An Afghan refugee held in Australian immigration detention for 8 years has gone to court to try and secure the emergency evacuation of his family as the Taliban advances across Afghanistan.

The refugee worked alongside coalition forces in Afghanistan.

He fled the country in 2013 to try to bring his family to safety but has been imprisoned in Australia since, he has only been able to watch as the situation back home deteriorates and his family comes under attack for the work he did.

Namibia has sold off 57 live elephants at an auction which it said was aimed at reducing populations in areas affected by drought and conflict with humans.

The country raised over $500,000 from the sale

Thousands of people signed a petition which condemned the auction that ended in January.

The government resorted to selling live animals after being criticised for shooting elephants to control overpopulation. 

Fires have set large parts of Algeria, Turkey and Greece aflame over the past week, with an atmosphere monitor saying the Mediterranean had become a wildfire hotspot.

Wildfires tearing through forested areas of northern Algeria have now killed at least 65 people as state television reported on Wednesday.

The government has deployed the army to help fight the fire as some of the most destructive blazes in the country's history continue to rage on.

Residents in north Brisbane will be treated to an early morning spectacle tomorrow. 

The Perseid Meteor Shower caused by the earth travelling through a trail of debris strewn across the solar system by a comet. The event happens every August and is described as one of the best meteor showers in the world producing 100 meteors a second.
 

Although North Brisbane residents are in one of the best positions in the world for viewing the shower, those who are too far south of the shower will also have the option to view the shower through a NASA live stream.

The RNA has put its hand up as a replacement to host professional cricket and AFL matches while the Gabba gets its Olympic facelift.

The Ekka’s cancellation in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 threat had cost the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland an estimated $4 million in lost revenue.

The Main Arena at the Brisbane Showgrounds is no stranger to the big stage having hosted Sir Donald Bradman’s Test cricket debut as well as more than 100 years of history in football and cricket. 

The Australian government has announced that Moderna will become the third COVID-19 vaccine to be rolled out in the country next month.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday that the Australian vaccine regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, approved Moderna for use by adults 18 years and older.

The first million doses will arrive in late September and will be part of a total of 10 million Moderna shots scheduled to be delivered to Australia by the end of this year, Morrison said.

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The Queensland Child Death Review Board examined the deaths of 55 children known to their system and found over forty percent to be Indigenous. 

Board chair Cheryl Vardon said she was deeply concerned about the number of deaths involving children who identified as Indigenous.

Entertainers from across the nation have pushed for reform of the arts and creative industries sector in an open letter to the federal government.

The industry has suffered throughout the pandemic, with continuous pleas for government support.

Live Events, Entertainment and Arts have been for the most part overlooked.

The mental health of our industry workers is at an all-time low given our ‘forgotten industry’ status.

The report highlighted that the large majority of artists in Australia have been ineligible for relief payments

A Chinese court has sentenced Canadian businessman Michael Spavor  to 11 years in prison, in a decision likely to further undermine an already poor relationship between China and Canada.

Spavor, who for years ran a travel and cultural exchange business between China and North Korea, was convicted of espionage and illegally providing state secrets at Dandong city’s Intermediate People’s Court.