NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe has visited Coffs Harbour as planning continues for the proposed Great Koala National Park, a major conservation project aimed at protecting one of Australia's most significant koala populations and more than 100 threatened species.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – More than 100,000 live cockroaches illegal to keep in Australia were confiscated from a single breeder in the country’s largest-ever seizure of exotic invertebrates, officials said Friday.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – An Australian state police force has worked to form a heavily armed rapid response team since gunmen killed 15 people and wounded three police officers armed only with handguns at a Sydney Hanukkah celebration in December, a government inquiry heard Wednesday.
SpaceX will move forward with its $60 billion acquisition of artificial intelligence startup Cursor as Elon Musk’s space exploration and AI company seeks a competitive edge against rivals Anthropic and OpenAI after its Wall Street debut last week.
TOKYO (AP) – The Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate to 1% on Tuesday, citing challenges stemming from a weak Japanese yen and higher prices. The central bank’s increase in the uncollateralized overnight rate, by a quarter of a percentage point from 0.75%, puts it at a three-decade high.
Pizza Hut, the 68-year-old chain that has long struggled with growing competition and outdated restaurants, will be sold for $2.7 billion by parent company Yum Brands.
Leaders of the Group of Seven gathered on Tuesday to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump’s tentative deal to end the conflict with Iran. The first full day of the G7 summit of leading industrialized nations is being held in the French town of Evian-les-Bains.
EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France (AP) – The naval mission for the Strait of Hormuz that U.S. allies are proposing as a follow-up to a deal to end the Iran war would aim to reassure crews and shipping insurers that vessels can safely navigate the narrow waterway again, by removing any explosive mines and potentially providing military escorts.
EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France (AP) – The leaders of the world’s richest democracies are talking about how to tackle some of the world’s biggest problems this week, but hot mics at the G7 summit revealed that conversations also covered lighter fare. Sports. Cigarettes. The weather. And something about Greenland?
NEW YORK (AP) – High oil and gasoline prices and energy supply problems won’t be solved overnight, despite an agreement to end the Iran war and open the Strait of Hormuz announced Sunday.



































































































































