France’s President Emmanuel Macron has announced that its COVID-19 lockdown will begin to ease this weekend so that shops, theatres and cinemas will reopen by Christmas and people will be able to spend the holiday with their families.

In his address, Mr Macron acknowledged that the worst of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic was over, but that restaurants, cafes and bars would have to remain closed until January 20 to avoid a potential third wave.

The French Government is keen to stress to citizens that they should only expect a gradual reopening.

Social worker and activist Jolovan Wham appeared at a Singapore court on Monday for standing alone outside a police station holding a placard with a hand-drawn smiley face in March.

He was showing support to young climate change activists charged for similar one-man protests. 

Residents are only allowed to participate in public assemblies with police permission at ‘Speakers Corner’, a small public park in the city. 

Singapore has strict laws on public assembly and tightly controls the media and freedom of speech and expression.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is pushing for a global coronavirus tracking system using QR codes.

In the system, each person’s QR code would store their travel and health history, and issue users with a colour code based on their level of potential exposure. 

President Jinping believes both the QR code system and a uniform set of policies will help fast track international travel and business during the pandemic.

The Victorian government announced a $5 million two-year trial to provide paid sick leave and carer's pay for casual workers.

Premier Daniel Andrews says the Victorian government will provide funds to set up the Secure Work Pilot Scheme. 

It will begin in late 2021 or early 2022 and provide up to five days of paid sick leave and carer's pay at the national minimum wage for casual or insecure workers in sectors with high rates of casual employment.

Aged care staff, cleaners, hospitality workers, security guards, and supermarket workers may be eligible.

New South Wales premier Gladys Berejikian admitted she failed to self isolate while waiting for her COVID-19 test result.

Berejiklian took a test after feeling a sore throat and waited in her office for two hours where she received confirmation she had tested negative.

While the Premier did break NSW health guidelines, she said an ordinary citizen wouldn't have taken a test with her limited symptoms, and that it was just extreme precaution.

A 70-year-old Sunshine Coast man was charged with stalking and threatening to murder Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

The Queensland Police Service's Security Investigation Team says letters containing direct threats were sent to Ms Palaszczuk and Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young between September 15 and 22. 

The man was granted bail on Monday and is scheduled to appear in court again in January.

Queensland's border will open to Greater Sydney on December 1 after meeting the 28-day rule.

The rule requires states to go 28 days without a COVID case with an unknown source. 

Victoria’s border will also be opened on December 1 if the state can meet this same threshold tomorrow.