Australia's Defence Personnel Minister has unveiled plans for Operation KUDU to support the United Kingdom in training Ukrainian troops.
It's been almost a year since Russia invaded Ukraine and Australia has been one of the nations supporting Ukrainians and their military efforts.
The UK program will work towards training up to 20 000 Ukrainian soldiers this year and while no Australian troops will enter Ukraine but they will assist.
Minister Matt Keogh says the Australians will help improve Ukraine's skills in the fight against Russia to bring the conflict to an end.
"We know that you as members of our Australian defence force are the most important capability that we have. As so you being able to assist those that are fighting for Ukraine, that most important capability to fight better."
Residents from Mackay are preparing to clean up flood damage after days of heavy rain in Queensland this week.
The Mackay Regional Council's Mayor Greg Williamson says the weather is clearing on Wednesday morning.
But about 50 roads are still flooded including the highway to the north but it should reopen around midday [[WED]].
Climate activist Greta Thunberg [[tune-berg]] has been released after she took part in a coal mine protest in Germany and was briefly detained.
Campaigners at the open coast coal mine argue Germany should not be mining any more lignite or brown coal and focus on renewable energy.
The Swedish activist was part of a group of protesters and police carried her away after she attempted to jump into the coal mine.
"The fact that all of you are here is a sign of hope. This is only a part of a much larger global climate movement, a movement for climate and social justice and racial justice."
Health experts are calling for stricter rules on nicotine vaping products saying that it is critical to protect all Australians.
Experts want tighter regulation of products.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners President Nicole Higgins says they need to be clearly labelled.
“Nicotine Vaping Product is there to help somebody stop smoking and that is via a prescription through the GP. But now what we are having is vaping products being made fairly mainstream and accessible to our kids and some of those do contain nicotine. We also know that those the packaging often doesn’t say what’s in it and the chemicals can be very dangerous.”
In tennis, Australian hopeful Alex de Minaur achieved a smooth victory at his home grand slam against Taiwanese Hsu Yu Hsoiu on Tuesday night.
He is the only seeded local left at the Australian Open and won easily in three sets at John Cain Arena, heading into round two of the tournament.
The 23-year-old shared his positive message during his on-court interview with Channel Nine.
"I'm just happy to be here in Australia playing here in front of you guys, there is no better feeling. *crowd cheers* It doesn't matter who I play, I'm going to be up for it, and you guys just bring the energy and I'll be ready so thank you, you guys."
And the weather has disrupted play this week forcing organisers to schedule earlier incomplete matches on day three of the Australian Open.
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