Facebook Signs Pay Deals With 3 Australian News Publishers
Facebook announced on Friday preliminary agreements with three Australian publishers, a day after the Parliament passed a law that would make the digital giants pay for news.
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Australia
Rare Australian Bee Spotted After 100-Year Absence
A field researcher identified the bee, which faces new threats from rainforest degradation and wildfires.
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Lyrebird Males Mimic Panicked Flock While Mating
Birds capable of mimicry may imitate a predator to scare others away, and a flock of birds will sound an alarm as they flee. A new study finds male Australian songbirds imitate a panicked flock when they mate.
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Australia Passes Law to Make Google, Facebook Pay for News
Australia’s law forcing Google and Facebook to pay for news is ready to take effect, though the laws’ architect said it will take time for the digital giants to strike media deals.
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Facebook Says It Will Lift Its Australian News Ban Soon
Facebook said on Tuesday it will lift its ban on Australians sharing news after a deal was struck with Australia’s government on legislation that would make digital giants pay for journalism.
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Kangaroo Painting Australia’s Oldest Aboriginal Rock Art
A kangaroo painting created over 17,000 years ago by Aboriginal artists has been identified — with a little help from some ancient wasps — as Australia’s oldest intact rock art.
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In Surprise Move, Facebook Blocks News Access in Australia
In a surprise retaliatory move Thursday, Facebook blocked Australians from sharing news stories, escalating a fight with the government over whether powerful tech companies should have to pay news organizations for content.
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Facebook to Dump Australian News Posts Over Proposed Pay-to-Post Law
In a response to a law that aims to make technology companies pay local news publishers a portion of their advertising revenue, Facebook said it would not allow users in Australia to post or share news content.
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New Zealand-Australia Row Erupts Over ‘Terrorist’ Dual National
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern angrily accused Australia Tuesday of shirking its responsibility for a dual national arrested in Turkey with alleged links to the Islamic State militant group.
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Australia to Amend Laws to Make Google and Facebook Pay
Australia’s government said on Tuesday it will amend draft laws that would make Google and Facebook pay for news to clarify that publishers would be paid in lump sums rather than per click on news article links.
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Australian Court Rules Terrorists Can Be Imprisoned Longer
Australia’s highest court on Wednesday upheld a law that can keep extremists in prison after they have served their sentences.
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Inquiry Finds Crown Resorts Unfit to Run Its Sydney Casino
Australian gambling company Crown Resorts is unfit to run its new Sydney casino because it facilitated money laundering and had other problems, a regulator said Tuesday.
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Koala Rescued After 5-Car Pileup on Australian Freeway
A koala has been rescued after causing a five-car pileup while trying to cross a six-lane freeway in southern Australia.
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Businessman Accused of Working for China Wins Defamation Payout in Australia
Two Australian media companies were ordered Tuesday to pay a prominent businessman hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages over a report alleging he was covertly working for China’s Communist Party.
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59 Homes Lost, More Threatened in Australian Wildfire
Politicians in Britain, Northern Ireland and the European Union on Tuesday condemned threats against border staff that prompted authorities to suspend post-Brexit checks on animal products.
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Human Activity Threatens Species Survival: Study
Human activities such as farming and construction are threatening the survival of scores of wild species by forcing them to travel more to avoid mankind’s impact, research showed Monday.
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Australian Media Companies Admit Breaching Pell Gag Order
Australian media companies admitted in court Monday they breached a gag order in publishing references to Cardinal George Pell’s since-overturned convictions in 2018 for child sexual abuse. The plea agreement avoids any journalist being sent to prison.
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Australian Man Fights Off Crocodile to Survive Attack
A man pried a crocodile’s jaws from his head to survive an attack in northern Australia on Thursday, afterwards insisting he will soon return to the swimming spot, according to paramedics.
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Australia Ordered to Pay Migrants for Privacy Breach
An Australian watchdog on Wednesday ordered the government to pay damages to over a thousand asylum seekers whose personal data was wrongly made public seven years ago.
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Israel Extradites Woman Wanted for Sex Crimes to Australia
Israeli authorities on Monday extradited a former teacher accused of sexually abusing her former students in Australia, capping a six-year legal battle that had strained relations between the two governments and antagonized Australia’s Jewish community.
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