Regulators in Australia have issued hundreds of animal cruelty charges over the deaths of dozens of koalas in the state of Victoria. The animals were found dead at a partially cleared timber plantation at Cape Bridgewater last year. More were later euthanised because of dehydration and injuries sustained during the incident.

A landowner and an earthmoving business are accused of harming and killing the animals by clearing the area. They face 126 charges each. A second firm, a contractor, faces one charge of animal cruelty for disturbing the koala population. They have yet to enter pleas. Victoria state’s Conservation Regulator did not name the accused. Each charge can carry a large fine or a maximum 12-month jail sentence, BBC Sydney correspondent Shaimaa Khalil reports.(BBC)…[+]

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has won an apology from a publisher over defamatory allegations. HarperCollins published a book which included the claim that Mr Abramovich bought London football club Chelsea on the orders of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. On Wednesday the company apologised to Mr Abramovich and confirmed it had reached a settlement. It has amended the book and will make a charitable donation in lieu of damages. UK journalist Catherine Belton’s book Putin’s People, published by HarperCollins last year, included an allegation by another Russian billionaire, Sergei Pugachev, that Mr Abramovich had bought the club in 2003 on the orders of Mr Putin. In a statement, the publisher said Ms Belton’s book “contained some inaccurate information” about Mr Abramovich.(BBC)…[+]

As many as 100 people are feared missing after a landslide at a jade mine in Myanmar. Rescue teams are desperately searching for people in a nearby lake, with most victims believed to be illegal miners. One person is confirmed dead. The landslide occurred in the Hpakant area of northern Kachin state at 04:00 on Wednesday (21:30 GMT Tuesday). Myanmar, also known as Burma, is the world’s biggest source of jade, but its mines have seen numerous accidents. The landslide is believed to have been caused by an overflow of rubble discarded from lorries to the open-pit mines. The rubble creates large slopes that can be dangerous in an area denuded of trees, forcing those looking for fragments of the semi-precious stone to labour in hazardous conditions. Rescue teams consisting of about 200 people from Hpakant and the nearby town of Lone Khin joined search and recovery efforts at the site. Boats were used to search for the missing in a nearby lake.(BBC)…[+]