The 29 stateless athletes picked to compete for the Olympics' refugee team have become a 'symbol of hope' in Tokyo in 2021.

Initially expected to participate via the independent athlete category, they are competing under the Olympic flag in Tokyo this month as part of the Games' second-ever Refugee Olympic Team. 

IOC President Thomas Bach says the creation of the Refugee Olympic Team had been significant saying "It's a message to the entire world to make the world aware of the magnitude of this crisis, which is growing every day," he said ahead of the Games. 

North and South Korea talked about reopening the joint liaison office and holding a summit in an effort to restore relations.

The discussions signal an improvement in ties that have deteriorated in the past year after three leaders' summits in 2018 promised peace and reconciliation.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in staked his legacy on improving relations with North Korea and helped set up historic meetings between Mr. Kim and then US President Donald Trump in 2018 and 2019.

In less than 3 years a housing crisis is set to affect Brisbane as the state increasingly runs out of available land to build new homes.

All state government areas should have four years’ worth of approved land that is ready to go on the market. Brisbane was revealed in the budget to only have 2.9 years of approved land supply. 

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said, “Our strong health response has created a spike in interstate migration which has put pressure on land supply across the state.”

Griffith University researchers have developed an AI surveillance system to detect social distancing breaches in an airport without compromising privacy.

By keeping image processing gated to a local network of cameras, the team bypassed the traditional need to store sensitive data on a central system. 

Gympie locals are called for harsher land clearing laws fearing koala populations will suffer. 

Temporary Local Planning Instruments (TLPI) were withdrawn by the Gympie Regional Council in December, which allowed owners with large blocks of residentially zoned land to clear vegetation without council approval.

Around 20 hectares of land had been cleared across six properties since the TLPIs were removed, including the vegetation that provided shelter and safety for koalas.

A zoom focus group of “soft” voters locked down in Sydney’s west have voiced their doubts over Prime Minister, Scott Morrison with a high disapproval rating.

The political strategists who regularly run the focus group say “empathy is not his strong suit. He’s just MIA when we need somebody and it’s really hard to trust him”. 

Many are fed up with the prolonged lockdowns. The failed vaccine rollout bringing back memories of the black summer bushfires when the PM was absent during the crisis. 

The National Gallery of Australia will return 13 artworks purchased from dealer Subhash Kapoor after concluding many were likely stolen in India.

It is the fourth time the NGA has handed the Indian government antiquities it bought from Mr Kapoor, who is awaiting trial for running a global smuggling ring for artefacts.

It is the largest collection at the NGA to be recovered and includes sculptures, photos and a scroll.