The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has kept interest rates on hold at 4.10 per cent as hundreds of thousands of borrowers nervously negotiate a looming "mortgage cliff".

Pausing rates for a second month running, the central bank said it was closely watching a slowing rate of inflation and an easing of consumer spending.

A "soft landing" requires the RBA to return inflation in Australia to the target band of between 2 and 3 per cent without hiking rates too dramatically, which could result in high unemployment and an economic recession.

READ MORE: Recession warning as RBA weighs up tomorrow's rates decision

Governor Philip Lowe, who is due to exit his role at the RBA in September, said the bank was aware of the "painful squeeze" interest rates were placing on some households.

"Many households are experiencing a painful squeeze on their finances, while some are benefiting from rising housing prices, substantial savings buffers and higher interest income," he said.

"In aggregate, consumption growth has slowed substantially due to the combination of cost-of-living pressures and higher interest rates."

Lowe said inflation in Australia was "declining" but "still too high" at 6 per cent and warned that more interest rate hikes would be likely.

"Some further tightening of monetary policy may be required to ensure that inflation returns to target in a reasonable timeframe, but that will depend upon the data and the evolving assessment of risks," he said.

"In making its decisions, the Board will continue to pay close attention to developments in the global economy, trends in household spending, and the outlook for inflation and the labour market.

"The Board remains resolute in its determination to return inflation to target and will do what is necessary to achieve that."

READ MORE: Bleak reasons behind interest rates pause revealed

Speaking in parliament following the decision, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said today's pause will come as a "big relief" for Australians with a mortgage.

"This is a welcome reprieve for Australians already doing it tough enough. Australians are still under the pump, even as inflation moderates and even after this decision today," he said.

"Despite this there will be a sigh of relief around Australia."

Anneke Thompson, chief economist at CreditorWatch, said surprising data over the past 30 days prompted the RBA to hold its hand on moving the nation's cash rate target.

"The Reserve Bank of Australia today made the decision to again hold the cash rate at the current level of 4.10 per cent," Thompson said.

"A better-than-expected inflation rate over the June quarter, as well as slowing retail sales growth points to cooling economic conditions.

"And while the unemployment rate is still at record low levels, the forward indicators of employment conditions all point to a much tighter jobs market going forward."

READ MORE: Big changes are coming to the RBA. This is what it means for you

Richard Whitten, money expert at comparison website Finder, said the decision gives some much-needed breathing room for homeowners.

"Today's hold is welcome news for borrowers who have been bracing themselves for another hike," he said.

"Inflation is slowing down, which suggests that previous rate hikes are working."

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A man has been jailed with a non-parole period of 22 years and 10 months for abducting and burying his ex-girlfriend alive in South Australia's Flinders Ranges.

Warning: This story contains details and content that some readers may find distressing.

Nursing student Jasmeen Kaur was stalked, abducted and killed by Tarikjot Singh in March 2021 when she was buried alive in a shallow grave more than 400 kilometres from where she was last seen leaving work in Adelaide.

Singh pleaded guilty to murder before he was due to stand trial earlier this year after initially denying the killing.

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On Tuesday, Singh was sentenced to mandatory life in imprisonment.

He will be eligible for parole after 22 years and 10 months.

The minimum non-parole period for murder in South Australia is 20 years.

Justice Adam Kimber described the killing as horrific and callous in the extreme during the sentencing on Tuesday.

He said Singh had acted out of a desire to punish Ms Kaur for rejecting him.

"I am unable to find words to adequately describe how Ms Kaur must have felt when you placed her in the grave and buried her," he said.

"I cannot describe the terror Ms Kaur must have been experiencing when she realised you were burying her alive."

During sentencing submissions in July, the court heard Singh had kidnapped Kaur from her workplace after buying gloves, cable ties and a shovel from Bunnings hours earlier.

He drove Kaur for hours from Adelaide to the outback while she was restrained in the back or boot of the car.

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Her body was later found blindfolded, limbs bound with cable ties and gaffer tape in a shallow grave in the Flinders Ranges.

The murder has been described as an "act of vengeance" with an "uncommon level of cruelty".

– Reported with AAP.

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A French man is believed to have fallen to his death from a high-rise residential building in Hong Kong last week, police said on Monday, with local media outlets identifying him as daredevil Remi Lucidi.

