President Vladimir Putin has defended the seizure of three Ukrainian ships last weekend, but President Donald Trump has expressed “deep concern” at Moscow’s actions against a US ally.

Putin said the Ukrainian ships entered Russian territorial waters and refused to respond to requests to stop from Russian patrol boats.

The captured Ukrainian sailors have been put before a court in Simferopol to be held in pre-trial detention for two months.

A Syrian man who spent the previous seven months stranded at a Kuala Lumpur airport terminal has finally arrived in Canada, highlighting asylum seekers’ often unusual means for finding refuge.

Hassan Al Kontar landed in Vancouver and instantly become a permanent resident as Canada had already recognised his refugee status.

Al Kontar's plight became widely known after he took to social media to document his everyday life, catching the attention of Canadian volunteers who filed a refugee application on his behalf in April.

A world-first study of emergency service workers has confirmed strain on mental health throughout the professions, finding suicidal thoughts more than twice as likely among workers.

The survey conducted by Beyondblue found 1 in 3 police and emergency service workers have high or very high psychological distress, with 1 in 4 ex-workers reporting experiences of post traumatic stress disorder.

Allegations of war crimes committed by Australian soldiers, including Australia’s most decorated former soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, in Afghanistan are now the subject of a Federal Police investigation.  

This follows an inquiry led by NSW Supreme Court Judge Paul Brereton, assisting the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to investigate the actions of Special Forces soldiers during the 12-year conflict.

A petition to save Brisbane’s historic Union Complex led by students at the University of Queensland has attracted great attention this week in the lead up to its closing date of December 1.

Among the Union Complex is the historical Schonell Theatre and the student union arcade building, where 4ZZZ was established and located for 13 years.

If you want to sign the petition, head to the ‘Save the UQ Union Complex’ page on Facebook.

Heatwave conditions are expected to spread further across the state this weekend after days of record-breaking temperatures.

Temperatures are forecast to reach above 40 degrees for central Queensland. Ipswich will hit 40 degrees, Brisbane, Logan, and the Sunshine Coast 37 degrees, and the Gold Coast 36 degrees.

The state’s extreme heatwave conditions has led to a significant number of Queensland Ambulance Service call outs.

The Dutch national railway company is investigating how it can pay individual reparations for its role in mass deportations of the Jewish by Nazi occupiers during WWII.

The rail company said in a statement published late on Tuesday that its involvement in the deportations is a black page in the history of their country and company.