Sydney / AFP A huge cattle station that pours sediment into the Great Barrier Reef was bought on Wednesday by the government as efforts are stepped up to help the World Heritage site bounce back from mass bleaching. Global warming has been wreaking havoc on the reef, contributing to an unprecedented bleaching event this year that saw much of ...

  Singapore / AP Singapore’s central bank said Wednesday it will make financial investments in the Chinese yuan as part of its official foreign reserves from June, reflecting the currency’s increasing international acceptance. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said its decision “recognises the steady and calibrated liberalisation of China’s financial markets, and the growing acceptance of (yuan) assets in the ...

  New Delhi / AFP The gleaming glass atriums and blue-clad “geniuses” that herald the arrival of an Apple store could soon be landing in India, after the government cleared the way for it to open in the rapidly growing smartphone market. Before now, the Silicon Valley giant has been just a bit-player in the country of 1.2 billion, selling ...