NASA’s Perseverance Rover is officially on the move on the surface of Mars. The rover did the first test drive last Friday and has initiated a 5-meter distance test-drive.

The test-point is named “Octavia E. Butler Landing.", after the science fiction author.

The Rover is hunting for martian material that might contain signs of past life that may have existed in the Jezero crater billions of years ago, when water flowed on Mars.

New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has issued a tsunami warning for several areas after a series of earthquakes struck the Kermadec Islands this morning.

The areas under threat included all coastal areas around Auckland, from the Bay of Islands to Whangarei, from Matata to Tolaga Bay including Whakatane and Opotiki, and the Great Barrier Island. NEMA instructed all those in an area at risk of flooding to immediately move to higher ground, a tsunami evacuation zone, or as far inland as possible.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has confirmed he understood David Edwards had recently been found to have committed misconduct before finalising his contract as CEO of the city.

The ABC reported Edwards has been found to have used staff to undertake errands and manage his personal affairs, as well as having failed to declare conflicts of interest regarding his role in hiring for the Queensland Department of Innovation and Tourism Industry Development.

In a statement, Edwards says he totally rejects both the allegations and conduct of the investigation.

Prosecutors in Italy have formally finalised a four year investigation into refugee rescuers, and charged over 20 people from various charity organisations for ‘collaborating with people smugglers’.

The charged individuals were operating a former fishing vessel to rescue refugees and migrants from drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. One of the involved charity organisations, Médecins Sans Frontières, estimated that its boats saved upwards of 81,000 lives.

The pharmaceutical industry is lobbying the Biden administration to impose sanctions on countries producing COVID-19 vaccines without industry permission. Governments worldwide are considering implementing temporary exemptions on traditional intellectual property laws to allow unfettered production and distribution of vaccines, in order to prevent the pandemic dragging on.