Iran has vowed revenge after Israel struck two nuclear sites in the country overnight.

Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Israel had struck two steel factories, a power plant and civilian nuclear sites.

"Israel claims it acted in coordination with the US," he wrote on X.

READ MORE: Iran looking to turn Strait of Hormuz into massive toll booth

"Iran will exact HEAVY price for Israeli crimes."

Araghchi said the attacks contradicted US President Donald Trump's claims of an extended deadline for diplomacy.

Israel's Defence Forces announced they had targeted a heavy water plant in central Iran.

They said the plant was a "key plutonium production site for nuclear weapons".

"The IDF will not allow the Iranian regime to continue advancing its nuclear weapons program, which poses an existential threat to Israel and the entire world," the IDF said in a statement.

Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation said there were no casualties or radiation leaks as a result of the attack.

READ MORE: Iranian ally could cause chaos if drawn into the war

International human rights organisations have condemned attacks on nuclear facilities this week.

Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) Melissa Parke said it was "playing roulette with civilian lives".

"Nuclear risks are not theoretical — they are immediate and human," she said.

"The US, Israel and Iran must stop all military action and return to the diplomatic path."

Before working with ICAN, Parke was a Labor MP representing the WA seat of Fremantle.

ICAN said a direct hit on a nuclear facility would not cause an atomic weapon-like explosion.

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But a release of radiation could have profound long-term impacts on the region.

Overnight Iran attacked targets in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, Iran has agreed to allow humanitarian aid and food through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran is effectively blockading the narrow body of water, preventing shipping from going in or out of the Persian Gulf.

But today's decision would allow agricultural shipments into the region.

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People across NSW are being urged to stay out of the water this weekend with a one-in-50-year event bringing powerful winds, dangerous surf, and the risk of coastal erosion across the state's coastline.

Last night, the coastal low stirred up 100km/h winds and an 11-metre swell, with a coastal hazard warning continuing to stretch down from Forster to past Eden.

The hazardous surf warning is set to remain in place for the rest of the day, bringing dangerous surf forecasts, cold temperatures and powerful winds.

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"Our concern is that those conditions that we are predicting may exceed our ability to safely respond and affect a rescue," Brent Manieri from Surf Lifesaving NSW said.

The Bureau of Meteorology said the low is expected to move slowly east into the Tasman Sea and weaken during Saturday evening.

"Wind gusts can be 40 per cent stronger than the forecast, and even stronger in squalls and thunderstorms," the bureau said.

"Maximum waves can be twice the forecast height."

Marine Rescue NSW Acting Superintendent Commander Dan Duemmer described the coast as a "no-go zone" this weekend.

While the conditions are expected to ease, close to 100 flights were cancelled to and from Sydney Airport last night.

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The ferry between Manly and Circular Quay has also been cancelled until at least Sunday morning due to rough conditions.

The system also impacted travel in Melbourne, with more than 40 flights cancelled last night.

All flights at the airport have resumed this morning.

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Howard Williams was a fit and active 65-year-old when he and his wife Lorraine set off on what was supposed to be a relaxing holiday cruise in Japan.

Howard could never have predicted that a tiny slip would cause a life-altering accident, leaving him a quadriplegic.

In the harrowing months after the accident, which happened in May last year, another small but crucial detail would end up blindsiding the Melbourne father.

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Because the accident happened just 16 days after his 65th birthday, it meant Howard isn't eligible for help under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), leaving the couple missing out on extra $220,000 a year needed to meet his basic support needs.

Instead of the specialist support the NDIS offers, Howard said he was relegated to an aged care system designed for age-related frailty, not the complex, 24-hour medical requirements of a spinal cord injury.

The moment life changed

Howard's accident occurred in the port city of Hakodate, in northern Japan.

It was the couple's final day in the country – their cruise ship was due to leave for Alaska in a matter of hours – and the pair were sightseeing.

Walking along the Shichizai Bridge, which was narrow and crowded with both cars and pedestrians, Howard bumped into one of their travelling companions.

"I stopped to talk to my friend, and I just lost my balance," Howard said. 

"I sort of stepped back, and unfortunately, the railing on the bridge was only 53 centimetres high, so it didn't really even go up to my knees." 

Howard fell three metres onto concrete, fracturing his C1, C4, and C5 vertebrae.

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"When I landed, my limbs started tingling. I couldn't move. I couldn't raise my arms, so I knew something serious had happened," Howard said.

What followed the accident was a blur of sirens and frantic confusion. 

"It was very traumatic," Lorraine said of being suddenly thrown into the hospital system in Japan.

