Port Macquarie, Australia  - Among the many images from the bush fires that recently swept through the Australian state of Victoria was one of a koala bear being rescued by a fireman. Sam, as the bear became known, had pink-coloured bandages on its paws and was handed over to a carer.

Sam was a lucky little fellow as koalas are not only victims of bush fires, but are killed or injured in collisions with cars on an almost daily basis.

Australia has its own clinic dedicated to caring for sick and injured koala bears in Port Macquarie in New South Wales. Since it opened, it has become a major tourist attraction in the area.

Sydney  - Sweden's Therese Alshammar broke her own world record Tuesday in the 50-metre butterfly at the Australian swimming championships in Sydney.

Alshammar, 31, clocked 25.44 seconds - 0.02 seconds faster than the world record she set in Barcelona in 2007.

"I'm a bit shocked myself, and I'm very happy," Alshammar said. "I've had a great couple of months in Australia."

She has been in Sydney training with local rival Libby Trickett for the past two months.

Sydney - The Australian Navy was called in Monday to look for 31 containers that fell overboard when the Pacific Adventurer fell victim to a cyclonic storm off Brisbane last week.

As well as losing half its cargo of ammonium nitrate, the Hong Kong-owned ship spilled oil over 60 kilometres of beaches in Wednesday's accident.

Authorities have impounded the 180-metre vessel in Brisbane harbour and begun legal proceedings against the captain and the ship's owner, Swire Shipping Ltd.

The Queensland state government is demanding compensation for cleaning up the oil spill and for any loss of tourism earnings through hotel room cancellations.

Melbourne, March 16 : A group of nearly 50 nude bicycle riders trailed Melbourne's streets to participate in the yearly World''s Naked Bike Ride.

Organiser Heidi Hill revealed that the cyclists completed their stretch while being accompanied by police, who followed them from Fitzroy to State Parliament and back.

The hour-long ride was completed without trouble and no arrests were made, unlike last year that saw male cyclists being told to cover up "because men have exposed genitalia".

"We had a couple of people fall off in the wet on the tram tracks, but no one was injured. Police were helpful but unobtrusive. They let everyone ride naked," News. com. au quoted Hill as telling the Melbourne Leader.

Melbourne, Mar 16 : Swimming sensation Stephanie Rice has revealed that she turned to Ian Thorpe for advice on how to deal with her rapid rise to stardom.

Rice won millions of hearts following her triumph at last year''s Beijing Games but such was the scrutiny on the young Queenslander that every aspect of her life post-Olympics became news from partying to constant speculation about boyfriends.

Melbourne, Mar 16 : Facials and waxing are no longer limited to women, for men are also indulging in the treatments with gusto.

The trend for men to experiment with creams and lotions has even given rise to a new word: Manscaping.

Cleansers and moisturisers are now as important for men as a razor and shaving cream.

Construction project manager Russell Thompson goes for facials and massages every four to six weeks.

"It has paid off," the Daily Telegraph quoted him as saying.