Vittorio Hernandez

Last week's haul by the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources of a record 21-foot crocodile spurred many residents of Agusan del Sur Province to become Crocodile Dundees.

While the global financial sector was talking about the threat of another banking crisis across Europe, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) released on Tuesday a discussion paper that said the regulator would put in place Basel III capital requirements two years ahead of the 2015 deadline.

Australian retailer Harvey Norman said on Tuesday that his business continued to survive despite the competition from offshore portals that do not charge Australia's goods and services tax and import duties on items costing less than $1,000.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key pledged on Wednesday some $250 million to boost education opportunities for poor Pacific Island children, the Herald Sun has reported.

A teenage male skateboarder ended up in hospital on Tuesday after he held on the back of the family car driven by his mother, lost his grip when the vehicle made a right turn and fell onto the road, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) announced on Tuesday the capture of a 21-foot (6.4-metre) crocodile in the remote village of Bunawan, Agusan del Sur Province. The reptile weighed 2,370 pounds (1,075 kilogrammes) and is estimated to be over 50 years old, AFP reported.

The Reserve Bank of Australia retained the 4.75 percent interest on Tuesday. The bank's Monetary Board cited the volatility which hounds the world financial markets as the reason why it kept the rates which had been unchanged since November 2010.

Researchers from the Victoria Department of Primary Industries have studied the DNA of five modern Tammar wallaby genes and reproduced a 60-million-year-old gene. The scientists will use the reproduced gene to develop a compound they plan to use to fight superbugs in hospitals.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority is recommending in a discussion paper that Australian banks must meet the Basel minimum capital requirements by January 2013, two year early.

National Australia Bank (NAB) is in merger discussions with NBNK, a UK group that plans to bid for Lloyds Banking Group's 632 branches.

Europe is apparently moving closer to a fiscal union to address the lack of central coordination of the eurozone's debt and spending policies. That lack has been blamed for the inability of zone authorities to find a solution to the debt crisis even if they had been attempting to solve it the past 18 months,.

An online survey released Monday found that 46 percent of Australians favor the government planned 30 per cent minerals resource rent tax (MMRT). The survey by Essential Research said 34 per cent are against the MMRT, reported the Herald Sun.

Portuguese authorities arrested two Australian men over attempts to smuggle six pieces of rhinoceros horns valued at $538,000.

Australia's retail sector continues to suffer from the economic downturn, with high-end clothing store Satch as the latest victim. Satch Clothing was placed under administration on Thursday.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's retained on Monday the AA+ credit rating of Queensland. The basis of keeping the stable rating was the state's healthy and diversified economy and very good financial management.

For the year 2010/11, Australia's mining industry is expected to pay the federal and state governments a total of $23.4 billion in taxes and royalties.

Smaller online stores in Australia are complaining of bullying tactics adopted by retailers, according to online giant eBay which submitted an inquiry with the Productivity Commission (PC).

Earthquake experts from different parts of the world gathered at the Southern California Earthquake Center to study better ways to forecast tremors. Despite the presentation of several theories on how to predict temblors, the seismologists agreed that more study is needed.

About 165 million Europeans or 38 per cent of the continent's population are suffering from mental ailments, according to a new study released by the Dresden University in Germany.

Analysts forecast on Monday that the Reserve Bank of Australia will not increase interest rates for the rest of 2011. They based their prediction on reports that inflation rate dropped 0.1 per cent in August.

Passengers of Jetstar who flew with a dead Kiwi male on board the trip from Singapore to Auckland were offered by the air carrier $100 as compensation. The offer was in the form of travel vouchers.

Two female athletes are battling for their life after they suffered burns of up to 80 per cent on their bodies when they were trapped in a bushfire near El Questro station. They were among the participants to the 100-kilometre Kimberley Ultramarathon held on Friday afternoon.