Portions of the Brisbane River will reportedly be quarantined later this week after testing has revealed high levels of coal tar present in the West End section of the river.

According to a leaked Brisbane City Council report, a former processing plant is responsible for the leak with significant groundwater and soil contamination stretching as far as 40 meters from shore.

The council says walking along the riverside should still be relatively safe, however urges people not to come in contact with the water until the quarantine is lifted.

Two Turkish soldiers were killed after their helicopter was shot down during an operation against Kurdish fighters in northern Syria.

The loss of the helicopter has been predicted to spark an escalation in violence in the multisided Syrian civil war.

Since the Turkish conflict in Ankara started at least thirty civilians and soldiers have been killed.

Israel has launched another massive offensive against Syria, warning the country’s strategic ally Iran that Israel would defend itself against all attacks.

The offensive comes a few days after Israel said they had caught an Iranian drone flying across the volatile border, but Iran deny the allegation.

Analysts found that Australia’s solar power boom could almost double capacity within the next year.

January, and now February, were record-breaking months for rooftop installations and the development of large-scale solar farms in Australia with a massive solar energy boom now being predicted for 2018 as a result.