Two men have been charged after they allegedly attacked workers with axes on a Northern Territory mine site.

NT Police said up to five offenders entered a mine site on the island of Groote Eylandt and some were allegedly armed with axes about 2am on September 30.

"One worker was threatened with an axe while another was struck in the chest with a blunt object, suffering a laceration to their chest," NT Police said in a statement.

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"A third worker suffered an injury to their eye when a window was smashed."

Police allege the group caused damage to the facility.

"Investigations remain ongoing and police would like to thank the local community for their assistance in this matter," detective senior sergeant Karl Day said.

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A 17-year-old was charged with six offences including criminal damage and aggravated assault.

He was bailed and will appear before court next month.

A 20-year-old was charged with six of the same offences as the teenager and recklessly endanger serious harm.

He was taken into police custody and will appear in court next month.

An aviation expert is urging airlines to do more to educate the public about the risk of lithium battery fires to prevent serious mid-air incidents from occurring.

Lithium-ion battery fires are becoming frequent both on the ground and in the air as more devices are made, increasing the risk they can overheat or explode if they are used, charged or disposed of incorrectly or if they are damaged.

US Federal Aviation Administration data from May showed there had been at least one lithium battery incident on a passenger plane each week since 2021, an increase of 42 per cent increase since 2018.

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Are Australian airline passengers at risk?

Aviation expert Geoffery Thomas told 9news.com.au he believed passengers needed more education about the "serious issue".

"I don't think a lot of people understand that you simply cannot put them into checked bags, they must come with you on the aeroplane," Thomas said.

"So if there is an event, that can be dealt with whereas in the cargo hold there's a possibility that this fire suppression system will not be able to handle it, depending on circumstances."

Thomas said all cargo holds had a smoke sensor that activates extinguishers but the problem with lithium fires was that they were "incredibly intense".

"It's not just like a normal barbecue fire… they're difficult to put out," he said.

He said people really need to be aware of the dangers.

"It's incredibly important … that the batteries come out and you carry them with you on the aeroplane in your bags.

"I don't think the airline industry is doing enough to warn people of the dangers of lithium batteries."

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He believes Australia is seeing fewer lithium battery plane fires than the US for two reasons – America's airline industry is far bigger than Australia's there is even less awareness overseas.

A Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) spokesperson said Australian airline operations had procedures in place and all cabin crew were trained to "manage overheating and combustion incidents involving portable electronic devices".

"CASA works closely with airlines and other regulators on emerging risks presented by advances and the expanded use of technology," the spokesperson said.

"Operators communicate the risks of certain dangerous goods carried by passengers through information displayed on their website and via dangerous goods signage located at key points within the terminal."

Two cargo planes have crashed due to lithium battery fires.

Two were killed after a Boeing 747-400F crashed after taking off from South Korea in 2011 and the other occurred in 2010 on a UPS plane in the United Arab Emirates, which also killed two crew members.

More information on carrying lithium batteries on flights can be found here.

How common are lithium battery fires on the ground?

New data from the Australian Consumer Competition Commission (ACCC) shows incidents on the ground appear to be increasing – and are serious when they do occur.

One Australian has died in a lithium-ion battery fire and the ACCC has received 231 product safety reports relating to lithium-ion batteries in the past five years.

There have been 23 product recalls affecting about 89,000 products on the market.

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"We are concerned by increasing reports of lithium-ion battery fires resulting in property damage and serious injuries, including burns, chemical exposure and smoke inhalation," ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.

"Managing lithium-ion battery safety is complex and government, industry and consumers must tackle the challenge together," Lowe said.

"Our report makes recommendations to better protect consumers and includes practical advice to reduce the risks associated with these batteries.

"Consumers should avoid mixing and matching chargers, unplug products when fully charged and charge batteries in a cool, dry place and away from combustible materials like beds, lounges or carpet.

"Check your lithium-ion batteries for overheating signs of swelling, leaking or venting gas and immediately stop using your product if these signs are present."

