The UK Foreign Secretary has announced the British parliament is looking at ways of returning the children of British fighters who have defected to Syria to fight for Islamic State.

Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s comments come days after the death of 19-year-old former British IS recruit Shamima Begum’s baby son after she was refused re-entry into the UK, and rescue missions to the Syrian camp where she was, were deemed too dangerous.

India has announced the dates for a national election in what is being dubbed as the world’s biggest ever democratic exercise.

900 million voters are expected to cast their ballots at almost a million polling booths across the nation, electing 543 Members of Parliament to India’s lower house, the Lok Sabha.

It is also reported that Ghandi is looking like “a serious challenger” against current Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is running for his second term.

The counting of votes will be held on May 23.

NSW Labor leader Michael Daley is pledging to fully fund public schools.

Mr Daley vowed to fund 2.7 billion dollars to public schools during the launch of Labor’s election campaign, and has promised that all public schools will have this funding, should Labor be elected on March 23.

Mr Daley believes that 100 per cent of funding will be achieved by the end of the Gonski agreement in 2027.

Drought-stricken cattle farmers are destocking much of their remaining breeders and young cattle throughout Central Queensland and New South Wales.

Saleyards in New England’s North West reflect this decision as yards throughout the region saw up to 4,000 cattle, breaking local records.

Luke Scicluna, the general manager of Davidson and Cameron and Gunnedah, says scarcity of water was the last straw for cattle producers trying to hold on and wait for a break.

The Brisbane City Council has been questioned over the playing of classical music in King George Square in the middle of the night.

Council spokeswoman Lydia Lynch says the practice, which has been going on since 2012, is used to curb “anti-social behaviour” in the area.

Homeless people taking refuge in the square are not as supportive of the idea. Mayor Graham Quicks says although he was unaware of the playing of the music in the square, he is currently trying to deal with homelessness.

A heatwave is set to send mercury in the south-east skyrocketing over the next few days, with temperatures averaging about eight to ten degrees hotter than usual.

Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist David Crock says places such as Ipswich, Gatton and the wider Lockyer Valley can expect temperatures to reach 40 degrees before easing on Wednesday.

The heatwave is expected to last three days, bringing a little bit of Summer into our Autumn, causing meteorologists to predict a number of record-breaking temperatures in March.