Data from the national kid's helpline reveals respect in relationships was the most sought after topic among children last year. 

Respectful relationships national educator Kristy Styles said young people want to draw the line between respectful and disrespectful relationships. 

"We have amazing people on the ground that are trying to teach these topics but are not getting the support needed because it's discretionary," she said. 

Ms Styles said federal and state governments need to make consent education mandatory in primary schools.

A new double mutant variant of COVID-19 has been detected in India.

The variant has been found in more than 200 test samples in the hardest-hit western state of Maharashtra, which is home to Mumbai.

This discovery comes as India struggles with its highest rates of new infections and deaths this year.

A new legal clinic is aiming to calculate how many stateless people are living in Australia. 

Refugee advice and casework service solicitor Sarah Dale says babies being born in Australia to have the opportunity to end intergenerational statelessness. 

The program will focus on children living in a cycle of statelessness that are eligible for citizenship. 

The following story references indigenous deaths in custody. Readers discretion is advised. 

A Barkindji man has been confirmed as the fourth Indigenous person to die in Australian custody in three weeks.

The Aboriginal Legal Service of NSW and the ACT confirmed today that the man died in Broken Hill on March 18.

The service said an independent body needs to urgently and transparently investigate the man’s death.

Greens MP Amy MacMahon has proposed amendments to Queensland's consent laws, in Parliament today. 

Ms McMahon will propose an affirmative model of consent in law, and further, restrict the Mistake of Fact defence for sexual assaults. 

The amendments come after an open letter from numerous advocacy groups, which said the current consent bill before Parliament is inadequate.

Koala safety shields are being trialled in Queensland. 

If the trial is successful, metal guards will be affixed to posts along the M1 motorway between Brisbane and Gold Coast to prevent the claws of koalas and other nocturnal wildlife from getting a grip on the poles. 

The initiative has had very promising results so far, with no koalas able to climb past the shields.

A skyscraper-sized container ship is blocking one of the world's busiest trade routes.

The Ever Given ran aground yesterday, and has become wedged across Egypt’s Suez Canal.

Dozens of vessels are waiting for rescue boats to free the 400m-long ship, which was knocked off course by strong winds.

About 12 per cent of global trade passes through the Suez Canal, which is the shortest sea link between Asia and Europe.

The operation to re-float the ship could take two days, and may cause major delays in global shipping. 

Experts say an Icelandic volcano could continue to erupt for years.

Lava has been steadily seeping from the volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula, about 30 kilometres south-west of the capital, since it first erupted last Friday. 

The lava has been flowing at a rate of between 5 to 10 cubic metres per second, which is strong enough to ensure the lava does not solidify and close the fissure.