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Knife-wielding man holds up traffic in Melbourne's north

A knife-wielding man has held up traffic in the middle of a busy road. terrifying witnesses in Melbourne's north.

Captured on dashcam, the incident unfolded between two men near the Olsen Place strip of shops on Widford Street in Broadmeadows on Sunday.

A young man armed with a knife can be seen in the vision approaching an older man driving a blue BMW sedan.

READ MORE: Driver needed treatment for diabetes at scene of horror crash in Daylesford

A bike can be seen being thrown before the older man pushes it towards his car.

After exchanging words, the knife-wielding man picks up the bike and walks back to his car.

Wassim Bailtaji, who works as a barber at a nearby business, described the incident as "disgusting" but not surprising.

"It makes me paranoid and (have) anxiety. It's not good," he told 9News.

"It's normal for the area.

"Something happened to me like this ages ago."

It's unclear what sparked the road rage attack or whether the men are known to each other.

Anyone who witnessed the incident, has CCTV, dashcam footage or any other information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Experts warn whooping cough outbreak could be on the way

Experts are urging Australians to stay up to date with their whooping cough vaccinations, warning an outbreak of the infectious respiratory disease could be on the way.

The last outbreak of whooping cough, also known as pertussis, peaked in late 2015 with 22,570 confirmed cases.

But infectious diseases experts warn the epidemic tends to occur every three to five years, meaning a major outbreak impacting infants, children and adults alike is "well overdue".

READ MORE: Combined COVID-19 and flu vaccine getting closer to reality

University of Sydney Professor Robert Booy warned we could see a resurgence of whooping cough in the spring and summer months, when infections tend to spike.

"While respiratory infections such as influenza and RSV have recently risen to pre-pandemic levels, we haven't yet seen this with whooping cough," Professor Booy said.

"Whooping cough follows a fairly predictable pattern and it's very much the sleeping bear of respiratory infectious disease right now.

"We've seen years when whooping cough infections in Australia have neared 40,000, so we must be alert to signs of a pending epidemic."

Known as the "100-day cough", whooping cough is a highly contagious bacterial infection that attacks the airways, causing uncontrollable coughing and difficulty breathing.

The coughing fits can be so severe that they cause vomiting, incontinence, broken ribs and hospitalisation.

Whooping cough is more contagious than influenza, measles or COVID-19 and, once infected, a person can remain contagious for three weeks or until they complete a course of antibiotics.

As symptoms of whooping cough don't appear immediately (often for a week or two following infection), the bacteria is easily spread.

Asthma sufferers are at four times greater risk of infection and higher risk of being admitted to hospital.

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Booy said people with an ongoing cough should practice social distancing and seek immediate medical advice.

"Increased levels of socialising and travel during the festive season facilitate the spread of airborne bacteria like whooping cough, so vigilance is required," he said.

Adults require a booster shot at least every 10 years to stay up to date with whooping cough protection, but research shows 80 per cent of Australian adults cannot recall receiving a booster.

The Immunisation Foundation of Australia (IFA) today launched the inaugural Whooping Cough Day to encourage all Australians to remain up to date with vaccination.

IFA founder Catherine Hughes, who tragically lost her four-week-old son to whooping cough in 2015, said there is still room for improvement when it comes to reducing the spread of the disease in the community.

"Most people associate whooping cough with babies, but more than half of all cases are reported in adults," Hughes said.

"Whooping cough can be fatal in infants and can cause serious illness in older children and adults.

"It's easy to check your immunisation status against whooping cough and organise a booster, and it's up to all of us to protect ourselves and our loved ones against whooping cough."

Australians can check their vaccination status by talking to a doctor, pharmacist or by accessing their Immunisation History Statement via the Medicare app.

Mixed verdicts for terror accused bushfire brothers in Victoria

A Melbourne man who admitted setting two bushfires while declaring civilians would be "tasted by the fire of Allah" has been found not guilty of attempting to commit terrorist acts.

But jurors found Aran Sherani guilty of doing acts in preparation for or planning of a terrorist act, after he admitted filming himself pledging allegiance to Islamic State while armed with a knife and bragging about being on the run from police.

"I'm currently on the run from police," he said in footage filmed in 2021.

READ MORE: Driver needed treatment for diabetes at scene of horror crash in Daylesford

"I slipped away and by the will of Allah I was able to even go to a shop nearby my home and get this," he said, holding up a knife to the camera.

He said he would pursue revenge for Muslims and that the video was a pledge of allegiance.

"I pledge allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria," he declared.

Aran Sherani had earlier pleaded guilty in front of the jury to being a member of a terrorist organisation.

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He also hadn't shied away from the fact it was him captured in that video and in footage of two bushfires being lit in scrub in Melbourne's north in February 2021.

The then-19-year-old was even saying things a "real terrorist" would say, his barrister Pat Doyle told jurors in Sherani's Victorian Supreme Court trial.

His older brother, Ari Sherani, who admitted filming one of the videos, was acquitted of a single charge of attempting to commit a terrorist act.

Their lawyers denied the pair were terrorists or ever intended to be terrorists.

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Doyle claimed Aran Sherani, who is ethnically Kurdish and identifies with the historically oppressed and stateless people, thought filming the pledge video would help him be able to travel overseas to fight with the people of Kurdistan.

"It's the defence case that what Aran Sherani wanted to do was send the videos to people that he believed were members of the Islamic State group and… his purpose in doing that was that they would help him go overseas to fight," he told jurors.

"To fight, in particular, with the people of Kurdistan."

Ari Sherani was immediately freed from custody.

Aran Sherani will face a pre-sentence hearing at a later date.

Alleged WA money launderer caught at Sydney airport trying to flee

A 31-year-old man believed to be a part of an international money laundering organisation has been extradited from NSW to Western Australia after he was allegedly caught trying to flee the country.

Police allege the man travelled to Perth in 2019 from New South Wales, where he deposited more than $630,000 into numerous different accounts at a number of banks.

He returned back to NSW before an arrest warrant was issued by Western Australian authorities.

READ MORE: Driver needed treatment for diabetes at scene of horror crash in Daylesford

Police believe while in Perth, the man was in the company of three other associates, a woman and two men.

They were all arrested and have since been convicted and imprisoned for money laundering offences.

Police allege the man attempted to leave Australia on a flight to Pakistan on Friday.

He was arrested at Sydney International Airport, before he faced an extradition hearing.

The man was extradited to Western Australia yesterday, and has since been charged with one count of 'Dealing property used in connection with an offence'.

He will appear before the Perth Magistrates Court today.