A 22-year-old German man has been detained in Florence accused of damaging a statue in the 16th-century Fountain of Neptune in the Piazza della Signoria, city authorities said in a statement.

The city estimates the damage to the statue is around €5,000 (A$8,400).

The fountain features a statue of the Roman sea god Neptune atop a shell-shaped carriage pulled by horses.

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The tourist, who has not been named, scaled a protective barrier around the monument in the early hours of Monday and posed on the statue while two friends, who remained on the other side of the barrier, took photos of him, the city statement said, citing police officers who witnessed the event on surveillance footage.

"According to the investigators' reconstruction, after 1 o'clock this morning the tourist, in Piazza della Signoria with two other friends, climbed over the fence of the Neptune Fountain and climbed onto the edge of the pool," the statement said.

"With a jump he then climbed onto the horse's leg, reaching the base of the carriage and, after having some photos taken by his friends, he climbed down. During the descent he placed his foot again on the hoof, damaging it. As soon as the alarm went off, however, the young man had already managed to escape with the two others," it added.

The tourist will be charged under a city penal code that prohibits the "destruction, dispersion, deterioration, disfigurement, soiling or illicit use of cultural or landscape assets."

READ MORE: Qantas' reputation is in the bin. What can the new CEO do?

If convicted, the tourist could be fined and banned from entering the city.

The statue was previously damaged in 2005, when someone climbed on it and broke Neptune's hand. This prompted the authorities to install CCTV cameras.

In August, German tourists were accused of spray-painting soccer graffiti on a wall of the historic Vasari Corridor nearby.

The Fountain of Neptune was commissioned in 1559 by Cosimo I de Medici, Duke of Florence, to mark the marriage of his son Francesco and the Grand Duchess Joanna of Austria.

A Sydney man has tasted global glory after devouring the competition at an international eating competition in New York.

James Webb stunned observers when he downed 276 chicken wings in 12 minutes during the Wing It On! US Chicken Wing Eating Championship at the National Buffalo Wings Festival on the weekend.

His effort set a new world record.

READ MORE: Qantas' reputation is in the bin. What can new CEO Vanessa Hudson do to retrieve it?

Webb, at 23 wings a minute, shredded the competition, which included established champion eaters Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo.

Chestnut, who came second, managed a comparatively paltry 240 wings.

"I was just trying to clean the bones as best I could," Webb said after his win.

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"I know I'm not as fast as these guys but if they're goning to weigh leftovers, if there's less chicken, well, I had a chance right.

"I guess my style works."

It was, remarkably, Webb's second eating win in 24 hours.

The day before, he ate 32 "sloppers" – cheeseburgers drenched in chili sauce – in eight minutes.

He said he was "shocked" and "grateful" to have taken the crown in the well-attended wings competition.

"If you told me this yesterday, I would have laughed in your face," he said.

In all the turmoil Qantas has faced over the past week and a half, one person has been kept firmly out of the spotlight.

But attention is now turning to Vanessa Hudson, the woman anointed as Alan Joyce's successor earlier this year who is now CEO two months earlier than expected after the latter's early retirement.

Facing her is what seems an unenviable task: turn around the airline's reputation after the battering it has taken in the court of public opinion and – in the last week at least – the share market, all while the national carrier faces legal action from a consumer watchdog hunting a record $600 million fine.

READ MORE: Hopes for Qantas 'circuit breaker' after Alan Joyce exits early

"Joyce has taken himself out of this because he's become a lightning rod for all the problems of Qantas and broadly, the aviation industry," aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas, editor-in-chief at Airline Ratings, told 9news.com.au.

"Coming out of COVID has been a nightmare for the airline industry because so many people were laid off.

"Now, Vanessa Hudson has got to just simply continue what Alan Joyce was already doing."

Research firm Roy Morgan said last month Australians consider Qantas to be the country's "13th most distrusted brand in the economy" – worse than budget airline Jetstar at 16th, which is also owned by Qantas Group.

Just three years ago, the national carrier was the third most trusted brand.

While this year's record pre-tax profit of $2.5 billion had indicated customer complaints weren't getting in the way of shareholder success, even that's starting to waver.

