Rupert Murdoch’s News UK asked the United Kingdom Government to remove the editorial independence rules for the Times and Sunday Times newspapers.

Under these rules the two newspapers are required to have separate editorial teams and Mr Murdoch’s oversight is limited.

News UK said that it would be “economically irrational” for Mr Murdoch to interfere in the papers, but the company is still seeking to abolish the rules that prevent it.

The Rockhampton Regional Council is investigating options to send water to towns suffering from drought in Outback Queensland. 

Gold mining town Mount Morgan has been receiving daily water deliveries by truck since its local dam hit 6% in March, at a cost of $9,000 per day. 

The Rockhampton council is looking into pumping potable water from the City's reservoir to the town, or raw water from the nearby Stanwell Power Station dam, which is already sourced from the Fitzroy River.

Another new case has been linked to a Portuguese family centre where a COVID-positive woman previously visited last week. 

The centre’s president has been confirmed to have tested positive, raising concerns of community transmission.     

Locations in Hamilton and the CBD have been added to the contact tracing list.

A new project in Brisbane is going door-to-door talking with community members about their mental health and helping link them with wellbeing services in their area.

With the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic still felt throughout Australia, the Assisting Communities through Direct Connection Project or ACDC for short, is currently underway checking-in with locals. 

An elite Melbourne private school offered parents fee discounts of 20% last year after it received nearly $20 million in JobKeeper subsidies.

A Guardian investigation reveals Wesley College, one of the most expensive private schools in Victoria, gave parents fee rebates, waived other costs and made a 5 million dollar transfer to its scholarship fund after it received $18.2 million in JobKeeper last year.

The school says JobKeeper payments were used to pay staff.

A content warning for this story, which mentions crimes against children.

A new United Nations report finds grave violations of children’s human rights remain alarmingly high, with the coronavirus pandemic increasing their vulnerability to abduction, recruitment and violence. 

In its annual Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) report released this week, the UN said at least 19,379 children affected by war in 2020 were victims of grave violations. 

President Joe Biden has announced a “zero-tolerance” policy for gun dealers including new funding for police and communities. 

The announcement comes in response to rising crime rates in the US by taking strategic steps towards gun violence. 

New gun safety measures will redirect some of the nation's three-hundred and fifty billion dollar COVID-19 funds to address crime. 

Biden believes easy access to guns in the US is the source of gun violence and is seeking more transparency on gun data and better coordination among states.