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The fires are common in garbage trucks and waste facilities where the batteries can be exposed to heat, moisture or being crushed.

This is why it's important to store or dispose of them safely.

The ACCC said the batteries were "integral" to achieving Australia's transition to net zero emissions.

The consumer watchdog estimates households will have an average of 33 devices by 2026.

An ACCC national survey found 45 per cent of people used aftermarket chargers and 39 per cent did not know how to correctly dispose of them.

For more information on how to dispose of batteries correctly, you can visit these two websites recyclemate.com.au and bcycle.com.au.

An immense iceberg and an island have offered an answer to the age-old riddle – what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?

NASA's Earth Observatory recorded the encounter from space in September when the iceberg D30-A, "nearly the size of Rhode Island" or 72km long by 20km wide, collided with Clarence Island off the Antarctic coast.

The footage shows the iceberg approaching the island's south-east coast, before crashing into it and then moving around before drifting north.

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"It didn't 'stick' quite likely because the eastern side of Clarence Island has a pretty sheer drop-off with deep enough water to allow the berg to sail right through," glaciologist Christopher Shuman said.

Clarence Island is a regular breeding ground for 200,000 chinstrap penguins – luckily, they weren't at home when the iceberg hit.

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"If this had happened in December when they were breeding and the adults were trading off incubation daily, it might have been quite serious since even a few days of blocked access to the colony might mean a failed breeding year," ecologist Heather Lynch said.

NASA said the iceberg was likely to continue drifting east past the Horn of South America, before the currents pushed it north into the warmer waters of the Atlantic, where it would melt.

An Army veteran who lost everything in a house fire including his three cats in Sydney's south-west earlier this week is now working to put his life back together.

Adrian Rees, 43, lost his home in an inferno at Currans Hill on Sunday night.

His housemate and her boyfriend managed to narrowly escape with their pet rats, however, Mr Rees' cats – Gary, Garfield and Ghost – all perished in the fire.

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Mr Rees' ex-wife Kristie Tinnion told 9News.com.au he escaped with nothing but the clothes on his back, and his only surviving animal, a Kelpie named Ally.

"We actually live 30 metres away, one of our neighbours rang the doorbell and we've gone out and the house was completely ablaze," she said.

"He's absolutely devastated, his cats meant every to him."

Mr Rees had served 16 years in the Army and had toured Afghanistan and East Timor before being medically discharged.

He had developed PTSD along with various other health and his cats had become his unofficial "support animals", Ms Tinnion said.

Jade Rees told 9News.com.au she watched her dad risk his own life as he desperately tried to save his cats.

"After checking on our dog in the backyard he ran around the back of the house and used one of the yard chairs to break his bedroom window because he knew that's where the cats usually lay," she said.

"One of our neighbour's grabbed him and physically stopped him from back going into the house. 

"Not long after my neighbour had pulled my dad out the roof of the house collapsed."

She said firefighters located the cats after the blaze was extinguished. All three died from smoke inhalation.

"He's heartbroken. He keeps asking himself what he could have done differently," she said.

The blaze destroyed the house, leaving behind nothing but rubble and charred debris with Mr Rees staying in temporary accommodation through the Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA).

His family have now launched an online crowdfunding page to help him get back on his feet, which has so far raised more than $5,000.

"Adrian was a renter, he had been living off the disability pension through the DVA and was unable to afford contents insurance," Ms Tinnion said.

"He has nothing, he has no furniture, no appliances, just the clothes on his back."

Ms Tinnion said the support from the community has been amazing.

"Everyone in the community knew who Adrian was after one of the cats went missing, because Adrian told them Gary was his best friend," she said.

"The whole neighbourhood helped look for him."

She said people have already offered clothing and kitchen appliances but any little bit will do. 

"I cant imagine what Adrian is going through. I don't know where you go from losing everything," she said.

"Where do you start? It's absolutely unimaginable."

A financial planner who swindled clients out of $10 million in fake investments lulled one client into a sense of security with visits to her retirement home, flowers and lunches.

