Australia

The signing took place during Ambassador Suckling’s two-day visit to Port Vila to work with the Vanuatu Government to address the effects of climate change in the Pacific region.

The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) project, implemented by the University of Wollongong’s Australian National Centre for Ocean Research and Security (ANCORS), will combine world-class research with local knowledge to ensure coastal fisheries will continue to thrive despite a changing climate and increasing pressure from population growth.

Months later, the saga continues to provoke a much wider discussion, writes Kathy Marks in Sydney.

She is, by her own definition, "the perfect package for outrage" - a young, brown-skinned, feminist Muslim with outspoken opinions and the self-confidence to articulate them.

Even so, Yassmin Abdel-Magied could hardly have anticipated the ferocity, or the relentlessness, of the attacks which have rained on her in recent months. They have come from internet trolls, tabloid newspapers and even the Australian prime minister, culminating in the 26-year-old leaving the country.

Fox Sports handed out that unwanted accolade to Stephen Kearney's side on the back of their latest loss to NRL cellar-dwellars the Newcastle Knights.

Fox produced a scathing assessment of the Kiwi franchise.

"Forget Newcastle and forget the Wests Tigers. They might be anchoring the NRL table but they're not the biggest disappointment in rugby league this year. That honour goes to the New Zealand Warriors," their story began before they flung a stiff-arm at the Mt Smart outfit.

Hosts Ireland won a nail-biting Women's Rugby World Cup Pool C opener against battling Australia in Dublin.

Larissa Muldoon's converted first-half try, against a Mahalia Murphy score, had Ireland 7-5 ahead at the interval.

Shannon Parry's touchdown edged the Wallaroos in front but replacements Ciara Griffin and Sophie Spence crossed to put Ireland on the road to victory.

The 2014 semi-finalists survived a late scare after prop Hilisha Samoa's try was converted by Ashleigh Hewson.

The province was struck by a magnitude 7.8 quake that damaged about 35 houses including the police barracks and hospital.

At the time Australian Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop assured the government of Solomon Islands that Australia is ready to provide any support once requested.

Last night Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells confirmed the Australian government’s support.

The academy's assessment, prompted by last year's decision by CSIRO to axe as many as 100 of 140 climate scientists, identified 77 extra research positions that should be created in the next four years.
 
Australia now has about 419 climate researchers, or less than 1 per cent of the 50,000 in public science. The additional tally includes 15 staff announced by the Turnbull government last year for the CSIRO after a public outcry forced the agency's chief executive Larry Marshall to reverse most of the planned cuts.
 

Or maybe it is you.

Five to 10 per cent of the population qualify as psychopathic, according to David Gillespie, author of Taming Toxic People: The Science of Identifying and Dealing With Psychopaths At Work and At Home.

A study last year found the rate could be as high as 20 per cent among corporate leaders.

She was found wandering in a car park, highly agitated, by a family who took her home and made her their live-in pet. However, after three months they could no longer keep her.

She was relocated to the Sugarshine animal sanctuary, outside Lismore in New South Wales. Kelly Nelder, Sugarshine's founder and a mental health nurse, described her as "highly strung" and "needy".

Professor Bruce Neal from the George Institute for Global Health in Sydney reviewed more than 34,000 packaged foods with health-star ratings.

These are the voluntary front-of-pack labels, designed to help people make healthier choices.

But health experts said naturally occurring sugars found in fruits, vegetables and dairy were treated the same as sugars added during food processing.

The quarter-acre dream is fast disappearing and larger blocks and family gardens along with it.

As more people move from country areas to the city and as land to build homes near the city centre becomes scarce, we're getting further and further away from nature. It turns out this isn't great for our health.

The change in urban environments because of development, associated with a rapid increase in chronic disease, is a global phenomenon in developed countries.