"The Chinese coal ship that ran onto the Great Barrier Reef was one of dozens of freighters to have taken a legal short cut between dangerous shoals this year, satellite images show."

"HONG KONG -- Salvage experts and a tugboat crew struggled on Monday to save a large Chinese freighter that slammed into the Great Barrier Reef off Australia  over the weekend, trying to prevent the vessel from breaking apart as some of the 1,075 tons of engine fuel in its tanks began oozing from the hull, threatening the world’s largest collection of coral."

"A team of international scientists has made a major breakthrough in the fight to save tasmanian devils from extinction."

"Australia's koalas could be extinct in 30 years, conservationists warned Tuesday, calling for the iconic creatures to be declared an endangered species."

"A huge fire has been blazing at an oil rig in the Timor Sea since Sunday, after an attempt by the oil company to kill a leaking well. The West Atlas rig is located directly above the Montara well head platfrom, which has been leaking oil and gas since August 21."