A lucky echidna puggle, or baby spiny anteater, that survived an attack by birds and fell from a tree is taking its first steps as zoo keepers in Australia hand-feed the young mammal.

Australian officials were evacuating workers from a Kuwaiti-flagged livestock ship docked off the country's west coast on Tuesday after at least half the 52 crew tested positive for Covid-19.

Australia is in talks with Japan, South Korea, Singapore and South Pacific nations on reopening travel as coronavirus infections ease, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday.

Australia reported its second straight day without any Covid-19 deaths on Friday, the longest stretch without any fatalities from the virus in three months.

Australia’s city of Melbourne, its hotspot in the second wave of coronavirus infections, is on track to return to near normal by Christmas, strengthening hopes for major summer sporting events to go ahead amid a general economic revival.

A lone whale was rescued from among hundreds of carcasses Sunday, taking to 110 the number of creatures that survived a mass stranding in southern Australia.

TikTok has told an Australian government committee that it will allow government officials to review its algorithm and test its source code, as it seeks to overcome distrust surrounding the video-streaming app operator's China ownership.

After days wading through chilly waters, surrounded by the pained cries of hundreds of stranded whales on Australia's south coast, rescuers faced the grim task Friday of disposing of the carcasses.

Rescuers had managed to free around 70 of the long-finned pilot whales beached off the country’s remote southern coast by Thursday

Australia said today it would increase the number of citizens allowed to return home each week to 6,000 as it manages to get new Covid-19 infections under control.

Global coronavirus cases are expected to pass 30 million today, according to a Reuters tally, with the pandemic showing no signs of slowing.

Authorities in Melbourne arrested more than 70 people for flouting stay-at-home orders to protest against lockdown restrictions today, with some demonstrators clashing with riot police at a market in the city.