Terence Nugara was jailed for a decade on Thursday over a long-running property development scam in which he deceived 28 clients into investing $10 million from their savings and superannuation funds.

While putting their retirements into doubt, he lined his pockets with cash, his garage with luxury cars and bought himself a boat and helicopter.

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His actions were reprehensible, callous, selfish and occurred during a period when his financial planning and advisory licence was suspended and later terminated, County Court Judge Trevor Wraight said.

He sentenced Nugara to nine years and 11 months behind bars on Thursday.

The court heard Nugara used his position as a financial planner to convince clients to switch their superannuation accounts to self-managed super funds and invest in property development.

Nugara represented himself as developing properties in Malvern, Kew, Sandringham and Glen Iris, as well as a villas in Bali.

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In some cases he promised returns up to 98.93 per cent.

Nugara had pre-existing relationships with many victims.

One woman said he had visited her at her retirement home, brought her flowers and took her out to lunch.

Another woman became a client after the death of her accountant husband, who previously managed her investments.

A man who was lured into investing had also been deceived into bringing his parents in on the scam.

"You took advantage of people who placed their trust in you, many of whom were older and looking forward to a comfortable retirement," Judge Wraight said.

Nugara was caught out by various clients who visited the supposedly developed properties, only to discover the previous building was yet to be demolished.

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One learned of the scam when they were advised by the financial watchdog to contact police, while another found out years after the fact through her solicitor.

The victims – including some who had to delay retirement or rely on Centrelink – have had some or all money repaid through financial institutions since a pre-sentence hearing last month.

Judge Wraight said it was argued Nugara, who moved overseas before the police investigation began, had voluntarily returned to Australia to face justice.

But he noted before leaving, Nugara disposed of assets including his house and clearly sought to start afresh overseas.

When international business ventures failed, the Sri Lankan-born man returned to Australia, where he had citizenship.

"Whatever your reason for returning to Australia, I'm not convinced it was motivated by your contrition," he said.

Nugara, who pleaded guilty to 27 charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception and two charges of theft, will be eligible for parole after serving six years and six months of his prison sentence.

Police have opened an investigation into the incident.

A young man who survived a stabbing attack in Melbourne's south-east has issued a powerful statement condemning "wannabe gangsters" involved in knife crime.

Ethan Tirant, 20, was outside a KFC outlet in Pakenham with friends when he was stabbed in the chest by a 13-year-old last year.

Now he has joined dozens of high school students and youth representatives to create a Crime Stoppers campaign.

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"I just remember being in the ambulance texting all my friends, my family that I love them," Tirant said.

"I honestly felt like I was dying, because I was."

He had to undergo life-saving surgery and went into a coma.

Ethan's accused attacker, a 13-year-old boy, was charged with a number of offences.

The charges were thrown out, however, after it couldn't be proven the boy was old enough to understand what he did was seriously wrong.

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Tirant said he hoped to turn the terrifying incident into something young people could learn from.

He has shared a message to youths who use knives: "You are not tough and you are not a gangster."

"So many things have impacted my life just because of one kid being dumb for 10 seconds," he said.

"I had to learn how to walk again and when your lung collapses, it's the worst feeling."

Crime Stoppers chief executive Stella Smith said powerful and strong youth voices were behind the campaign.

"They don't want to see their parents devastated. They can picture the hurt in their own parents if they were to become a victim," she said.

"The kids came back and said they said their voices had been heard."

Ken Weeks is 110 years old today – officially Australia's oldest man – and has loved baked beans since he was a youngin.

He loved 'em in school, and he loved 'em when he married his wife Jean and had children.

After Jean's passing, he would love 'em still.

"After Mum died," Ken's son Ian said, "He bachelored himself and he liked a full breakfast, so baked beans on toast was a regular."

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Ken has spent all of his life in the Clarence Valley of northern NSW, and was still resident in the family home for his 100th birthday.

But at around age 105 working the can opener became a bit of a problem, so Ken moved into residential care at the Whiddon Retirement Village in Grafton.

