WEATHER FORECAST
Cairns: 20-28C max, 30% chance of rain
Port Douglas: 23-28C max, 30% chance of rain
Mareeba: 17-28C max, 5% chance of rain
Innisfail: 20-27C max, 30% rain

TODAY'S TOP STORIES

GAS LEAK SPARKS EVACUATION
A Cairns service station evacuated earlier this morning has been reopened, after a dangerous gas leak was neutralised by firefighters.
A small LPG leak had been detected at the Mobil station, on the corner of Spence and Severin streets.
A service technician had been called to fix the leak but contacted authorities when it became apparent he would be unable to fix the leak himself.
QFES Cairns station officer Jeff Dieben told News Corp that LPG was a volatile substance and all precautions had been taken to minimise the risk.

EDGE HILL HIT AND RUN
Police are investigating a hit-and-run that occurred in Edge Hill last night.
Police allege a white 4WD collided with a purple sedan that was parked on Greenslopes Street at about 10pm, with extensive damage done to the rear of one of the vehicles; it is alleged that the 4WD left the scene without stopping to exchange particulars.
Police located the driver, a 29-year-old Whitfield woman, at her home around midnight before she was taken to Cairns Hospital for treatment to a head injury. A specimen of blood was taken at the hospital.

INTERNATIONAL GAMES FOR TNQ?
Could Cairns play host to the 2030 Commonwealth Games?
That’s the idea of Whitsunday MP Jason Costigan, who has floated the idea of spreading the competition’s events between the Tablelands to Mackay.
Mr Costigan’s bid would see Cairns and Port Douglas host basketball, hockey and cycling events, with mountain biking “somewhere between Smithfield and Kuranda” and rowing on the Tablelands.
Under his plan, the majority of events would take place in Townsville, which has a 25,000-seat $250 million rugby league stadium in the works.
Mr Costigan said North Queensland would be a better option for the Games than regional Victoria, which has already put in a hosting bid.
Cairns Bob Manning told News Corp that the idea was a “pipe dream”, but gave Mr Costigan “Ten out of 10 for inventiveness”.

GUARDIAN APOLOGISES TO NOEL PEARSON
A global news outlet has been forced to apologise to local indigenous leader Noel Pearson over defamatory claims made in a 2015 article.
The original article by The Guardian Australia involved a contract awarded to a quarry in Hope Vale in 2015, which Mr Pearson was not linked to in any way.
The media outlet wrote in an apology published today: “The Guardian Australia accepts that the comments regarding Mr Noel Pearson in in that article were false.
“The Guardian Australia unreservedly retracts the statements made in the article regarding Mr Noel Pearson and apologises for the harm and distress caused to him."

CAIRNS BASKETBALL NETS AWARDS
The Cairns Basketball association was recognised for a stand-out year with a swag of gongs at the weekend’s Basketball Queensland Awards.
Cairns player – and now Detroit Piston – Aron Baynes was named the 2016 male player of the year, while Cairns Basketball president and Taipans chief executive officer Mark Beecroft was acknowledged for his services to the sport.
The association also won the Vince Hickey Award for Champion Association across the 2016 State Championships. Cairns Basketball will share the award with Southern Districts Basketball Associations for 2017, the first time since 1998 that joint winners have been named.