Australia: 380 stranded whales have died, rescuers say

US-led researchers estimate whales consume millions of plastic particles each day. Scientists must now determine how much harm this is causing.

Canberra will oppose plans to add the Great Barrier Reef to the endangered UNESCO World Heritage site list. The Great Barrier Reef has been considered a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1981.

We look at shocking video footage of migrants being tasered or beaten by law enforcement in June at Melilla, a Spanish border post with Morocco. An investigation by several European newspaper sheds light on the violence, in which at least 23 asylum seekers were killed.

Former teacher Christopher Dawson was sentenced to 24 years in Australia for killing his wife Lynette Dawson in 1982 so that he could pursue an affair with his teenage student.

The shootout took place when a group of four police officers arrived at a remote property in the small town of Wieambilla in the Queensland state. The siege ended with the death of the suspects.

Mammai Bhoo Laxmi's husband went to Qatar to work on its FIFA World Cup infrastructure as a construction worker. Within one week after arrival, he was reported dead.

The defendants say they saved lives but prosecutors claim they were involved in human smuggling, forgery and espionage.

The leader of the Australian state of Victoria has ruled out a taxpayer-funded memorial for Cardinal George Pell. Victoria's state premier Daniel Andrews said it would be "deeply distressing" for sexual abuse survivors.

The Australian cricket team was going to play against their Afghan counterparts in the United Arab Emirates, however, Australia pulled out of the series over the Taliban's further restrictions on women's rights.

Mining giant Rio Tinto has apologised for losing a tiny radioactive capsule that went missing as it was being transported across Western Australia. An emergency hunt for the device, which is about the size of a pea, is under way along the 1,400km (870 mile) route.

George Pell is currently lying in state in a Sydney cathedral. Police have sought a court order to prevent protesters from disrupting his funeral.

Australia will replace the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on its $5 banknote with a new design to reflect and honor the history of its Indigenous culture. King Charles III will feature on Australian coins, though.