Police said a 30-year-old man's body was found on a patio in the city's upscale Mid-Levels area.

He was believed to have engaged in extreme sports, police said, without identifying him.

READ MORE: Childcare worker charged with 1623 abuse offences against 91 girls

Officers conducted an initial investigation and said he apparently fell from a rooftop. No suicide note was found at the scene, they said.

The cause of his death would have to be verified by an autopsy, they added.

Local media, including the South China Morning Post, said the man was Lucidi, 30.

The Post cited an unnamed source saying he was last seen alive knocking on a penthouse window on the 68th floor of a residential tower on Thursday evening. The Associated Press has not been able to verify his identity.

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Lucidi, who used the name “Remi Enigma” on social media, last posted a photo of Hong Kong's night view a week ago on Instagram and tagged the location as Times Square in shopping district Causeway Bay. The photo appeared to be taken from above.

Supporters mourned him on social media.

Lucidi posted to Instagram as he climbed various tall structures around the world and took selfies, including one he captioned, “Above the Sky, 425m” and tagged Dubai as the location.

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UNESCO has a list of 55 places around the world it considers most in danger, including on our very own doorstep.

A property in Sydney's West Ryde that is not fit to be lived in has fetched $1.88 million, as a buyer snares a plot of increasingly valuable land in Sydney's rapidly-recovering market.

The ramshackle house at 73 Winbourne Street East traded via private treaty on July 31 and was on the market for the first time since it was built.

The sale sum is slightly higher than the postcode's median.

"Make no mistake, the house itself needs to be demolished and is not livable," the listing, on the books of Award Group Real Estate, says.

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Bullish results, from confident buyers, has helped Sydney's overall median to boom, recouping about two-thirds of the value lost during last year's historic downturn.

The listing for the West Ryde project home shows the pop of a light blue front door through thick foliage.

One of the property's big advantages is the location, in an area with schools and shopping, and key infrastructure pledged.

The Ryde-Parramatta Golf Club, a private club with a championship par-71 course, is nearby. The Sydney light rail expansion will deliver a new station on the home's doorstep.

READ MORE: Why the cost of beer will soar from today

West Ryde's median house price, according to Domain, is $1,820,500 – a rise of 17.5 per cent over five years. However, the median slipped 4.2 per cent over 12 months.

That cooling short-term median reflected the broader simmering down of the Sydney market, which is now over.

The aggressive recovery hastened over the last quarter – house prices leapt $77,626 in the three months to June – despite the steepest consecutive interest rate rises in a generation.

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Sydney's median has landed at $1,538,017 after lifting 5.3 per cent – four times faster than the previous quarter, Domain's House Price Report shows.

That figure is just 3.4 per cent below the price peak achieved in March 2022.

Domain's chief of economics and research Dr Nicola Powell told Nine in June that population pressure and low volumes of listings have placed a floor under prices and have contributed to the recuperation.

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Australian Federal Police have arrested a former childcare worker for the alleged "unfathomable" sexual abuse of almost 100 children at various childcare centres in Brisbane and Sydney over a 15-year period.

The 45-year-old Gold Coast man allegedly filmed the rape and abuse and uploaded the "chilling" child abuse material to the dark web; his alleged offending included 136 counts of rape and 110 counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10.

Police allege the man recorded his offending on phones and cameras while working in 10 childcare centres in Brisbane between 2007 to 2013, and 2018 to 2022; an overseas location in 2013 and 2014; and one centre in Sydney between 2014 and 2017.

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All the children allegedly offended against were pre-pubescent girls, and the AFP believe the man recorded it all. Some of the alleged victims are now aged over 18.

After detailed and difficult forensic investigations, police found more than 4000 images and videos containing alleged child abuse material, allegedly created by the suspect.

Alleged child abuse material was also recorded at an early learning centre attached to a school overseas. The man worked at other childcare centres but the AFP said it is confident the man did not allegedly offend at those centres.

Police said they are "highly confident" all 87 Australian children who were recorded in the alleged child abuse material have been identified.

"It's beyond the realms of anyone's imagination what this person did to these children," NSW police force Assistant Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald said.

"I can only say, you try not to be shocked after a long period of time in the police and crime reporting, but this is a horrific case."

Thousands of images and videos at centre of investigation

The man has been in custody in Queensland in August 2022 when the AFP arrested and charged him initially with two counts of making child exploitation material and one count of using a carriage service for child abuse material.

