Australia

A record 2,7 tonnes of cocaine with an estimated street value of AUS$816 million have been seized in the largest cocaine seizure in the country’s history, a result of Queensland Joint Organised Crime Taskforce investigation into an import crime network

Over 80% of under-16s in Australia said they were still using social media three months after the ban came into force, observational study shows; experts observed “limited implementation, incomplete compliance, substantial circumvention of restrictions”

Parody comedian L.J. Spencer posted a video of a white woman transitioning to Aboriginal, dancing barefoot, clapping sticks, and simulating petrol sniffing; following widespread backlash, refused to apologize for the video and has been fired from her job

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor plans to guarantee social services - including basic allowances - to Australian citizens only; many argue permanent residents and many more categories should be allowed to access to NDIS

Non-discriminatory immigration policy will be ended and social media vetting for visa applicants introduced if liberal coalition will governs again according to a number of media outlets in Australia

A health alert was issued across Perth after a traveller returned from overseas with measles, with 10 new exposure sites listed across the city’s east and inner suburbs; measles, highly infectious, can develop 7-18 days after exposure to the virus

Fuelled by growing anti-immigration sentiment in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack, the right-wing party One Nation has surged in the polls in recent months, overtaking Liberals to emerge as the nominal opposition to Labor

Bush towns are spending millions just to guarantee their residents can see a doctor; six tiny WA centers spend AUS$1,5m each year on subsidies, their citizens facing shorter life expectancy due to inadequate medical services

Armed carjackings have almost doubled in Victoria, increasing to an unprecedented extent, despite “tough new laws” being introduced to combat the crime in 2016, with rideshare drivers and delivery workers increasingly targeted

Off Shark Beach, a shark attacked a boy of about 13 who was swimming in Sydney Harbour, leaving him in critical condition with serious leg injuries

While up to a dozen major bushfire ravaged towns, leaving one dead, 300 structures destroyed and 350.000 hectares burned in Victoria, Pro-Palestine protesters have defied police calls to cancel their Melbourne rally