"And very difficult with the language barrier. It was quite scary."

After having initial surgery in Japan, Howard was medically evacuated to Melbourne.

He then spent months in specialist rehab at The Royal Talbot as the reality of his "new life" set in – as did the reality of Australia's age threshold for disability support.

Howard was assessed and found to require 24-hour care, as he is unable to feed, dress, or shower himself without assistance.

Sixteen days too late

A social worker at The Royal Talbot broke the news that Howard had "aged out" of NDIS eligibility two weeks before his accident.

"That was really a devastating shock to know that Howard wouldn't get the support that he needed," Lorraine said.

Howard went back to living at home a few weeks ago, for the first time since his accident.

He is eligible for the highest level of funding under the federal government's new Support at Home program, at $73,000.

While that amount may sound significant, Howard said the reality of living with quadriplegia meant it fell far short of meeting his bare minimum needs.

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Howard currently has two carers coming for two hours in the morning and another hour in the evening. Outside of those times, Lorraine, 70, is Howard's sole carer.

She wakes at 3.00 AM every day to turn Howard to prevent pressure sores and acts as a second carer everyday and on weekends to avoid the "prohibitive" cost of caring staff.

"I get angry that the government's done this," Lorraine said. 

"The burden has been placed on me by the government because they are not providing the amount of support he needs. It's not right that a birth date determines the care you get."

The total cost of Howard's true needs sits at roughly $290,000 a year – a figure the couple simply cannot sustain.

Howard, who worked and paid taxes for over 40 years, describes the situation as blatant "age discrimination".

The situation has led to Lorraine starting a parliamentary petition last month calling on the government to remove the NDIS aged care limit for people with severe disabilities, which collected 4500 signatures.

"If Howard had the accident when he was 64 and 10 months, everything would be totally different," Lorraine said. 

"He would have the support he needs to live as normal a life as possible. Instead, we are left navigating a system that wasn't designed for us."

Growing calls for reform

The age limit for NDIS eligibility was one of the topics raised in The Aged Care Royal Commission, which handed down its findings in 2021.

One of the final report's recommendations was that every person receiving aged care who is living with a disability should receive supports equivalent to those available under the NDIS.

The Morrison Government said at the time it would further consider the recommendation as the Support At Home program was being developed.

A government spokesperson said the NDIS and Support At Home were "two distinct and separate programs underpinned by different legislation, rules and funding considerations".

"The NDIS supports eligible people who apply before age 65, while older Australians are supported through the aged care system," the spokesperson said.

"Support at Home provides aged care services based on the assessed ageing-related needs of the individual, regardless of their location, background and life experiences. This may include individuals who are living with disability."

Spinal Life Australia CEO Mark Townend says the Williams' story was a tragic example of a policy failure that remained unaddressed.

"Disability doesn't end at 65, but the funding does," Townend said. 

"People who acquire a disability later in life are forced into a system that simply wasn't designed for their needs. This isn't just unfair; it is discrimination embedded in policy. Access to the supports required to live safely and independently should be determined by need, not age."

Do you have a story? Contact reporter Emily McPherson at EM********@******om.au

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Exclusive: Australia is in the grips of a tradie shortage and the fuel crisis could make it worse as apprentices struggling to make ends meet consider leaving trades.

Average apprentice pay rates vary depending on the trade and an apprentice's age and years on the job, and most have been stung by fuel price hikes.

Tom Brooks, a 20-year-old second year plumbing apprentice from rural WA, makes about $650 a week and is already considering other avenues to make money.

READ MORE: Tradies hit hardest by fuel crisis forced to raise prices or go bust

About a third of his weekly wage goes to fuel and he expects that figure will rise in the weeks ahead.

"I'm traveling about 70km every day for work, so it adds up quick," he told nine.com.au.

"It's made budgeting for other things like food a lot harder."

Have you got a story? Contact reporter Maddison Leach at our breaking newsletter here

At face value, a trend encouraging young men to take care of their physical appearance and maximise their self-worth appears harmless – even positive – but the fast-growing looksmaxxing trend has a very dark side, experts warn.

So what is it, and why are some health professionals calling it "terrifying"?

What is looksmaxxing?

Looksmaxxing has re-emerged on social media platforms like Reddit, Instagram and TikTok as a trend by men seeking to improve their physical appearance.

The methods used to maximise appearance are split into two categories: "softmaxxing" and "hardmaxxing".

Have you got a story? Contact reporter Joseph Sahyoun at ************@******om.au” target=”” rel=”” target=”” title=””>our breaking newsletter here