Queensland teachers and parents are concerned students are trading highly addictive flavoured e-cigarettes.

The Puff Bar e-cigarettes contain 5 per cent, or 50 milligrams, of nicotine, allegedly the equivalent of two-and-a-half packs of cigarettes.

It is illegal to possess nicotine e-cigarettes without a prescription in Queensland and Lung Foundation Australia says the devices can affect learning, memory and impulse control.

Starting at 18:00 tonight, private gatherings will be limited to five people, public gatherings will be limited to thirty people and face masks will be mandatory indoors in Melbourne.

The move comes after four new locally acquired COVID-19 cases were detected in Melbourne last night and a fifth was detected this morning.

The Victorian government says the measures are to allow time for contact tracing and further testing.

The first person to face war crimes charges for their involvement in South Sudan’s Darfur conflict is now standing trial at the International Criminal Court.

Ali Muhammed Ali Abd-al-Rahman, former commander of the government-backed Janjaweed militia, faces 32 charges including persecution, murder, torture and rape.

The War in Darfur lasted from 2003 to 2009 and resulted in up to 300 000 deaths and 2.7 million displaced persons.

Myanmar’s democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi has appeared in court for the first time to face charges ranging from illegally possessing walkie-talkies to violating state secrets laws which could result in up to 14 years in prison. 

This is the first time Suu Kyi has been seen since she was arrested on February 1st during a military coup which overthrew her National League for Democracy party.

She remained defiant throughout the hearing and said her party would exist as long as people continue to support it.

The Queensland government says they will open community-based mass vaccination hubs in the last quarter of the year when more Pfizer vaccines become available.

It comes after the government announced yesterday they would be delaying opening mass vaccination centres because of a shortage of vaccine doses.

Health minister Yvette D’Ath says the government will begin opening further hubs in October, after they’re expected to receive more Pfizer vaccines

Queensland’s firefighting service says it has stood down six staff and contacted the state corruption watchdog over allegations they failed to adhere to proper procurement practices.

The Queensland Fire and Emergency Services stressed their decision did not mean the allegations were substantiated, but the Crime and Corruption Commission was investigating them.

The six staff have been stood down with pay pending the result of the investigation.

A new underpass is set to be built beneath the Story Bridge in Kangaroo Point so pedestrians and cyclists can access a future green bridge. 

New designs show the underpass will run between Main Street and the eastern side of the Kangaroo Point Peninsula. 

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner says the contract to design the bridge is set to be awarded in the coming months with construction due to start later in the year. 

The AFP have revealed the office of a federal politician was tipped off about Brittney Higgins’ sexual assault allegations years earlier than previously disclosed. 

However, a new timeline provided by the federal police suggests then Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton’s office learned of the sexual assault allegation in October 2019. 

Mr. Dutton maintains he personally learned of the allegations in February of 2021.