Two Baltimore police officers have been found guilty of racketeering and robbery by a jury in a police corruption case, and are facing a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Officers Daniel Hersl and Marcus Taylor were part of a squad tasked with seizing illegal firearms, but instead the unit went rogue, robbing drug dealers, conducting illegal searches, and claiming unearned overtime.

The Baltimore Public Defender’s Office says as many as 3000 cases could have been affected by the unit.  

According to a recent announcement by Buckingham Palace, plastics and non-biodegradable materials will be phased out of royal premises to make way for more sustainable alternatives.

In the effort to ‘go green,’ the new plan requires royal cafe takeaway food containers to be compostable or biodegradable, while those working and living within Buckingham Palace only being able to use crockery, glasses, or recyclable cups.

The Australian government will be deporting a Sri Lankan refugee next week, despite the United Nations committee against torture condemning the decision.

The deportation order was issued by the Australian Border Force for the 22nd of February for Tamil asylum seeker Shantaruban, who arrived in Australia by boat in 2012.

The UN is concerned with the widespread reports of mistreatment and torture of prisoners by Sri Lankan security forces.

A fire has ripped through a 10-story building in Sydney's CBD this morning, forcing police to set up a 200 metre exclusion zone around the building due to fears of a gas explosion.

According to a New South Wales Fire and Rescue spokesperson, the blaze was caused by a sheet of scaffolding catching alight and collapsing, resulting in smoke and fire engulfing the building.

Everyone in the building had been evacuated, with seven fire fighting teams being dispatched to combat the fire.

Queensland’s electoral commissioner Walter Van Der Merwe has been suspended by the state’s Attorney-General over allegations that could amount to breaches of the electoral act.

The exact nature of the allegations are unknown, though Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath says they are serious but do not seem to have resulted in the interference of election outcomes.

North Queensland police have been accused of spear-tackling and manhandling an Indigenous man just hours before he died in custody.

Trevor King’s wife Regina called police on Saturday morning because he was talking of suicide, and witnessed them spear-tackling him, pushing his face into the dirt and straddling his back.

The lawyer of Mr King’s family, Stewart Levitt, said he appeared to be dead by the time police got him into an ambulance.

A suspected poacher has been killed and eaten by a pride of lions in Krugar National Park yesterday, leaving authorities with just his rifle and head to identify him with.

It is believed the poacher was hunting the African lions for their bones, a valuable commodity for traditional asian medicine, often as a replacement for the more sought after tiger bone.

While efforts to identify the man have not yet been successful, local authorities have put out a request for the man's family to come forward to identify the remains.

The Indonesian Navy has seized 1.2 tonnes of methamphetamine hidden among food supplies on a Singapore-flagged vessel.

The Navy has been searching for the narcotics smuggling boat since December, and intercepted it on its way to Australia.

The boat is suspected to have links to the similar-sized shipment seized in Geraldton harbour in Western Australia in December.

A poll conducted by the Guardian newspaper has found 72% of Australians would approve of forcing businesses to increase wages if the government’s proposed company tax cuts go through.

The majority of people working both full-time and part-time are in favour of the trade-off.

However, treasurer Scott Morrison has ruled out the idea, saying it is at odds with the way the government would pursue growth in the economy.