Former South African President Jacob Zuma’s corruption trial has been delayed again after his new defence team raised concerns about the lead prosecutor and said it may seek his recusal from the case. Mr Zuma stands accused of taking an annual bribe of five hundred thousand rand from French arms manufacturer Thales to shield them from an investigation into a nineteen ninety nine arms deal. Jacob Zuma is the subject of more than 200 criminal charges relating to a range of money laundering and corruption allegations, but maintains significant influence in South Africa’s ruling African Nationa

Chile’s ruling centre-right Chile Vamos party has failed to win the one-third of seats it required to control the country’s constitutional drafting body in elections held over the weekend. The nationwide elections overwhelmingly favoured independents in the one hundred and fifty-five member body preparing to write a new constitution to replace the one written during the rule of former dictator Augusto Pinochet. The result is a rebuke of President Sebastián Piñera and his party, with Piñera saying the result shows his government is out of touch with the people ahead of presidential and legis

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has rejected a proposal from Queensland company Wagners to build a 1000 room quarantine facility at its Wellcamp airport near Toowoomba. Mr Morrison said the plan was impractical and lacked detail compared to similar projects put forward by the Victorian and Northern Territory governments. The Wellcamp facility was due to be part of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s plan to move away from the hotel quarantine which she says is ill-equipped to prevent COVID-19 from spreading into the community.

Queensland researchers and a US team have developed a world-first COVID-19 antiviral therapy that targets the virus in the body. The antiviral therapy has killed off the COVID-19 viral load in mice infected by the virus 99.9% as lead researcher Professor Nigel McMillian from Griffith University says it’s a “seek and destroy mission” The collaborative research between the Menzies Health Institute Queensland and the US research institute City Of Hope began in April last nyear and the treatment could now be available by 2023.

The Queensland Government is launching a $2 million agritourism campaign in an effort to capitalise on the domestic tourism boom.  With international travel still out of the question for Australians, the ‘Taste Farm Life’ campaign will encourage people looking for a getaway to take part in a range of farm and food-related experiences in Queensland’s regions. Agriculture and Rural Communities Minister Mark Furner says rural Queensland is a COVID-safe and accessible destination for people from coastal communities to explore more of their own state.

An outbreak of the sexually transmitted infection Syphilis is spreading rapidly through Melbourne’s outer south-east and west.1400 cases of syphilis were recorded in Victoria last year while 560 infections have been detected so far this year but the cause behind this sudden surge is still unknown. Epidemiologist Eric Chow who is studying Victoria’s outbreak says more sexual health services are needed in the affected areas.

Cyclone Tauktae has made landfall in India’s Gujarat state, narrowly missing the country’s most populous city Mumbai. The cyclone is classed as ‘extremely severe’ and hit the Gujarat coast with winds as fast as 160 kilometres per hour. Cyclone Tauktae only compounds public safety issues in India as the country continues to grapple with the world’s most severe COVID-19 outbreak.

The death toll in the Gaza strip has now risen above 200 as conflict between Israel and Gaza’s ruling party Hamas enters its eighth day. The United Nations says tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are also internally displaced as a result of Israeli air strikes, with many taking refuge in UN-run schools. Despite growing international condemnation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country will continue its offensive on the Gaza strip with “full force” as his country “wants to levy a heavy price” from Hamas.