Chile President Sebastian Pinera has announced Chile will get a new constitution to replace its current conservative, dictatorship-era charter.

The assembly drafting the new constitution will hold its first session on July 4.

The rewriting of the constitution is the result of a broad political consensus agreed to after the widespread social protests that broke out at the end of 2019 against inequality.

The Royal Brisbane Hospital has cancelled non-urgent elective surgeries for the next fortnight in an effort to counter the state’s growing emergency health crisis.

This period will allow the Metro North Health group to implement strategies to address the bed-shortage issues.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli has addressed the issue as a failure of the government to be honest about what indeed classifies as a bed, and how many are actually available at any one time.

Victoria has developed and will make Australia's first local mRNA COVID-19 vaccine to be ready for clinical trials by the end of the year.

Acting Premier James Merlino says the government is investing $5 million in support for the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) to manufacture doses of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine for trials, which are due to start in the coming months.

Mr Merlino also says the vaccines received from the federal government would not meet demand in Victoria over the coming months.

Construction for the world’s largest medicinal cannabis facility is due to begin in Toowoomba in August.

Built 250 metres from the Wellcamp International Airport, it will cost $400 million, producing 500 tonnes of cannabis per year and employing about 1000 people.

Demand for medicinal cannabis is set to soar, with prescriptions tripling in Australia over the last year and low-dose CBD oil soon to be sold at pharmacies without prescription.

Toowoomba Mayor Paul Antonio says the economic boost to the region will be tremendous. 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison faces criticism over his recent trip to St Keverne, England, following his G7 summit trip in Cornwall.

Mr Morrison went to St Keverne for a personal trip to visit the graves of his ancestors, however, this had not been disclosed to the media in his schedule.

Mr Morrison recently announced that travel to Britain was too risky for Australian travelers, therefore, his trip raises questions over whether politicians are not subject to the same pandemic rules as others.

Supporters of socialist Pedro Castillo and conservative Keiko Fujimori took to the streets in Peru on Saturday, over the result of a June 6 presidential election.

Mr Castillo, who received 50.125 percent of the vote, declared himself the winner. While, Mr Fujimori got 49.875 percent of the votes and has made claims of large-scale election fraud.

The supporters of Castillo gathered are calling for the left-wing candidate to be formally announced as president-elect.

The National Jury of Elections says it is still reviewing votes and is yet to declare a winner.

Queensland Council for Civil Liberties (QCCL) is concerned the government’s decision to make the Check-in Queensland app mandatory is a privacy risk.

From July 9 mandatory use of the COVID Check-In app will be extended to a range of sectors, including gyms, places of worship, and adult entertainment venues.

QCCL President Michael Cope is concerned about the provision for the data about someone’s location to be stored for 52 days, particularly with the extension of mandatory check-in to new sites.

Four electric buses will start running the City Loop from the first week of July.

The route will cover Adelaide Street, Wharf Street, Eagle Street, Margaret Street, Alice Street, and the Botanical Gardens. 

It has an electric display that shows the next couple of stops and how long it will take to get there.

Electric buses will produce zero-emission themselves, and the 60 electric Brisbane Metro megabuses will also produce zero emissions, although most of the electricity they run on is produced from coal.