The world's biggest iceberg has become trapped, stopping in its tracks during a mammoth journey north from Antarctica.

Known as A23a among science circles, the iceberg is more than twice the size of the Australian Capital Territory, Greater London and three times the size of New York City.

The iceberg is believed to weigh almost one trillion tonnes and first broke free from the Antarctic coastline in 1986.

READ MORE: Bungled restoration of historic Spanish church raises eyebrows with 'caricature-like' cherub

But almost immediately after making its great escape, A23a got bogged in the muddy depths of the Weddell Sea and stayed put for 34 years.

It then re-floated in 2020 and resumed its journey north, towards the warmer air and waters of the South Atlantic where many smaller icebergs break down to an eventual nothing.

But in April this year, A23a entered the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) a powerful force that pumps the ocean waters and whatever is in them (no matter its size) north to what should have been the gigantic iceberg's eventual demise.

However when A23a entered the ACC, it suddenly stopped again. 

Only, it isn't bogged this time, in fact, there is at least 1000 metres of water between its base and the ocean floor.

A23a is laying idle, floating on the spot just north of South Orkney Island and randomly turning anti-clockwise at about 15 degrees a day.

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Why is this happening?

A23a has become caught in a Taylor Column and could stay stuck for a number of years, delaying the eventual breakdown all icebergs on that same northern route endure.

Open University researcher, Professor Mark Brandon told BBC News icebergs are often seen as transient things; they fragment and melt away.

But not this one.

"A23a is the iceberg that just refuses to die," he said.

A Taylor Column is a type of vortex first described in the 1920s by physicist, Sir Geoffrey Ingram Taylor.

The Cambridge academic was a pioneer in the field of fluid dynamics and showed how a current that meets an obstruction on the seafloor can – under the right circumstances – separate into two distinct flows, generating a full-depth mass of rotating water between them, BBC News reported.

In the instance of A23a, the obstruction is a 100km-wide bump on the ocean bottom known as Pirie Bank.

The Taylor Column vortex sits on top of the bank and for now A23a is caught in its web.

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The British Antarctic Survey's Professor Mike Meredith said Taylor Columns can also form in the air and are seen in clouds moving above mountains and can be any size.

A23a has been slowly spinning on the spot for a few months now, but it is unknown how long it will remain trapped.

But when Professor Meredith placed a scientific buoy in a Taylor Column above another bump to the east of Pirie Bank, the instrument remained in place, slowly rotating and floating on the spot, four years later.

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The bold makeover of an historic 16th century church in Spain has left heritage groups seething and drawing comparisons to the infamous 'monkey Christ' restoration of 2012.

The Ermita de Nuestra Señora del Mirón, which is located in the north-eastern city of Soria and built in 1725, recently received a colourful paint job.

Heritage preservation group, Soria Patrimonio, shared before-and-after photos of the controversial restoration on X, formerly Twitter.

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The white of the church has now been painted with dusky pink stripes. Of particular affront to the group is the over-enthusiastic paintwork on the cherubim.

The restoration has been judged to have left the cherubim looking stunned and "caricature-like" with their newly bright red lips and dark eyebrows.

"What have they done to the Ermita de Nuestra Señora del Mirón?" the group asked.

"It's a listed building, but even if it weren't, any work on a monument such as this had to be subject to minimum guarantees."

"We've ended up with the decorative elements being outlined and the cherubs – which were white before – becoming caricature-like."

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Spanish news outlets have been quick to make the comparison to the botched restoration of the "Ecce Homo" fresco, in the northern Spain town of Borja, which resulted in global news coverage.

In 2012, a local amateur artist decided the circa 1930 depiction of Christ at the Sanctuary of Mercy church needed restoration, but the face she produced immediately was judged to look like a monkey.

Another Spanish restoration attracted similar ire in 2020, with the sculpture on the exterior of an ornate office building in the city of Palencia judged to look like a cartoon after the work was done.

Referring to the Soria church's restoration, the online newspaper El Confidencial ran the story with the headline: "Another Ecce Homo, but with Cherubs?"

ACRE, the professional association of conservators and restorers in Spain, has waded into the debate, saying more oversight of historic restorations is needed.

"There needs to be multidisciplinary teams to avoid these kinds of efforts," Acre said in a statement. 

"There needs to be weekly inspections to keep track of the works and to prevent invasive and disrespectful alterations." 

The Olympics are underway in Paris and some of the world's biggest celebrities have been spotted enjoying the action.

We've never been more desperate for housing stock in Sydney and most of us can only dream of one day living in a mansion.

