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.

In breaking news, an independent inquiry recommended that the former New South Wales RSL President Don Rowe be referred to police investigation.

A report released by the State Government today noted that the year long investigation by former Supreme Court Judge Patricia Bergin heard evidence Mr Rowe spent $475,000 on a corporate credit card, including $213,000 in cash withdrawals over a 6 year period.

It was reported over the weekend that Brisbane Camp Hill residents scored a notary win in court late last week, as a council development decision was overturned.

Local homeowners and residents took council and property developer Sintra Development to Queensland’s Planning and Environment Court in November last year over a plan for development of 16 units over three storeys on Annie Street.

Egypt claimed it killed 16 Islamist militants in an operation in Sinai yesterday following President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s order in November to defeat Islamists in the region by the end of February.  

In a statement from the military, the country’s army arrested 30 suspects and 4 militants and claimed dozens of targets including weapon dumps, motorbikes and cars.

According to a spokesman for the Sinai operation, a communication centre, an explosives laboratory and six drug farms were also found.

The Indonesian navy boarded a vessel this morning between Singapore and Batam Island and seized 1.1 tonnes of the drug ‘ice’.

The boat was initially boarded by the navy under suspicion of illegal fishing, however when officers searched the 70-tonne vessel they found more than one tonne of the drug in the hold packed into sacks and hidden beneath food supplies.

Revolutionary Hepatitis C drugs are being ignored by thousands of Australians despite huge government subsidies.

New courses of medication for Hepatitis C were introduced back in 2016, and deemed so effective that the Australian government put in place a five year funding plan to subsidise the medications in a bid to eradicate the disease entirely.

Recent studies show that despite the effort, the numbers of people taking the drugs had fallen, with people suspected to be keeping quiet due to stigmas surrounding the disease.