A kayaker on Monday repelled the attack of an 8-foot great white shark along the coast of one of Australia's popular beaches using her paddle and escaped to safety with only a minor bite wound in the wrist. Linda Whitehurst, 52, was paddling her kayak near the eastern coast of Byron Bay when the shark lunged at her and knocked her off her craft. The shark reportedly bit a portion of the kayak.

A 24-year-old Italian who tried to commit suicide by swallowing a large amount of poison is being kept alive in Australia by being fed vodka through a drip. Doctors in Queensland said they set up the drip after running out of medicinal alcohol which is used as an antidote to the poison. "The patient was drip-fed about three standard drinks an hour for three days in the intensive care unit," Dr. Todd Fraser said. "Fortunately for him he was in a medically induced coma for a good portion of that. "

Doctors in Australia revealed Wednesday they saved an Italian tourist's life by drip-feeding him steady doses of vodka over three days. The patient was given three standard drinks an hour over the period while he was in intensive care unit. The 24-year old unidentified man was brought to Mackay Base Hospital in north Queensland two months ago after a failed suicide attempt. He had swallowed huge quantities of ethylene glycol, a poison commonly found in anti-freeze.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and their Irish counterparts are investigating the source of illegal drugs smuggled inside an Action Man figure and a smiling Mr Potato Head toy after the Australian Customs officers say they found banned ecstasy tablets and cocaine inside the figurines placed in a package that arrived at the Sydney International Mail Centre from Ireland, in late July. The Australian Customs officers say they found the MDMA tablets intended for a home in western Sydney, in a small taped bag inside the toy after an X-ray examination revealed suspicious substances.

Kraft Foods Philippines said imports of this one-of-a-kind triangular Swiss chocolate increased at least 12 percent in the last quarter of the year. The Philippines is the third largest market for Toblerone in the Asia Pacific Region, next only to Australia and China.