READ MORE: Alan Joyce expected to exit Qantas with final $24m payout

Qantas's share price has dropped 13 per cent over the past month and continued to dip even after Joyce's resignation on Tuesday.

But Hudson's task isn't quite as onerous as what it might seem, according to Thomas, who said Joyce had laid much of the groundwork for the airline's recovery.

"The airline's on the right trajectory," he said.

"I think that she's going to benefit from all the things that have been put in place … and now we're really getting to the point where the next six months it really is going to get a lot better, and it's gaining momentum.

"So she's going to ride that momentum."

In a video message sent to staff after Joyce's resignation, Hudson had little hesitation in identifying her top priority as CEO.

"As a company, our job is to get the balance right between looking after our customers; you, our people; and the business itself," she said.

"Right now, achieving this balance must start with our customers, and that's what we will be focused on with our new management team."

READ MORE: How to claim your unused Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin flight credits

Thomas says Hudson needs to continue Joyce's work to turn around the airline's reputation – continue refunding and redeeming flight credits, buying new fuel-efficient aircraft, and allowing international factors out of the airline's control to subside.

But others have called for far more drastic action.

"The Qantas board cannot hide behind Joyce's resignation. (Chairman) Richard Goyder should go next," Labor senator and long-time Joyce critic Tony Sheldon said after the CEO's departure was announced.

"The board has backed Joyce's behaviour at every step and must be held equally accountable for the disgraceful state of the company."

Sheldon also called for 1700 illegally sacked workers to be reinstated by the airline, and for the board and shareholders to withhold Joyce's bonus.

"If the board allows (the bonus to be paid) after illegally sacking 1700 people, gouging customers and while subject to an ACCC prosecution, it will be the swindle of the century."

Thomas doesn't expect critics to be so vociferous towards Hudson, even though, as a near-30-year veteran of Qantas, her hiring doesn't offer the same feeling of a fresh era as an external candidate might have.

"I think the Australian sense of giving someone a fair go will reign supreme and I think that she will have a fair go and I certainly sincerely hope she does," he said.

"But give it six months' time, if the changes haven't been made or things aren't better than they are right now, I think the knives might come out.

"But I think that she's got six months' grace."

Former Adelaide Crows footballer Mark Mickan has revealed how life-changing technology is allowing a doctor to treat his Parkinson's Disease from 700 kilometres away.

But the medical breakthrough is bittersweet, with many Parkinson's sufferers, including Mickan's brother, unable to benefit from the innovative treatment.

Mickan has had his symptoms eased from the comfort of his couch in Adelaide's western suburbs with the help of Melbourne neurologist Dr Andrew Evans.

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It is a breakthrough treatment for the former Crows Club Champion, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's a year after coaching West Adelaide to the 2015 Grand Final.

He had endured crippling stiffness and tremors.

"My whole feeling of well-being wasn't there and after the surgery, it was life-changing really," Mickan said.

Three implants were placed inside the 62-year-old's brain and linked to two pulse generators on either side of his chest.

These implants and generators are able to be controlled from Melbourne.

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"I can log in remotely to either one and at the same time I can see the effects of the stimulation changes that I'm making now many hundreds of kilometres away," Dr Evans said.

The treatment has seen Mickan regain control of his hands without the need for medication.

"I reserve the right to mow the lawn," Mickan said.

"I still can drive the car and I feel like I'm functioning as well as I possibly could under the circumstances."

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About 150,000 Australians are living with Parkinson's disease but there are only 1000 receiving this type of remote treatment.

Mickan hopes it will be rolled out more broadly in the years to come.

"There are a lot of people out there in the country or in regional areas who don't have access to a neurologist and they too could benefit in the same way that I have," Mickan said.

The treatment is not suitable for all Parkinson's cases and Mickan's brother is among those left to deal with the symptoms the best way they can.

"It was difficult for the whole family," he said.

"We certainly get around him and hope for the best."

Residents of a Queensland city claim noxious fumes from nearby waste facilities are making them sick, and are calling on urgent action to protect their health.

Ipswich locals have lodged tens of thousands of complaints with the state government, but the mayor says it isn't holding waste operators to account. 

"If I take the dogs out and I'm not quick enough to pick up on the smell, it'll bring on severe migraines," resident Gary Butler told 9News.

