Emergency services are urging climbers and hikers to exercise caution after one man died, another was badly injured and a group of hikers became stuck in separate incidents on the Sunshine Coast this weekend. As the weather cools and the ANZAC Day long weekend approaches, emergency services are bracing for increased traffic at popular climbing spots and a subsequent rise in rescue operations. Senior firefighter Shane McGrail says climbers and hikers should stick to known trails and never take unnecessary risks.

Due to severe weather conditions in Victoria, little penguins have washed upon the beaches over the weekend. Authorities were alerted after many of the birds were injured. 13 of the penguins were able to be rescued by Melbourne Zoo’s Marine Response Unit but unfortunately 6 have died since. Phillip Island Nature Parks Research Technical Officer, Paula Wasiak says the weekend was the perfect storm of the breeding season and that this is a normal occurrence this time of year.

Protests have erupted in several cities across Pakistan after police arrested Saad Rizvi, the leader of far-right political party Tehreek-e-Labbaik, in Lahore yesterday. Tehreek-e-Labbaik are well known in Pakistan for holding mass rallies centred around Islamist ideology and is enjoying increasing support as Pakistan’s establishment parties face growing allegations of corruption. Details pertaining to Rizvi’s detention, including what charges he is being held on, remain unclear.

Protestors are gathering outside a police station in Minneapolis after a police officer shot unarmed black man Daunte Wright dead in a routine traffic stop. The city’s police chief says Mr Wright’s death was the result of an accidental discharge after the officer mistook her gun for her Taser.` The incident took place just 16 kilometres from where former police officer Derek Chauvin is currently on trial for the murder of another unarmed black man, George Floyd, in May last year.

The Gold Coast is beginning the biggest parks project in the city’s history as part of its bid to increase green space. The ten-year, $138 million project will create 220 hectares of urban parkland in Robina which Mayor Tom Tate says will be essential as the Gold Coast’s population continues to grow rapidly. The parklands are expected to be six times bigger than the Broadwater Parklands and will include sporting fields, wetlands walks and nature-based experiences.

Carers across Queensland are now able to nominate to join the Queensland Carers Advisory Council for a two year term. According to Minister for Seniors, Disability Services and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Craig Crawford, the Queensland Carers Advisory Council advises the Palaszczuk government on strategies to improve support for carers. Mr Crawford says carers play a crucial role across the state and can have a serious impact on the people who give their time to care for people in need.

Adani Australia’s $1 Billion loan is still pending as they wait for India’s largest bank to approve it as reports say the State Bank of India is delaying the loan. The loan was first suggested in the beginning of the Carmichael project in central Queensland but fell through due to environmental pressure. An Adani spokesperson says the Carmichael mine and rail project was fully funded to completion from group funds.

A 21 year old student at Sydney university has helped solve a quantum computing problem with a simple modification. Pablo Bonilla’s first academic paper was published overnight.  After being given coding exercises as extra homework, the second-year physics student has helped solve one of the most common problems in quantum computing. Researchers at Yale and Duke in the United States gained interest in his code and well known tech company Amazon is now planning to use it in the quantum computer it is trying to build.

Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith has denied allegations made in a 60 Minutes episode that he hid compromising material in his backyard rather than giving it to officials investigating possible war crimes. The Australian Federal Police and Inspector General of the Defence Force are both investigating alleged war crimes in Afghanistan and are confirmed to be treating Roberts-Smith as a suspect. The former soldier is currently suing several Nine Entertainment media outlets for defamation after they made similar allegations against him in 2018.