Australia

Shark attack in Western Australia kills man

The attack happened near Cable Beach in the north of the state. The man was pulled from the water but was later pronounced dead.

"Police can confirm that tragically the man has died," Western Australia police said in a statement.

The beach has been closed and the public is being urged to avoid local waters. It is the eighth fatal shark attack in Australian waters this year.

A search for the shark is under way, but its species is not yet known.

Australian police target online paedophile network with links in New Zealand

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said the operation was one of Australia's most significant efforts targeting child exploitation.

Investigators identified links through the online forums to alleged child sex offenders residing in Europe, Asia, United States and Canada, and New Zealand, with 146 international referrals made as a result of this investigation, AFP said.

Victoria records 10th day in a row with no new cases

There are now just four active cases in Victoria.

Two of those are 'mystery' cases with an unknown source of infection.

Health authorities carried out 10,653 Covid-19 tests in the past 24 hours.

Premier Daniel Andrews yesterday lifted restrictions across a number of industries, as well as easing some of the limits on social gatherings in Melbourne.

Gyms, cinemas and libraries have been cleared to reopen, but with strict limits on the number of patrons.

'World's longest recorded sea creature' among new finds

Several new species have already been discovered during the project, Institute spokesperson Carlie Wiener said, as well as the "world's longest recorded sea creature" - a 45-metre long siphonophore found at Ningaloo canyon, off Western Australia.

A siphonophore is a type of colonial organism; it's a string-like arrangement of many individual animals - zooids - that live connected together in a colony, and carry out different functions that allow the collective to digest food, float, reproduce and move about.

Victoria records no new coronavirus cases and no deaths

Melbourne's 14-day rolling average for new cases has now fallen to 3.6, and there are seven "mystery" cases.

In regional Victoria the average remains at 0.2.

It is the first day since June 9 that no new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Victoria.

Victoria’s commander of testing and community engagement, Jeroen Weimar, said 2,100 tests had been processed from the northern suburbs from yesterday and hundreds more would go through laboratories today.

Australia win ODI opener

Australia recovered from a shaky start to score 294 for nine in their 50 overs and while Sam Billings (118) struck an impressive century, the hosts were always behind the game.

England put the visitors in and had them reeling on 123 for five but Marsh (73) Maxwell (77) helped Australia rebuild on their way to a formidable total.

After slumping to 57-4 in reply and falling way behind the required run rate it looked bleak for England but Jonny Bairstow and Billings shared a century stand for the fifth wicket to edge Eoin Morgan's side back into contention.

Snakes crash through roof of house in Australia

David Tate found one snake in his bedroom and another in the living room on Monday. They weighed 22kg (3.4 stone) between them.

Snake catcher Steven Brown said they were of "exceptional size".

It's thought the two male snakes could have been fighting over a female snake which has not yet been located.

The carpet pythons measured 2.8m (9.1 feet) and 2.5m long.

Mr Tate said he had previously seen snakes basking in the sun on his roof.

"When I came back...there was a large slab [of ceiling] on the kitchen table," he told The Courier-Mail.

Australia's national Covid-19 death toll hits 600

Victoria has reported another 18 deaths in the past 24 hours, while New South Wales and Queensland are dealing with new cases.

Chief Nursing Officer Alison McMillan said while it was heartening to see daily cases in Victoria drop to below 100 for the first time in nearly two months, it was too early to celebrate.

"Many of us across the eastern seaboard particularly are seeing much nicer weather, we're seeing perhaps the first signs of spring," she said.

"So I need to ask everyone to remember that now is not the time to be complacent as we see the sun come out.

Victoria COVID cases up by 148, and eight deaths

The latest fatalities take the state's Covid-19 death toll to 438.

Yesterday's total of 116 new cases was the state's lowest in more than seven weeks .

It followed 209 new cases on Sunday and 182 on Saturday.

Premier Daniel Andrews is expected to give his regular daily update with details about the new cases later today.

Yesterday, he announced his Government would seek to change laws so that Victoria's state of emergency could be extended by another 12 months.

 

     

Coronavirus: Australia encouraged by drop in new COVID-19 cases

Official data on Thursday showed there were 292 new infections in the past 24 hours, down from 428 on Wednesday.

It is the lowest daily total since 20 July. Victoria had by far the most infections - 278. Its capital Melbourne began its shutdown on 3 August.

Health Minister Greg Hunt voiced cautious optimism about the new data.

"We now believe, cautiously, that we have early signs of the flattening of the curve," he said.