Yet, dotted across Sydney, are sprawling homes worth up to tens of millions of dollars which have been left vacant to slowly decay for years.

Urban explorer Craig Irving has been photographing abandoned houses for decades, since the early 2000s, and has been documenting his finds on his Facebook page Histografixx.  

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Irving said many people would be surprised to know just how many opulent homes were sitting empty in the country's most expensive real estate market.

In many cases, the properties had been bought by developers looking to subdivide the estates and reap the profits, Irving said.

However, sometimes the developments went sour or, in other cases, simply took years and years to come to fruition, he said.

It's estimated that there are 140,000 "inactive" or vacant homes in Australia, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in August last year.

The state with the highest number of vacant homes is New South Wales, with 22,000 empty properties in Sydney alone.

One of those properties is the grand estate of Durath in West Pennant Hills on Sydney's upper north shore, which sold for $42 million in 2015. 

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The historic home, which sits on 5000 square metres of prime land near Cherrybrook station, was sold to Toplace, the building arm of beleaguered Sydney developer Jean Nassif's company.

Toplace was placed into administration last year.

"The property has been sitting empty for nine years and it's probably one of the most fascinating homes I have ever photographed," Irving said.

Photos taken by Irving earlier this year show vines creeping up the windows and onto the roof of the luxury property. 

"There is a little bit of vandalism but not a great deal compared to what I normally see because it's on a residential street so neighbours still live around it," Irving said.

Further into the outskirts of north west Sydney, there were many expensive properties that had been snapped up for developments in Rouse Hill that were still yet to see the light of day, Irving said.

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One of the Rouse Hill properties recently visited by Irving was sold for $7.5 million in 2019 and has been vacant for the past five years.

The white, Spanish-style mansion sits on two acres and is in the process of being subdivided into house and land packages.

Photos show the pool in the backyard filled with swampy water and surrounded by a tangle of weeds and overgrown grass.

Just across the road, a $33 million dollar property had been sitting empty for the past 18 months, Irving said.

"That one sits on five acres, and there is a development application in to build lots of tiny houses on it," he said.

While it was often not financially viable for developers to rent out the properties while they were waiting on building projects to take off, a few did try, Irving said.

But it doesn't always work out.

"One of the properties I recently photographed was a huge, eight bedroom house, absolutely massive," Irving said of the $10 million western Sydney property.

"It's owned by a developer, and they tried to rent it out. It's currently on the market for rent, but it's been vandalised and trashed. 

"Windows have been smashed and things have been ripped out of it."

Over in St Leonards, in Sydney's lower north shore, sits a 100-year-old federation home which has been vacant for about two years, Irving said.

The property developer bought all of the houses on the same street, with this particular house selling for $7.68 million in 2015.

"The house was being used as a daycare but now it's been abandoned," Irving said.

Photos show the front of the property all but obscured by an overgrown yard.

Irving said his photos of abandoned or vacant houses evoked strong reactions on social media, with his audience often becoming fascinated in the backstory of why the houses had been left empty. He is currently collating his photographs into a book.

Contact reporter Emily McPherson at em********@******om.au

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Eight people have been rushed to hospital, apparently including children, and a man has been detained after a stabbing in north-west England.

Merseyside police rushed to Hart Street in Southport, north of Liverpool, just before midday today (9pm AEST) after reports of a stabbing.

"There are a number of reported casualties and more details will be confirmed when possible," police said in a statement released a bit more than an hour later.

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Armed officers seized a knife and detained a man, who was taken to a nearby police station, police said.

Locals were asked to avoid the area but police said there was no further threat to the public.

"The mothers are coming here now and screaming," Hart Street business owner Colin Parry told PA Media.

"It is like a scene from a horror movie," the Masters Vehicle Body Repairs owner said.

"Police have got him. It's like something from America, not like sunny Southport."

A nearby resident told the Liverpool Echo she heard "loads of sirens" and a helicopter overhead.

"Then the messages started to go around the local WhatsApp groups, saying 'lock your windows, lock your doors', we were told a man was running around stabbing people," she said.

"We are all absolutely terrified, panicking and sick with worry – everyone is trying to reach anyone they know in the area. I don't know how this can happen on a Monday lunchtime."

North West Ambulance Service classified the stabbing as a "major incident", sending 13 ambulances and an air ambulance.

Eight patients were treated for stab wounds and taken to three different hospitals, including the Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

That hospital also declared a "major incident" and said its emergency department was "extremely busy".

"We ask parents to only bring their children to the Emergency Department if it is urgent," the hospital trust said in a statement.

