A GoFundMe for bushfire-affected koalas has become the second-largest campaign on the crowd-funding platform in Australia, after receiving more than $1 million in donations.

Port Macquarie Koala Hospital after an expected 350 koalas perished in the devastating bushfires that hit New South Wales and Queensland.

The goal was to raise $25,000 for the rescue and rehabilitation of koalas, but that number has since been dwarfed by Australians' generosity.

South-east Queensland’s air quality has been at levels dangerous to health for nearly a fortnight as a result of smoke from bushfires burning across the region.

The ongoing poor air quality prompted the nation’s peak body for asthma awareness to issue a warning to sufferers to be on the alert for signs they were getting into trouble after the extended period of bad air.

NSW has succumbed to the highest levels of air pollution from smoke ever recorded, as Sydneysiders wake to air quality conditions worse than Shenzhen, China.

Air quality in the harbour city was ranked ninth poorest in the world on Friday when compared with other cities, with the visibility index at every suburban monitoring station reaching "hazardous" levels

The Environment, Energy and Science unit of the NSW government said the past two months "have been the dustiest on record".

Morphett Vale CFS volunteers were among dozens who headed to Yorkes to help fight the massive bushfire - after a full day at their own station.

“They came from all over to help save our little town,” said Julie “Nuggett” Tatchell as she crafts sandwiches for the scores of exhausted Country Fire Service volunteers.

The 60-year-old’s dear little town, Edithburgh, was saved thanks to the tireless efforts of firefighters, who contained the blaze on Yorke Peninsul.

A Japanese hotel has found a strange use for its unpopular room 8, which guests can book for about a dollar — if they agree to be filmed the whole time.

The hotel, which is dubbed the One Dollar Hotel, has a YouTube channel set up specifically to broadcast the goings-on in the room.

Owner Tetsuya Inoue, 27, said he had been looking for a “new business model” to reinvigorate the “very old” hotel, which he inherited from his grandmother.

Two pro-democracy protesters have been arrested as they emerged from a manhole on a Hong Kong road outside a besieged university, in a thwarted escape bid from inside the campus.

The group was arrested for offences including "taking part in a riot" and "assisting offenders," chief superintendent Ricky Ho said.

Dozens of protesters are believed to still be inside the university.

A father and son helped rescue a rare whale from shallow water near the Ted Smout Bridge, off Clontarf.

The father, Oli Forsey, said he originally thought the 4.5 meter long whale was a Minke whale, however after releasing photographs on social media many believe it may be a rare Brydes whale.

Mr Forsey said, “it was unfortunate to see it stuck like that but it was an amazing experience seeing it lift its eye to look up at us."

Major funding will be used to fast track upgrades to the congested roads in the Moreton Bay region.

Almost $40 million will be accelerated into the forward estimates to secure the delivery of the Linkfield Road Overpass and a further $113.6 million for the Pine River to Caloundra Corridor project.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, “we want these road projects delivered as quickly as possible so Queenslanders can benefit from better infrastructure, but importantly we want to boost the economy now.”

University of New South Wales researchers were presented with a JEC Asia Innovation Award for their work on a “shape adaptive marine propeller” promising more efficient propellers for marine applications.

A ceremony was held last week in Seoul whereby UNSW Engineering Professor Gangadhara Prusty accepted the award on behalf of the Australian Research Council.