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"It's either I vomit, I dry retch, my nose, my eyes are stinging," his wife Tracy Butler added.

For five years, the couple has lived just streets away from several landfill and composting facilities in the Swanbank Industrial Area.

They said there is a stench sent across the city that is getting worse.

"When we go to bed, we make sure everything's fully closed as much as we can, we have a towel pushed up in our hallway at the gap in the garage," Tracey said.

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In 2018, the Queensland government established an "Odour Abatement Taskforce" to respond to the issue and since then, it's received nearly 25,000 complaints.

Tracey said locals have been told to keep filing complaints and, when the stench is really bad, to capture the air in canisters.

In a statement, the Department of Environment and Science said it has been "actively investigating odour nuisance reports" but that the issue is complex.

"Businesses involved in these activities are licenced by the department," it said.

"They must comply with their environmental obligations and not cause unlawful harm to the environment or impact on the community."

It said in recent months compliance officers have undertaken "detailed site inspections" and it is reviewing its findings.

"The results of scientific analysis of water, waste and compost product samples will determine potential enforcement action for any non-compliance," the department said.

"In response to community concerns, we will continue to provide air sampling canisters to residents in affected areas who are concerned about potential impacts on their health.

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"Results to date have not indicated any potential health concerns."

Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding claimed the waste companies were not compliant and said the department was not punishing them.

"But we're not actually seeing any compliance action. We have waste operators in Ipswich who are not compliant," she told 9News.

"We're calling on the Department of Environment and Science to do their job."

The victim’s uncles likely were trying to teach him a lesson, the defence claimed.

Keep New Zealand Beautiful has shortlisted two towns for each category for its comp.

The constable suffered significant injuries, including broken facial bones.

A GPS built into a luxury car has helped police track down four teenagers who allegedly stole it from a property in Melbourne's south-east.

Police arrested the teenagers after the Mercedes crashed into a light pole at the intersection of O'Grady's Road and Lyrebird Drive in Carrum Downs about 10am yesterday.

The car was allegedly chased through five suburbs by police in the air and on the ground after police located the car using its in-built GPS system.

READ MORE: Teen fighting for life after allegedly being abducted while walking home from school was an 'innocent victim'

The chase came to an end when the car crashed.

Two teenagers were arrested at the scene with the help of police dogs.

Two others fled the crash scene but were then arrested in Frankston Pines Fauna Reserve.

The car was allegedly stolen from Rob Mirra's property in Alva Avenue in Park Orchids about 1am yesterday.

The car has been left with extensive damage.

"It almost put a tear in my eye when I saw the car, it was in such a mess," Mirra told 9News.

"All for a joyride. It's no good because the car's been written off."

READ MORE: Manhunt underway for inmate who escaped from minimum security prison

An 18-year-old Carrum Downs man is facing a number of charges, including six counts of aggravated intentionally exposing an emergency worker to risk by driving.

He is expected to face the Melbourne Magistrates' Court this evening.

A 19-year-old Seaford man has been charged with theft of a motor vehicle and possessing a drug of dependence.

He will face Frankston Magistrates' Court on October 3.

A 17-year-old Frankston boy has been charged with aggravated burglary, theft, theft of a motor vehicle and obtaining property by deception.

He has been remanded in custody to face a children's court at a later date.

A 16-year-old Frankston boy has been charged with theft of motor vehicle and will face a children's court at a later date.

A manhunt is underway to find an inmate who escaped from a minimum security prison south-west of Melbourne overnight.

Daniel Briffa was serving a jail term for drug, theft and traffic-related offences at Langi Kal Kal Correctional Centre, about 43km from Ballarat until he escaped the centre by "unknown means" between 7.30pm and 9.30pm yesterday.

Briffa is described as 170cm tall with a solid build, short brown curly hair, a full beard and a moustache.

READ MORE: Teen fighting for life after allegedly being abducted while walking home from school

He also has tattoos on his lower legs.

Briffa was last seen wearing a forest green tracksuit, but police said reminded he may have been able to obtain different clothes since his escape.

Police said Briffa is previously known to have frequented the Werribee, Hoppers Crossing and Tarneit areas.

He is not believed to be violent, but members of the public are advised not to approach Briffa, and to instead contact triple zero immediately if he is sighted.