The move did not abate Ken's love of baked beans.

The blokes at Heinz, makers of Ken's favoured meal, heard of his devotion and decided to honour him with a bespoke range of baked beanery.

"We started the work designing the cans with a portrait of Ken and a personalised message," said Andrea Payne, head of marketing at Heinz.

"And in order not to disrupt normal production, each label was hand applied, in time for Ken's birthday today."

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Today, on Ken's 110th birthday, along with a nod from King Charles and the GG, 'Heinz Beanz for Ken' was released in a limited edition.

A total of 300 cans were produced – enough for everyone at Ken's aged care digs to go the fang on baked beans for the next six months.

"You see all this stuff about blue zone, and Mediterranean diets, and all these things that we study in health and aged care," said Chris Mamarelis, CEO of aged care provider Whiddon.

"And Ken comes along and tells us his secret weapon for old age is baked beans."

A year ago the median Sydney house rental was $650. Today that figure is an all-time high of $720, an increase of 10.8 per cent in 12 months.

The huge price increase is forcing some renters to live in homes that have major issues, such as mould, with one recent survey suggesting one in 10 Aussies would accept a property with that issue to secure a property.

As the crisis escalates, one couple has shared their story with 9news.com.au, claiming they were forced to rent a rat-infested home in Sydney's Inner West while thousands struggle to find adequate accommodation in the state's housing crisis.

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Brad Power and his partner struggled to find somewhere to live as they have two dogs but eventually found a place for $1200 per week in Glebe in February.

Power, who works as an electrician, said they brushed off concerns about the house having a range of issues, including mould, as it was a 100-year-old home and they needed somewhere to live.

What Power didn't expect was for the house to become infested by rats.

"We are paying rent for something we can't live in," Power said.

"We are homeless basically."

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He said they discovered the rats had eaten through the house under the stairs where they had stored their things, from behind some gyprock.

"From there they could get underneath the house and into the kitchen, which is not acceptable.

"They (the rats) ate through everything that was downstairs, the lounges, the furniture, the clothing, anything at all they just ate.

"Everything in storage under there we lost, they just ate through plastic… Outside you can see they have eaten through the garbage bins."

A pest exterminator who inspected the property told the couple he had "never seen an infestation so bad".

Power and his partner moved out on September 30 after the pest exterminator poisoned the rats and they died under the house, leaving a smell of "rotting bodies".

He said they still had to pay six weeks' rent even though they could no longer live in the property.

City to Surf Property director Mark Gavagna said the tenant's health and well-being had always come first and their offers to sanitise and break the lease fee had been rejected by the tenants.

"We have offered to provide sanitary cleaning of the downstairs area, place subfloor fans under the floorboards, deodorise the premises, have had our handyman visit the property to secure rat entry/exit points where necessary and also booked another pest inspection for 9am Wednesday morning," Gavagna said.

"These were all rejected by the tenants."

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Gavagna said they had done everything they could to fix the issue but it was coming from the property next door.

He said they had contacted council to make them aware of the problem that was affecting everyone in the area.

"The owner has offered to terminate the lease by mutual agreement in accordance with the tenants wishes and in doing so has offered to waive the lease break fee that would be payable under the terms of the lease," Gavagna said.

"That offer was rejected by the tenants."

Power said they rejected the offer as it meant they would still have to pay six weeks' rent after the conditions became unlivable.

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Family stress

The rental situation is compounded by Power and his partner's efforts to have a baby.

After meeting just over a year ago they have stopped taking their hormones to pause their transition processes so they could have a baby before their transitions were complete.

Since moving into the Glebe home the couple have had two miscarriages and are unable to continue IVF as they have had to undergo testing for Leptospirosis, which is a type of poisoning from rat urine.

"The stress is so high, we are meant to be getting married on the ninth of October but we don't even know if we can do the wedding… it's so stressful.

"We are trying to have a baby, we are trying to get married and now we have no idea."

The club’s lawyer says it has “very conscientiously consulted” about its housing proposal.