Researchers at the University of Queensland say they have developed a way to accurately predict childhood obesity. The newly-validated i-PATHWAY model uses risk factors and weight statistics from a baby’s first 12 months to predict the likelihood of a child becoming obese by 8 to 9 years old. The development is a step forward in Australia’s efforts to fight childhood obesity as the government report that in 2017 - 18, a quarter of children and adolescents were overweight and one in twelve were obese.

Police have issued an urgent alert for motorists in Springwood concerning a stop sign intersection at the corner of Rochedale Road and Vanessa Boulevard which is opposite the ambulance station. Drivers failing to stop at the intersection has already resulted in a number of near misses including ambulances trying to leave the station. The issue has come to police attention as Senior Constable Mike McDonald says stop signs are a very important function and the penalty for failing to stop is three demerit points and four hundred dollars.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk reported the state’s third consecutive day without community transmission today. While there remain 70 active cases, the announcement suggests Queensland has successfully gotten last week’s Brisbane cluster under control. Brisbane residents are heading back to work today under new COVID-19 prevention measures following the city’s three-day lockdown and the Easter weekend.

New South Wales Treasurer Dominic Perrottet calls for the blame game over COVID-19 vaccines to stop. Saying ‘We have one job, and that’s to fight the virus, not each other’. $240 million was expected to be spent by the New South Wales government to administer thirty seven per cent of the states vaccines. Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s offer for the state’s public health teams to help means those figures will increase significantly.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is set to announce the start date for a Trans-Tasman travel bubble this afternoon following a cabinet meeting this morning. While the announcement is not scheduled until 2P.M Brisbane time, Air New Zealand have already drastically increased the number of quarantine-free Trans-Tasman flights from April nineteenth onwards. The bubble was agreed in principle last May but has experienced continual setbacks as cases of COVID-19 community transmission persists in both Australia and New Zealand.

The US State Department is calling on Russia to explain what it calls “provocations” on the Ukrainian border. Video footage emerged last week of large troop movements heading towards Russia’s border with Ukraine, sparking fears of renewed fighting in Ukraine’s Donbass region. US President Joe Biden called his Ukrainian counterpart Vlodymyr Zelensky on Friday to discuss the Kremlin’s actions and reaffirm America’s support for Ukraine.