Australia & Pacifics

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Fifty-one pilot whales died Friday in another mass stranding in New Zealand, less than a week after 145 pilot whales and nine pygmy killer whales perished in two other, unrelated strandings.

In the latest stranding, up to 90 pilot whales beached themselves late Thursday at Hanson Bay on the remote Chatham Islands, said the Department of Conservation.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A commercial pilot is under investigation after falling asleep in the cockpit of a freight plane and overflying his Australian island destination by 46 kilometers (29 miles), officials said Tuesday.

SYDNEY (AP) — A court on Tuesday dismissed a last-ditch challenge and approved the merger of television network Nine Entertainment with newspaper publisher Fairfax Media into an Australian media giant to be known only as Nine.

Fairfax shareholders voted for the merger last week. But major shareholder Antony Catalano argued in his Federal Court challenge that the Fairfax shareholders had not been allowed to consider his proposal to acquire 19.9 percent of the company’s shares, which would have scuttled the Nine merger.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — All of the 145 pilot whales that stranded themselves on a remote New Zealand beach have died.

However, conservation workers are hoping to save some of the eight pygmy killer whales that remained stranded Monday at the other end of the country in an unrelated event.

A hiker discovered the pilot whales in two pods about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) apart late Saturday on Stewart Island. About 75 were already dead and conservation workers decided to euthanize the others due to their poor condition and remote location.

Sydney, Nov 25 (PTI) India defeated Australia by six wickets in the final T20 International to share the spoils in the three-match series here Sunday.

D'Arcy Short (33) was the top-scorer for Australia, while Krunal Pandya picked up four wickets for India.

Chasing the target, skipper Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on 61 while Shikhar Dhawan made 41.

Australia won the first T20 International by four runs via D/L method before the second match was abandoned due to rain.

Brief Score:

Sydney, Nov 22 (AFP) A large dust storm swirled over eastern Australia on Thursday, driven over the coast by a weather front barrelling across the drought-stricken interior.

Authorities warned residents of Sydney and other parts of New South Wales state who had respiratory or cardiovascular conditions to limit their time outdoors until the dust settled.

Melbourne, Nov 22 (PTI) India and Australia signed five agreements on Thursday to boost investments and enhance cooperation in key sectors like disability, agricultural research and education as President Ram Nath Kovind met Australian Prime minister Scott Morrison in Sydney.

Kovind, the first-ever Indian head of state to visit Australia, arrived in Sydney on Wednesday on the second leg of his two nation trip.

Melbourne, Nov 21 (PTI) President Ram Nath Kovind arrived in Australia on Wednesday on a three-day visit, becoming the first-ever Indian head of state to visit the country.

Kovind, who landed in Sydney from Vietnam along with his wife Savita Kovind on their second leg of two nation visit, will hold talks with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and discuss bilateral issues.

He received a warm welcome on his arrival at Sydney, Kovind's official Twitter handle said in a tweet.

20 Nov 2018; AFP: Three men who allegedly plotted "chilling" terror attacks in Melbourne were charged early Tuesday, less than two weeks after a stabbing rampage inspired by the Islamic State group left two dead in Australia's second city, police said.

The trio, all Australian nationals of Turkish descent, were detained by counter-terror police in overnight raids as they escalated preparations to attack crowded areas of Melbourne, according to police.

20 Nov 2018; AFP: Papua New Guinea police and soldiers stormed the country's parliament Tuesday, assaulting staff, smashing windows and demanding unpaid APEC bonuses just days after the international summit wrapped up, police and witnesses said.

The impoverished Pacific nation had rolled out the red carpet for visiting world leaders during the two-day conference and bought 40 Maseratis to ferry the dignitaries around.