The World Health Organisation approved the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use last night in a move that will facilitate the vaccination of millions of people in developing nations. While wealthy countries have been able to secure vaccines on their own, much of the developing world relies on the W-H-O for its jabs. The AstraZeneca vaccine is cheaper and easier to distribute than the already-

More than 155 stakeholders, including thirteen retired judges have signed an Open Letter to the Attorney-General opposing the Federal Government’s bill to abolish the specialist, stand-alone Family Court. The family court merger bill would collapse the Family Court into the Federal Circuit Court. Stakeholde

Real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle’s chief executive Stephen Conry says he does not believe pundits’ optimism for the stay-at-home work model, asserting that we will be returning to the office as soon as possible.bHe says if an employer asks workers to come into the office ‘then you are sort of obliged to turn up’ and that working from home has just as many inconveniences as an office environment. 

A group of doctors published an article yesterday in the Medical Journal Of Australia on recent advances in non-invasive prenatal testing. Brisbane maternal-foetal medicine specialist, Doctor Joseph Thomas explains false positives for rare conditions can lead to invasive testing and unnecessary anxiety in pregnant women. Doctor Thomas work

Brisbane tech entrepreneur Bevan Slattery says he will contribute a significant portion of the capital needed to build the proposed HyperOne national fibre network. The proposed one point five billion dollar project would work in conjunction with the NBN and would be capable of carrying more internet traffic than the rest of the country’s fibre optic networks combined. 

Last night, Villefranche hospital became the second French hospital in as many weeks to be targeted by hackers demanding money in return for the release of hospital data.

The hospital staff were forced to move offline, managing to continue most of their operations without giving in to the hackers’ demands.

Former Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala will become the first female and first African to serve as Director General of the World Trade Organisation.

Okonjo-Iweala says she hopes to refocus the organisation after failed international negotiations and an inability to deal with China’s socialist market economy.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has apologised for how a complaint of sexual assault against a former staffer was handled originally and has asked Curtin MP Celia Hammond to work with MPs and party whips to improve workplace standards. 

Sunshine Coast Rail Line is being fitted with new signalling technology to improve safety on the rail line, with the project creating more jobs.

The $43 million dollar project involves about 60 workers to roll out the European Train Control System.

A Brisbane family returning empty-handed from lockdown in Europe have furnished their whole house thanks to a group of Facebook donors.

The Mirto family had to flee their home in Italy in order to escape the country’s COVID-19 crisis, and arrived in Australia to an empty house, carrying nothing but their suitcases.