The National Geographic Society said it formally recognises the Southern Ocean as the world’s fifth ocean.

This is the first time in over a hundred years the organisation has classified another body of water as an ocean.

Whilst the Southern Ocean has long been recognised by some scientists as an ocean, there was never consensus in the field and therefore could not be officially recognised as one.

IN SPACE NEWS,

Europe has announced it will be joining the space party at Venus.

The European Space Agency has just selected a probe called Envision to explore the second planet from the Sun. 

The ESA joins NASA, who announced its return to Venus with the two probes launched last week, after a chemical found in the atmosphere suggested evidence of life.

The state government has announced there have been no new local cases of Covid-19 reported in Queensland overnight.

The Sunshine Coast is on alert after a woman traveling from Melbourne tested positive for COVID-19.

The woman tested positive on June 10th and her husband tested positive yesterday in isolation.

Authorities are encouraging residents to check whether they have been to any of the growing list of exposure sites around south east Queensland.

From next week, Brisbane will see four new ‘jacaranda-coloured’ electric buses joining the free city loop route.

The $3.3 million dollar two-year trial is set to determine if electric buses should be implemented.

Brisbane Lord Mayor, Adrian Schrinner, says the electric buses are cheaper to run and put out zero emissions.

A University of Queensland study found that 47% of Australians are distrustful of Artificial Intelligence.

Professor Gillespie, one of the study’s lead investigators, cited low awareness and understanding of how AI technology works for the findings.

The study identified critical areas that needed to be addressed concerning AI, including building trust and acceptance of AI through strengthening current regulations and laws.

Northern Territory Indigenous Workers have gone to the Federal court and are taking legal action over decades of lost income during the last century.

Shine Lawyers, who have taken the case, said the commonwealth held workers' paychecks in unreleased trust-accounts under so-called ‘protective legislation’ between 1933 and 1972.

Anyone who believes their wages have been stolen, including descendants of deceased workers, are eligible to join the action. 

A content warning for the next story, which mentions an Indigenous person who has died in custody.

International human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson is taking the death of an Indigenous man in custody to the United Nations.

Robertson said there was “no proper investigation" into the 2015 death of David Dungay in prison custody.

He says lodging a complaint with the UN is necessary, because unlike most advanced countries, Australia doesn’t have a bill of rights which protects the right to life. 

A content warning for the following, which mentions death.

Twenty five people have been killed in a train collision in Pakistan earlier this week.

With the total number of injured people unknown, reports from villagers say anywhere from up to fifty people were sent to hospital.

It’s understood that the collision occurred after a derailed train ran into another train on the track.

A vigil for Tharnicaa, the youngest member of the Biloela family, who were sent to detention on Christmas Island, will take place in the Brisbane CBD this evening. 

Organisers asked federal minister Karen Andrews to use her ministerial powers to bring Tharnicaa and her family home to Biloela, and believe their detention is ‘cruel and unnecessary’.

The three-year-old will spend her fourth birthday battling a blood infection in a Perth hospital.

The vigil is taking place on Friday the 11th of June at 5.30pm in Brisbane’s King George Square.

Brisbane is set to close its bid to host the 2032 Olympics after it was unanimously endorsed by the International Olympic Committee overnight.

This is a break int tradition following a change in the selection process as cities no longer have to outbid each other to host the event. 

Whilst all levels of government support the vote, the reaction from the community is mixed, with many citing concerns for Brisbane’s liveability.