Troubled koalas find themselves inside the pages of the May edition of National Geographic magazine. Photographs by Joel Sartore.

The koala, cuddly symbol of a nation and one of the most beloved animals on the planet, is in crisis. Before Europeans settled Australia more than two centuries ago, about ten million koalas lived in a 1,500-mile-long swath of the east coast eucalyptus forests. Hunted for their luxurious fur, koalas were brought to the edge of extinction in the southern half of their range. In the northern half, Queensland, a million were killed in 1919 alone. After the last open season in Queensland was held in 1927, only tens of thousands remained.

Through the next half century their numbers slowly rebounded, in part due to efforts to relocate and recolonize them. Then urbanization began to take its toll. Habitat was lost, and diseases spread. With urbanization came the threat of dogs and highways. Since 1990, when about 430,000 koalas inhabited Australia, their numbers have dropped sharply. Because surveys are difficult, current population estimates vary widely—from a low of 44,000 by advocacy groups to a high of 300,000 by government agencies. More than a decade ago a survey of the Koala Coast, a 93,000-acre region in southeastern Queensland, estimated a koala population of 6,200; today there are believed to be around 2,000.

“Koalas are getting caught in fences and dying, being killed by dogs, struck by vehicles, even dying simply because a homeowner cut down several eucalyptus trees in his backyard,” says Deidré de Villiers, one of the chief koala researchers at the Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management. For 15 years de Villiers, 38, has been tracking koalas, monitoring populations, studying the reasons for their decline, and creating guidelines to make development more koala-friendly.

De Villiers insists that koalas and humans can coexist in urban environments “if developers get on board with koala-sensitive designs,” such as lower speed limits for streets, green corridors for koala movement, and, most especially, preserving every precious eucalyptus tree.

Full story and more photos on nationalgeographic.com and in the May edition available on newsstands and on the iPad.

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Cartagena investigation not over, Secret Service says

Labor had hoped to have Mr Slipper back in action before the May 8 Budget, but Mr Windsor’s move leaves the Government precariously placed with a one-vote majority for a period of likely a few months.

“I have been going through the material and I think it’s probably best that he not resume his seat until this stuff is sorted out,” Mr Windsor told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“That doesn’t mean I am pre-judging him, but I think it definitely is having an impact on how people view the Parliament and the office of Speaker… and I think until it’s sorted out it’s better that he stay away from the chair.”

It comes as fresh claims disputing Mr Slipper’s travel records emerged after a Melbourne chauffeur rejected records that claim he drove the MP 19 times.

Jamal Patto, who owns Babylon Investment Group, has threatened to take Mr Slipper to court after his company was linked to $1922 in Cabcharge payments between January 2010 and July 2011.

Two of the listed dates were for hire car travel in Sydney on January 18, 2010 – despite Mr Slipper allegedly being at his home in Queensland, raising further questions over the MP’s use of entitlements.

Another Melbourne driver also claimed Mr Slipper kept him waiting for about 30 minutes at wine outlet Get Wines Direct, owned by a friend of Mr Slipper. The driver, whose initials are NR, kept a detailed file of text messages sent by Mr Slipper.

Last night, Mr Slipper said: “All my Cabcharge usage is in order and within entitlement.”

Mr Patto, Babylon’s only director and sole driver, is disputing records showing his company was a regular provider of travel to Mr Slipper.

Slippery Pete gets to keep his salary

He claims to have only driven Mr Slipper twice – earlier this year when Kevin Rudd and Prime Minister Julia Gillard faced off in the leadership showdown.

“I was at the (Melbourne) airport and there was a big taxi line and he asked me if I could take him to parliament house,” Mr Patto said. “He later called me and asked if I could take him back to the airport. I only met this guy once. All those other dates that appear, I have no idea how.”

The Department of Finance said it would “consider” the new allegations.

“The Department of Finance has no relationship with Babylon Investment Group and is therefore unable to comment on whether the company received any payments,” a spokeswoman said.

Mr Slipper is also being sued by male adviser James Ashby, who claims he was a victim of sexual harassment. Mr Ashby is providing a statement to the Australian Federal Police.

In further developments, Australian Anglican Church head John Hepworth asked Mr Slipper, an ordained priest in the Traditional Anglican Communion, to stand down from his church duties until the sexual harassment and fraud inquiries were over.

“I’ve said to Peter that I think it is not appropriate to stand aside from the speakership and not stand aside from his church position,” Archbishop Hepworth said.

