Australia on Sunday pledged a major cash injection to restore and protect the Great Barrier Reef in what it said would be a game-changer for the embattled natural wonder. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said more than A$500 million (£275 million) will go towards improving water quality, tackling predators, and expanding restoration efforts. The World Heritage-listed site, which attracts millions of tourists, is reeling from significant bouts of coral bleaching due to warming sea temperatures linked to climate change. The reef is also under threat from the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish, which has proliferated due to pollution and agricultural runoff. Mr Turnbull said it was the "largest ever single investment - to protect the reef, secure its viability and the 64,000 jobs that rely on the reef." "We want to ensure the reef's future for the benefit of all Australians, particularly those whose livelihood depends on the reef," he added. The reef is a critical national asset, contributing A$6.4 billion (£3.5 billion) a year to the Australian economy. A mass bleaching event of coral in the Great Barrier Reef happened during an extended heatwave in 2016 Credit: GREG TORDA/AFP/Getty Images Canberra has previously committed more than Aus$2 billion to protect the site over the next decade, but has been criticised for backing a huge coal project by Indian mining giant Adani nearby. With its heavy use of coal-fired power and relatively small population, Australia is considered one of the world's worst per-capita greenhouse gas polluters. Canberra insists it is taking strong action to address the global threat of climate change, having set an ambitious target to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. Coral reefs | The main dangers Mr Turnbull said part of the money will be used to mitigate the impacts of climate change, but gave no details. The bulk of the new funding - just over A$200 million - was earmarked to improve water quality by changing farming practices and adopting new technologies and land management. "The money will go towards improving water quality, working with farmers to prevent sediment, nitrogen and pesticide runoff into the reef," said Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg. "It will ensure that we tackle the crown-of-thorns... and use the best available science to ensure our coral is resilient to heat and light stress."

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday said the temporary ban on Filipinos going to work in Kuwait is now permanent, intensifying a diplomatic standoff over the treatment of migrant workers in the Gulf nation. Mr Duterte in February imposed a prohibition on workers heading to Kuwait following the murder of a Filipina maid whose body was found stuffed in a freezer in the Gulf state. The crisis deepened after Kuwaiti authorities last week ordered Manila's envoy to leave the country over videos of Philippine embassy staff helping workers in Kuwait flee allegedly abusive employers. The two nations had been negotiating a labour deal that Philippine officials said could result in the lifting of the ban but the recent escalation in tensions has put an agreement in doubt. "The ban stays permanently. There will be no more recruitment for especially domestic helpers. No more," Mr Duterte told reporters in the southern city of Davao. There was no immediate response from Kuwait, where around 262,000 Filipinos are employed - nearly 60 percent of them as domestic workers, according to the Philippines' foreign department. Last week the Philippines apologised over the rescue videos but Kuwaiti officials announced they were expelling Manila's ambassador and recalling their own envoy from the Southeast Asian nation. In quotes | Rodrigo Duterte, President of the Philippines Kuwait also detained four Filipinos hired by the Philippine embassy and issued arrest warrants against three diplomatic personnel, Manila said. Mr Duterte on Sunday described the treatment of workers in Kuwait as a "calamity". He said he would bring home Filipina maids who suffered abuse as he appealed to workers who wanted to stay in the oil-rich state. "I would like to address to their patriotism: come home. No matter how poor we are, we will survive. The economy is doing good and we are short of our workers," he said. About 10 million Filipinos work abroad, seeking high-paying jobs they are unable to find at home, and their remittances are a major pillar of the Philippine economy. The Philippine government has for decades hailed overseas workers as modern heroes but advocacy groups have highlighted the social cost of migration, tearing families apart and making Filipinos vulnerable to abuse. Mr Duterte lashed out at Kuwait in February, alleging Arab employers routinely rape Filipina workers, force them to work 21 hours a day and feed them scraps. However after the latest row, Mr Duterte used a conciliatory tone as he addressed the "diplomatic ruckus" on Saturday. "Apparently it seems as if they have anger against Filipinos ... I do not want to send (workers) because apparently you do not like Filipinos," he said in a speech before Filipinos in Singapore. "Just do not hurt them. I plead that they'd be given a treatment deserving of a human being," he said in the same event.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The top-tier leadership group of the PLO— average age 70 — is up for election for the first time in over two decades, when hundreds of delegates attend a West Bank convention this week.

Northrop Grumman is only bidding on projects that the company believes will generate the best financial returns on its investments. Continuing a recent trend amongst major defense companies, Northrop Grumman is only bidding on projects that the company believes will generate the best financial returns on its investments. The company even ruled out bidding on certain programs where it is the incumbent, such as a new replacement electro-optical distributed aperture system (DAS)—the contract for which ended up going to Raytheon.

Michelle Wolf started as she meant to go on. “Good evening, here we are at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” she greeted guests at Saturday’s prestigious media dinner in Washington. Former press secretary Sean Spicer took to Twitter to call the performance a “disgrace”.