France will hold the first women's Tour de France in 2022.

The race, which will be called Tour de France Femmes, commences at the end of the men’s race in Paris.

The move is described by Dutch Olympic champion, Anna van der Breggen, as a breakthrough moment for professional women’s cycling.

The United States will recognise Juneteenth as a new national holiday, after the bill was passed into law today.

Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in the US which occurred on the 19th June 1865, where news of freedom finally reached slaves in Texas two months after the Confederates surrendered during the Civil War.

Democrat Representative Carolyn Maloney says, "I cannot think of a more important milestone to commemorate than the end of slavery in the United States."

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has reignited council plans to build an underground metro station at the Cultural Centre to meet Olympic demand for public transport.

Plans for an underground station were put on hold last year over disagreements over the size and location, but Schrinner says an underground station was always the council’s intention.

Labor’s council leader Jared Cassidy says the development is an example of the LNP announcing big ticket items before an election without enough research.

Magistrate Mac Giolla Ri was appointed for exceptional work in private practice, as well as his 5 years volunteering in legal aid working primarily in refugee and criminal matters.

Mr Giolla Ri has two decades of legal experience.

His appointment follows an extensive selection process involving the Judicial Appointments Advisory Panel, which includes representatives from the Queensland Law Society and the Bar Association of Queensland.

A predicted population surge in South East Queensland is expected to put pressure on the Gold Coast’s sewerage network.

The population of the Gold Coast is expected to rise from around 640,000 to over 1,000,000 within the next two decades.

Chair of the council’s Waste, Water and Energy Committee, Gail O'Neill, says the necessary upgrades to the sewerage require a lot of funding.

Land for the developments is also restricted.

ACT Health has confirmed a positive COVID-19 case entered the territory on Monday the 14th of June.

The man in his 40s visited the National Gallery of Australia and Via Dolce Pasticceria. 

Authorities have asked anybody who visited these areas to isolate and get tested for COVID-19.

Japan has begun lowering their state of emergency restrictions.

The state of emergency came after the country failed to slow the spread of COVID-19 back in March, where the country saw more than seven thousand new cases each day.

Some parts of Japan are still experiencing high numbers of COVID-19.

Where hospitals are overwhelmed, areas will remain in a state of emergency until they can contain the spread.

Dr Olaf Meynecke from Griffith University’s Coastal and Marine Research Centre led the study of a world first trial of tracking migrating humpback whales using a suction tracker, paving the way for a less invasive mechanism for future tracking studies. 

Using a customised animal tracking solution suction cup tag, which temporarily adheres to the whale's skin, Dr Meynecke was able to deploy tags in the Gold Coast bay regions and track the whales in real time using a GPS tracker. 

The Queensland Government has reintroduced travel declarations for travellers entering the state from 1am on Saturday the 19th of June.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says the rules are necessary given the outbreaks in Victoria and a new case overnight in New South Wales, and that border communities will be exempt.

A travel declaration requires travellers who have been to interstate hotspots to declare this and may limit their travel abilities depending on their situation.