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By Richard Engel, Jim Miklaszewski and Robert Windrem, NBC News

North Korea could carry out an underground test of a nuclear weapon as early as Tuesday night as the North’s reclusive leadership dramatically tries to up the stakes with the U.S. and the West, U.S. officials told NBC News.

U.S. officials say North Korea may already have an arsenal between 12 and a “few dozen” far more advanced weapons, many more than generally believed.

The officials couldn’t be specific on a date for the test, but they told NBC News they were “100 percent” certain there would be a nuclear test within the next two weeks or “at any time.”

Tensions between North and South Korea increased this week when Pyongyang threatened to turn Seoul into “ashes.” While the North regularly issues such threats, the South seemed to be taking this round of threats more seriously by increasing its security.

U.S. and South Korean intelligence agencies have been monitoring test preparations at P’unggye-yok, the North Korean test site near the Chinese border, for the past several weeks. As new evidence of tunneling emerged, officials began to see Army Day celebrations scheduled for Wednesday (Tuesday night in the U.S.) as a possible date for the test.

It will be the first time the country’s 29-year-old leader, Kim Jong Un, will get a chance to address the Korean People’s Army as commander.

At the high end of the range, U.S. officials and other researchers said, North Korea may already have up to “a few dozen” nuclear weapons that could be fitted atop its vast fleet of ballistic missiles. Currently, North Korean missiles are limited to an intermediate range, capable of hitting cities in Japan or South Korea but not the United States. What the new test could reveal is an improvement in the type of weapons North Korea has.

For the past several years, the U.S. has been monitoring North Korean research into thermonuclear weapons, hydrogen bombs and bombs known as boosted fission weapons, in which plutonium and uranium are combined.

David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, or ISIS, a nonpartisan nuclear arms research group, said Tuesday that the tests may also be about ensuring the reliability of North Korea’s current weapons design.

“Once you get beyond a dozen, it makes sense to test type and reliability of your weapons,” he said.

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Albright said that his group’s estimate of North Korea’s weapons stockpile is a bit less than those provided by the U.S. officials but that ISIS, too, believes Pyongyang has “missile-deliverable weapons.”

North Korea successfully tested nuclear weapons in 2006 and 2009. In both cases, the first word came in statements from the North Korean Foreign Ministry hours before the tests were carried out. No such statement has been issued yet, but a U.S. official said it’s possible that this time North Korea wouldn’t follow the same protocol.

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Ten days ago, North Korea failed in its attempt to launch an observation satellite, a test the U.S. believed was a cover for test of intercontinental missile technology. In response, the U.S. canceled an agreement that would have provided 241,000 tons of nutritional aid, while the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to “strongly condemn” the failed launch and said it would tighten sanctions against Pyongyang’s government.

Albright added that North Korea might not want to test its weapons to their full yield in order to avoid another embarrassment, noting that the geology around the test site is fragile and that a large test could aggravate that issue.

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Prince Albert of Monaco has said he loves his wife, Princess Charlene, at her most basic. “To me, Charlene never looks more beautiful than when she is natural — without makeup and her hair pulled back,” he told Vogue last summer.

So we’re guessing her new haircut — which she debuted at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tennis tournament over the weekend — is a huge hit with her husband. The Princess stepped out at the event — where Rafael Nadal took the crown — showcasing a closely cropped new do. Though the Princess has never been one to wear her hair down, she’s often pulled her longer locks back into sleek ponytails and updos, as she did for her July wedding.

In the same 2011 Vogue interview, Wittstock told the magazine she was feeling more confident in her personal style. “I’m starting to play with fresher, bolder, and more daring looks,” she said. “I’ve reached the point where I know what I like and what works.” Tell us: What do you think of Princess Charlene’s haircut?

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By msnbc.com staff and news services

KABUL, Afghanistan — The U.S. and Afghanistan on Sunday reached on a long-delayed “strategic partnership” agreement that ensures Americans will provide military and financial support for at least a decade beyond 2014, the deadline for most foreign forces to withdraw.

The pact is key to the U.S. exit strategy in Afghanistan because it provides guidelines for any American forces who remain after the withdrawal deadline and for financial help to the impoverished country and its security forces.

For the Afghan government, it is a way to show its people that their U.S. allies are not walking away and leaving it exposed to the Taliban and even neighboring governments.

“The Iranians don’t like it because it shows the U.S. is going to be here for a long time,” a European diplomat in Kabul told the New York Times. “So that must be good. And neither will the Taliban; this is important because they cannot tell their soldiers now just to sit it out and wait for 2014.”

