Supporters of Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani along with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan which backs some rebel groups have met in the Turkish capital Ankara committing to achieving a ‘lasting ceasefire’ in Syria.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a statement in response to claims about its coverage that suggest the BoM had blamed a staffing shortage for a late warning to residents in the path of the cyclone of Cyclone Iris in north Queensland.

BOM Queensland state manager Bruce Gunn reassured the community saying the Bureau remains focused on the threat Tropical Cyclone Iris poses and is fully staffed to run a 24x7 forecasting service.

Australia’s largest cattle company has launched a review into their underperforming assets just three years after opening their 100 million dollar abattoir in Darwin.

The Australian Agricultural Company's preliminary results for their 2017-2018 financial year showed their Darwin abattoir was a major contributing factor in the company’s falling profitability.

Brisbane City Council is investigating what caused a branch of large leopard tree to fall on Ann street outside City Hall, blocking two lanes and the footpath on Monday.

A spokeswoman for Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the council is currently investigating the causes behind the fallen tree, which was inspected in late February with no identifiable issues.

The federal government will spend $150 million to upgrade a section of Queensland's Bruce Highway in an attempt to ease congestion.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visited the Murrumba Downs section of north Brisbane on Tuesday, marking the start of a three-day blitz of marginal Queensland electorates by the prime minister.

The announcement comes after the federal coalition and Queensland's Labor governments have been at odds over funding for several infrastructure projects, most notably Labor's Cross River Rail.

The World Health Organisation has called on South-East Asian countries to increase their efforts in providing universal health care without having to suffer financial difficulties.

World Health Organisation (WHO) South-East Asia regional director Poonam Khetrapal Singh said universal health care is a fundamental human right and imperative for countries to create more productive economies.

Astrophysicists have found proof of the hypothesised thousands of black holes clustered around Sagittarius A, the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way.

Scientists have long believed that Black Holes are drawn towards to the centres of galaxy’s, but until recently have had no evidence that this phennomen non has occurred in our own.

Holes are notoriously difficult human technology to observe, with only 60 known to human researchers before this latest discovery of dozens in a small area near the galactic centre.

Wastewater test results have shown that Regional Western Australia recorded the highest average ice consumption in Australia.

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission's March report revealed that more than eight tonnes of methylamphetamine had been consumed in regional Western Australia between August 2016 and August 2017.

Regional wasn’t the only area affected however, with Western Australia capital Perth also showing high levels of ice consumption, placing second after Adelaide as the the capital with the highest ice consumption in Australia.

The looming statewide ban of single use plastic bags is forcing many to think about what they will do when forced to break their long-established habits.

Lindsay Miles took up the challenge six years ago after seeing a poster promoting a plastic-free July challenge.

Ms Miles said she has now reached her goal, and suggests others wanting to make the plastic free change
buy second hand, grow their own and purchase reusables to avoid the packaging and unnecessary amounts of plastic.