Australia will prioritise antimony, gallium and rare earth elements as part of its A$1.2 billion ($802 million) strategic reserve, it said on Monday, as its Treasurer Jim Chalmers prepares to join a G7 meeting to discuss critical minerals.

Australia’s greater glider is facing rapid population decline due to forest loss, bushfires and climate change, prompting scientists to call for stronger protection of vital eucalyptus habitats.

The country is in the midst of a record-breaking heat wave, with temperatures well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Multiple bush fires were burning in the state of Victoria.

Firefighters warned millions of Australians of "catastrophic" bushfire dangers on Thursday as they battled multiple blazes stoked by a heatwave blanketing the country.Firefighters are already trying to contain blazes dotted across the states of Victoria and New South Wales.

About 550,000 accounts were blocked by Meta during the first days of Australia's landmark social media ban for kids. In December, a new law began requiring that the world's most popular social media sites - including Instagram and Facebook - stop Australians aged under 16 from having accounts on their platforms.

Australia will prioritise antimony, gallium and rare earth elements as part of its A$1.2 billion ($802 ​million) strategic reserve, it said on Monday, as its ‌Treasurer Jim Chalmers prepares to join a G7 meeting to discuss critical minerals.

Australian household spending growth was solid for a second month in November as consumers splashed out on Black Friday sales, concerts and sporting fixtures, data showed on Monday, another sign the economy was gathering steam.

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a royal commission into antisemitism, weeks after a deadly attack at a Jewish holiday event in Bondi Beach.

Australia has moved India, along with Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan, to its highest student visa risk category. The decision is part of Australia’s effort to address what it calls “emerging integrity risks” in its international education system.

Australian-British author Kathy Lette, who is also boycotting the event, wrote on social media the decision to bar Abdel-Fattah “sends a divisive and plainly discriminatory message that platforming Australian Palestinians is ‘culturally insensitive'”.