After 10 years of U.S.-led war, insurgents linked to the Taliban- and al-Qaida remain a threat and as recently as a week ago, launched a large-scale attack on the capital Kabul and three other cities.

The draft agreement was worked out and initialed by Afghan National Security Adviser Rangin Dadfar Spanta and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker. It must still be reviewed in both countries and signed afterward by the Afghan and American presidents.

“Our goal is an enduring partnership with Afghanistan that strengthens Afghan sovereignty, stability and prosperity and that contributes to our shared goal of defeating al-Qaida and its extremist affiliates,” said U.S. Embassy spokesman Gavin Sundwall. “We believe this agreement supports that goal.”

U.S. forces have already started pulling out of Afghanistan, and the majority of combat troops are scheduled to depart by the end of 2014. But the U.S. is expected to maintain a large presence in the country for years after, including special forces, military trainers and government-assistance programs.

The agreement is both an achievement and a relief for both sides, coming after months of turmoil that seemed to put the entire alliance in peril. It shows that the two governments are still committed to working together and capable of coming to some sort of understanding.

“The document finalized today provides a strong foundation for the security of Afghanistan, the region and the world and is a document for the development of the region,” Spanta said in a statement issued by President Hamid Karzai’s office.

Neither Afghan nor U.S. officials would comment on the details of the agreement. A Western official familiar with the negotiations said it outlines a strategic partnership for 10 years beyond 2014.

Reaching any agreement is likely to be seen as a success given more than a year and a half of negotiations during which the entire effort appeared in danger of falling apart multiple times.

Since the beginning of the year, U.S.-Afghan relations have been strained by an Internet video of American Marines urinating on the corpses of presumed Taliban fighters, by Quran burnings at a U.S. base that sparked days of deadly protests and by the alleged killing spree by a U.S. soldier in a southern Afghan village.

Tensions were further heightened by a spate of turncoat attacks by Afghan security forces on their international counterparts.

Obama to sign in next few weeks
White House National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said President Barack Obama expects to sign the document before a NATO summit in Chicago next month, meeting the deadline set by the two sides. Many had started to worry in recent weeks that Karzai and Obama would miss that goal as talked dragged on and Karzai continued to announce new demands for the document.

The late May summit will see Western leaders try to agree on future funding and support for the 352,000-strong Afghan police and army. That support is expected to amount to $4 billion a year, with the Afghan government contributing around $500 million a year of that.

Much of the disagreement was about how to handle activities that the Afghan government saw as threatening its sovereignty, in particular, night raids and the detention of Afghan citizens by international forces. Those two major issues were resolved earlier this year in separate memorandums of understanding.

But closed-door talks continued for weeks after those side-deals were signed. And then as recently as last week, Karzai said that he wanted the agreement to include a dollar figure for funding for the Afghan security forces — a demand that would be hard for the Americans to sign off on given the need for congressional approval for funding. U.S. officials have said previously that they expected the document to address economic and development support for Afghanistan more generally.

The final document is likely to be short on specifics. U.S. officials involved in the negotiations have said previously that the strategic partnership will provide a framework for future relations, but that details of how U.S. forces operate in the country will come in a later agreement.

Karzai recently said he wanted the United States to contribute $2 billion a year under the U.S.-Afghan SPA, but an Afghan government source said on condition of anonymity that the deal negotiated by Crocker and Spanta contained no firm numbers.

The initialing ceremony means that the text of the document is now locked in. But the countries will have to go through their own internal review processes, Sundwall said.

“For the United States, that will mean interagency review, consultation with Congress as appropriate and final review by the president,” Sundwall said.

In Afghanistan, the agreement will have to be approved by parliament. The Afghan foreign minister will brief Afghan lawmakers about the document Monday, the Afghan president’s statement said.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Washington (CNN) — More Secret Service resignations are expected soon in the wake of an alleged prostitution scandal in Colombia, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee told CNN.

Three Secret Service members already are leaving the agency, but the fallout continued Thursday with congressional demands for more details about what happened in Cartagena before last week’s Summit of the Americas.

The special security agency that protects the president and other top officials has linked 11 of its members with the controversy, including the three who are leaving.

Two government sources familiar with the investigation said none of the remaining eight cases are likely to be resolved Thursday. While not ruling out one or more of agents could resign, the sources said they would be surprised if that occurred Thursday.

Earlier Thursday, House homeland security chairman Rep. Peter King had said, “It does appear that you will have more (Secret Service) employees leaving either today or tomorrow.”

Secret Service pushing out 3 members amid Colombia scandal