The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a flood warning for parts of North Queensland as it tells residents to expect up to three hundred mills of daily rainfall over the next few days. A flood watch is in place between Cooktown and Ingham and a strong winds warning is in place for the Cairns and Townsville coastal waters. A trough in the Coral Sea that could move on to the coast is causing the heavy rains that are unlikely to subside until later this week.

A Sunshine Coast man on holidays in Brisbane has jumped into the Brisbane River on his way to dinner to save a young woman from slipping under the water. John Gee was on a river cruise when he spotted the women. Before jumping in he tried to reach her with a rope but was unsuccessful. Mr Gee jumped in with a buoy to bring the woman to safety before a friend on the boat pulled them up.The woman was taken to hospital for assessment by the police and Mr Gee is being praised for his quick thinking.

High profile lawyer Chris Murphy wins his defamation case as a judge ordered The Daily Telegraph to pay one hundred and ten thousand dollars in damages after suggesting Mr Murphy was too old and deaf to practice as a lawyer anymore. The claim from The Daily Telegraph publisher Annette Sharp said Mr Murphy who is seventy two was unwilling or unable to represent clients due to his hearing has been ruled untrue.  Mr Murphy does use hearing aids but the judgement reads that many barristers and judges use hearing aids and then have no difficulty hearing.

The European Union and Russia both say they are optimistic that the US and Iran will successfully renew the two countries’ 2015 nuclear deal as negotiations draw to a close in Vienna. The expression of optimism comes as the US described the talks as ‘constructive’ and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the two countries had reached a ‘new understanding’. The indirect talks in Vienna were organised with the goal of re-establishing limits on Iran’s uranium enrichment programme in return for the lifting of US economic sanctions.

The United Nations says 2021 must be the year of climate action ahead of US President Joe Biden’s virtual international climate summit at the end of this week. Biden invited 40 world leaders to take part in the climate talks as he tries to put climate action at the forefront of the international political agenda. The UN says despite initial optimism, the COVID-19 pandemic has failed to slow down global warming and the world is now running out of time to make a change.

Brisbane City Council is set to meet with residents in Eight Mile Plains amid strong community backlash over plans to build a new healthcare complex on a bushland area along Underwood Road. The proposed development would be built on the same area of bushland that was approved in 2014 for the construction of a new mosque, sparking community concerns about overdevelopment. There have been over eight hundred submissions to the new application so far, including one from the Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee that said the development went against an earlier court judgement and would

A baby snake from Queensland has been found in a bag of lettuce at Aldi in Sydney after a one thousand kilometre trip from Toowoomba. The snake was found wrapped around lettuce leaves in a packet after a family bought it from a local Aldi supermarket. Aldi is still investigating the situation. The snake was driven back to Toowoomba after a week to be released where it came from by a team from the New South Wales Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service

Logan City Council is cracking down on the development of tiny housing lots by introducing a move to mandate a minimum lot size of 300 square metres. As one of south-east Queensland’s fastest growing regions a study found the housing lots are getting smaller and providing less housing choices.  The council’s decision to call time on developers taking advantage of the current scheme has some developers upset making complaints and not welcoming the move.

Tea Tree Gully Mayor Kevin Knight is being called to resign again after a report showed he allegedly engaged in inappropriate conduct towards a female councillor. Mr Knight denies the allegations in the report compiled by council lawyers Norman Waterhouse. He was also found guilty of breaching the council’s code of conduct by the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption. In 2019 Mr Knight was investigated due to another sexual assault claim from a female staff member and has been in the spotlight ever since.