The United Nations High Commission for Refugees is calling for the immediate rescue of Rohingya asylum seekers adrift in India’s Andaman Sea. The UNHCR says the boat left Bangladesh about ten days ago but broke down, leaving the asylum seekers stranded without food or water. The Indian coast guard says it is tracking the boat off the Nicobar Islands, but no rescue attempt has yet been made.

A family in Sydney has narrowly escaped tragedy as their Ambarvale home was engulfed by flames. Two young children, their parents and their uncle were asleep in the house when it went up in flames just after 3am. The uncle luckily noticed the fire and alerted the family, Mum Ankita Dahal says she grabbed her two kids, her car and just went. The cause of the fire is still unknown and the family will be staying with relatives until they find a new home.

A Child protection Police Officer has allegedly made sexual and suggestive comments repeatedly to a 15 year old girl he met during an investigation. During the first day of trial, the alleged offender pleaded not guilty to 1 count of using the internet to procure a child under 16 and 2 counts of child grooming. The Defence lawyer told the court his client, who was working at the Inala child protection and investigation unit, has not denied speaking to the 15 year old

Hidden cameras on Queensland highways have caught over 1500 drivers using mobile phones while driving.  Fixed cameras along the Western Freeway near Toowong and some mobile trailer-mounted cameras captured an average of 99 people using their phone while behind the wheel each day since August last year. Drivers caught by cameras will avoid the fine until at least October, however more cameras are set to be rolled out in July. 

Extinction Rebellion is holding a march on Queensland Parliament this morning to protest the government’s lack of action on environmental issues. The march, named Zombies of the Climate ApoCOALypse, is scheduled to coincide with Parliament’s first sitting of the year and will see protesters dressed as zombies converging on Speaker’s Corner. Extinction Rebellion says it intends to escalate disruptive action over the coming months to draw attention to the climate crisis and Australia’s lack of combative action.

Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo Luca Attanasio is one of 3 people who were killed in an ambush on a World Food Programme convoy in eastern DRC. The convoy was on its way to visit a school feeding project when gunmen attacked on a road frequently targeted by armed militia and bandits. Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs Luigi Di Maio says he will stop at nothing to uncover the circumstances of the attack and find those responsible.

Australia’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout sparks new hopes International travel could return within months thanks to Air New Zealand. Air New Zealand has started trialing a vaccine passport, an app that will give passengers current information on tests and vaccines needed to enter their destination. While passengers will still carry verified copies of their COVID-19 test results, Air New Zealand's airline's chief digital officer Jennifer Sepull says the app is essentially like having a digital health certificate

Mining giant Rio Tinto’s annual report shows Michael L’Estrange, the board member tasked with investigating the company’s blasting of Western Australia’s Juukan Gorge last year, received a forty six per cent raise in director’s fees for heading the inquiry. Rio Tinto blasted the forty six thousand year old Juukan Gorge rock caves as part of a mining excavation project last year, prompting international outcry due to the site’s cultural significance to Indigenous Australians. Many are questioning the investigation’s impartiality, noting Mr L’Estrange’s position as a Rio Tinto board member an

University of Queensland scientist, Doctor Anthony Romilio found an unknown species of geese while examining a 4600 year old painting titled Meidum Geese. The painting shows a now extinct speckled goose. Doctor Romilio says since being discovered it has been described as Egypt’s Mona Lisa. Unlike geese today, the artwork portrays distinct, bold colours and patterns on the birds body, face, breast, wings and legs.