has continued to pay the players. However, the news has thrown into doubt November's women's cricket Test between Australia and Afghanistan held in Hobart at the end of the year.

El Salvador has become the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender, a real-world experiment proponents say will lower commission costs for billions of dollars sent home from abroad but which critics warn may fuel money laundering.

Drowning deaths in Australia have alarmingly spiked in the past year, with interruptions to regular swimming during COVID-19 lockdowns flagged as one of the key reasons behind the increase.

A report found that the pandemic had seen people seeking out remote waterways to escape crowds, swimming outside patrolling hours and venturing to isolated beaches, rivers or lakes.

Lockdowns have also seen children miss out on swimming lessons and caused a reduction in pool access for others, triggering a lack of confidence in the water.

The New South Wales government has set a target of zero extinctions of native wildlife in the state’s national parks estate, the first time an Australian government has set the goal.

Environment Minister Matt Kean says the target is a response to the spiralling decline of threatened plants and animals and Australia's status as the country with the highest rate of mammal extinction 

Mr Kean states, “Just as we have a net zero emissions target, we now also have a target of zero extinctions for our national parks”

A New South Wales mother has pleaded for a second chance for an exemption to cross the NSW-Queensland border after her 18-month son has fallen fatally ill. 

The mother was referred to Queensland Children's Hospital for a paediatric endoscopy but denied by Queensland Health Authorities.

The mother was also fully vaccinated, arguing, "It's an eight hour drive to Newcastle, while Brisbane is only two hours away, it just makes sense to go to Brisbane”.

QLD health minister Y’vette D’ath has announced that there have been no new cases of COVID-19 in QLD overnight. 

The health minister has outlined in QLD’s daily press conference the positive news that there were 13, 036 tests. 

QLD has also hit a new record number of vaccinations, with 23,012 jabs being given out yesterday.