Labour MP for Southport Patrick Hurley said he was "deeply concerned".

"I am hoping for the best possible outcomes to the casualties affected. My thoughts go out to all those affected, their loved ones and to the entire community," he said, on X, formerly Twitter.

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A man is in a critical condition and undergoing surgery after one of his legs was severed in an alleged attack by a work colleague.

The remains of the leg were found by a good Samaritan on the side of the road in coastal Perth.

Traffic in City Beach was brought to a standstill as the victim fled on foot from a nearby construction site.

Trae Black, 29, was allegedly hunted by a work colleague in a Mazda ute and hit.

His right leg was severed below the knee.

The West Coast Highway was covered in blood after the alleged attack.

Nick Black was among those who stopped to help about 11.20am.

"He was asking for water and was quite alarmed," he said.

An orthopaedic doctor used her handbag strap as a makeshift tourniquet – and later found the remains of his leg.

"Later on I found his amputated leg up on the bank, put that in a bag and provided that to paramedics," she said.

Police say the passersby who helped likely saved his life.

The highway was closed in both directions as dozens of police investigated.

It all started several hundred metres away at a construction site on Catesby Street in City Beach

It's understood Black fled on foot when a workmate from another site came looking for him.

Police said the two men, who knew each other, had been involved in an argument.

The other man allegedly also took to the windscreen of a car parked out the front with what witnesses have described as a demolition hammer.

That tool is missing and police divers searching the ocean for it. 

"It is believed the victim was struck by the vehicle before being assaulted with a hammer," WA Police said in a statement.

A 25-year-old man was arrested near the scene less than 15 minutes after police were called.

Investigators are now calling anyone who may have dash cam vision of what unfolded to come forward.

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A 15-year-old boy is recovering in hospital after he was stabbed by a group of youths in Melbourne's south-east.

The teen was rushed to Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital after the attack at 8.20pm outside Springvale Library on Springvale Road, Springvale.

He underwent emergency surgery and is now in a stable condition.

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One of the youths in the group filmed the attack, with the footage showing the group threatening the victim with a machete.

They can then be seen chasing him, kicking and punching him before he falls to the ground and is stabbed repeatedly.

9News understands it's believed the same gang less than half an hour earlier stormed a Springvale shopping centre on Buckingham Avenue and Springvale Road about 7.50pm and attacked a security guard.

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The guard was punched in the head repeatedly and kicked, while the attack was recorded on a mobile phone.

He was taken to Monash Medical Centre in Clayton with minor injuries.

Police are investigating both attacks but no arrests have been made.

Anyone who witnessed the incidents or with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at

A Melbourne bodybuilder who murdered his partner in front of her 10-year-old daughter is fighting to have his sentence reduced.

Sven Lindemann was jailed for 31 years in May after he stabbed Monique Lezsak in a jealous rage, now he's appealing.

He used six knives to stab his partner Lezsak their Endeavour Hills home in the city's south-east in May 2023 in front of her 10-year-old daughter, who tried desperately to stop him.

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The 52-year-old pleaded guilty to murder and recklessly causing injury to Monique's daughter, but he ended up blaming his victim.

He claims she drove him to kill her because she was trying to leave the relationship.

Lezsak's friend Jacqueline Schwarcz said she "laughed" when she heard Lindemann was appealing.

"Without sounding too dramatic, it's ruined our lives, things have changed overnight," she said.

"I cannot even understand how a human being can be wired like this.

"Because he is so narcissistic it wouldn't surprise me that these are just actions to keep him in the spotlight."

READ MORE: Woman dies on Brisbane to Melbourne flight

During sentencing, Justice Hollingworth called out Lindemann's problematic attitude towards women and sense of entitlement.

Lindemann has formally lodged his appeal, which is expected to be heard next year.

With time already served, he'll be eligible for parole in 2048 when he's 76.

An Olympic Games event has been thrown into doubt after the River Seine failed a water quality test once again.

A training session had to be cancelled this morning due to the declining quality of the river water ahead of a triathlon competition tomorrow – a key event for Australian athletes.

It is understood the water quality has suffered since the heavy rain during the opening ceremony over the weekend.

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The decision to postpone today's training session was made by officials from Paris 2024, City of Paris and World Triathlon. 

The organisations have expressed hope that the water quality will improve over the next 24 hours with a clear forecast.

However, if the wet weather continues, the triathlon event could be postponed or moved to another river to the east.

Organisers have invested billions of dollars into cleaning up the river ahead of the Olympic Games.

At the beginning of July, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the river to prove its cleanliness.

Daily water quality tests in early June indicated unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria.

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