The Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global has sold its stakes in WTK Holdings Bhd and Ta Ann Holdings Bhd due to the severe environmental damage contributed by their logging operations in Borneo. Sources: Free Malaysia Today, Mongabay.com

US timber companies have gone to court to lift the logging ban on national forests due to the government shutdown, arguing the government has no authority under timber sale contracts to force loggers to stop working. Sources: AP News, Bloomberg Business News

Howarth Timber & Building Supplies is continuing to expand and invest in its business by purchasing the assets and trade of Northern Timber. Source: Builders’ Merchants News

A logging community in Victoria's east Gippsland is struggling to deal with a downturn in the timber industry. Source: ABC Rural

The koala is a nocturnal tree-hugger that sleeps a lot and is fussy about which eucalyptus leaves to eat and the latest research suggests efforts to save koalas from extinction by protecting their habitat may be barking up the wrong tree. Source: ABC News

Public health researchers have identified which carcinogens are likely to contribute most to occupational cancer in New Zealand workplaces. Source: Health Canal

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has deregistered five former timber managed investment schemes (MIS) that had been managed by Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers (KPT). Source: Money Management

An adviser on the $670 million sale of Forestry SA harvesting rights was given an unfair advantage to help secure a multi-million dollar job, a report to Parliament has found. Source: The Australian