The final design of the Brisbane Metro vehicle has been revealed with the design including several changes to improve accessibility and commuter comfort.

Among the 35 changes are increased priority seating from two to ten, improved window tinting to address the high UV rays in Brisbane, and on-board wifi.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schriner said the process for this final design was comprehensive, including a VR simulator and a life-size wooden replica to ensure the changes were accurately tested.

The Tasmanian Government said it will close the Ashley Youth Detention Centre within the next 3 years amid allegations of abuse.

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein said the closure will allow for ‘major systemic change’.

A report funded by the Tasmanian Government in 2016 found that the Centre was ‘ineffective, costly, and outdated’, and recommended it be shut down and replaced with two newer, smaller centres.

Australia joins other nations, including the United States and New Zealand, to support a waiver that would allow exemptions in the intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines.

India and South Africa say new rules would make it easier for low and middle-income countries to manufacture generic versions of the vaccines that currently have a 20 year patent on them.

Trade Minister Dan Tehan said the Federal Government supports this push, but so far the measure has been blocked from going ahead at the World Trade Organisation meeting.

Two Afghan journalists who were covering a women’s rights protest in Kabul were detained and beaten by the Taliban this week.

Etilaat Roz newspaper released two photos on social media of the journalists’ injuries across their backs, legs, arms, and shoulders, and Reuters have since verified the photographs. 

An acting Taliban minister who declined to be identified said any attack on journalists would be investigated.

Caboolture residents have shared concerning stories at a Health Crisis Town Hall held by Queensland opposition leader David Crisafulli about malpractice and botched surgeries at the Caboolture Hospital.

Mr Crisafulli said the allegations about malpractice and botched surgeries are concerning and all investigations need to be open and transparent.

Health Crisis Town Halls have also been held in Cairns, Rockhampton and Brisbane among others.

The Swell Sculpture Festival on Currumbin Beach has seen the installation of a new kind of border barricade.

Artists, Blair Garland and Russell Solomon, are responsible for installing an ‘us and them’ sign at the site of the border barricade.

The sign next to the barricade on the beach dividing the two sides has been described as a ‘Soviet brutalism feature’, and locals have been venting out their frustrations by writing on blackboards with chalk at the site.

Founder of Pristine Peninsula Les Barkla has handed a report to State Member for Redcliffe Yvette D’Ath and other local members in a bid to take action against littering across Queensland.

Pristine Peninsula recently ran a 100-day campaign where volunteers collected 15,706 items, an average of 157 litter items dropped every day across the 12 sites.

Mr Barkla has requested the report be handed to the State Environment Minister and says the report includes recommendations for all three levels of government to take action and he hopes they will implement them.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s latest report reveals how the ongoing restrictions and lockdowns during the pandemic have indirectly impacted our habits. 

Data reveals 1 in 5 alcohol consumers drank more than before the pandemic, with a similar proportion of smokers also increasing their consumption, and 58% of people spending more time on screens.

However, the data isn’t all bad with 41% of people increasing household chores and projects and during March and April 2020 the road toll was down 5% on the five-year average.

Content warning: mentions rape

The United States’ Biden Administration is suing Texas for their ‘unconstitutional’ abortion ban.

This comes after the Supreme Court last week allowed Texas to introduce an abortion ban on women who are more than 6 weeks pregnant, and didn’t make any exceptions for cases of incest and rape.

President Joe Biden said the law is unconstitutional as it relies on private citizens to enforce it by filing civil lawsuits against any women who get an abortion and anyone who aids them, including taxi drivers.