The AFP launched Operation Tenterfield immediately and within hours allegedly found further self-produced child abuse material on the man's electronic devices.

AFP Northern Assistant Commissioner Justine Gough described the painstaking work carried out by specialist police working under Operation Tenterfield.

"Given there were so many alleged images and videos of children recorded over 15 years on the alleged offender's devices, the process of identification took time, skill and determination," Gough said.

"These are horrific crimes (but) the AFP never gave up, and our partners never gave up, in terms of identifying all of the children.

"We are highly confident that all of the children who are subject to the recorded child abuse material have been identified and contact made with parents."

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Operation Tenterfield is linked to Queensland Police Service, whose specialist unit Taskforce Argos located alleged child abuse images and videos on the dark web in 2014.

Argos posted those images on an international victim identification database where law enforcement agencies from around the world try to locate victims.

AFP detectives and other agencies examined the images but they contained few distinguishable clues for investigators to follow, Gough said.

But in August last year, there was a major breakthrough.

The AFP was able to trace objects in the background of the alleged images and videos posted on the dark web between 2013 and 2014 to a Brisbane childcare centre.

Following inquiries with the childcare centre, the AFP executed a search warrant and arrested the man in Brisbane's south-western suburbs about 1am, on 21 August.

He was charged with making child abuse material allegedly posted on the dark web.

If you think a child is in immediate danger call Triple Zero (000), Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000, or your local police.

If you or someone you know are impacted by child sexual abuse and online exploitation there are support services available from The Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation

Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

UNESCO has recommended that one of the most popular and fragile tourist destinations in Italy be added to its heritage danger list.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation is calling on the Italian government to "ensure the utmost dedication" to address "long-standing problems" in Venice, which has been grappling for years with too many tourists and the effects of climate change.

Venice is one of 1,157 places currently designated a World Heritage Site, which have "outstanding universal value" because of their cultural or natural offerings.

READ MORE: Venice canal goes green – but police aren't happy

The recommendation to put Venice on the World Heritage in Danger list was made by UNESCO and advisory body experts in its provisional agenda ahead of the 45th session of the agency's World Heritage Committee, which is scheduled to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in September.

The draft resolution argues that there has not been a "significant level of progress in addressing the persistent and complex issues related in particular to mass tourism, development projects and climate change."

The draft resolution stated that these issues are causing "deterioration and damage to building structures and urban areas, degrading the cultural and social identity of the property and threatening the integrity of its cultural, environmental and landscape attributes and values."

Weather and tourism issues in Venice

Venice has been coping with a veritable seesaw of weather-related problems in recent years.

Back in February of this year, the city was in the grips of a drought so bad that it was impossible for gondolas, water taxis and ambulances to pass through some canals. In November 2019, flooding was so bad that historical treasures and buildings were endangered.

Overtourism in Venice has been an ongoing issue, and UNESCO noted some of the efforts in place to combat that, such as the ban on large ships from entering the San Marco Basin – Giudecca Canal. Still, the report said "the effects of the continuing deterioration due to human intervention, including continuing development, the impacts of climate change and mass tourism threaten to cause irreversible changes to the OUV [outstanding universal value]" of Venice.

According to a report from CNN affiliate SkyTG24, the Municipality of Venice said it "will carefully read the proposed decision published today by the Center for Unesco's World Heritage Committee and will exchange views with the government, which is the State Party with which UNESCO interacts."

CNN reached out to Italian Culture Ministry, which said it had not released a statement on the UNESCO recommendation. CNN has also reached out to the Italian Tourism Ministry and the Municipality of Venice, but neither had responded by Monday evening.

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Two life-saving units of blood are being flown from the UK to Australia to donate to an Adelaide mother-of-two who is desperately awaiting open-heart surgery.

Aussie mum Amira Soliman has a rare combination "O" and "A" blood type, with fewer than one in 10,000 people thought to be a match.

Last week, 9News reported that the 37-year-old South Australian had all but "exhausted" options in Australia, concerning doctors who said time was running out for Soliman, currently in hospital awaiting the urgent procedure.

READ MORE: 'Exhausted supplies': Aussie mum-of-two desperately seeking ultra-rare blood donor for urgent open-heart surgery

Since the call-out, three suitable donors had been identified in Australia – in Queensland, South Australia and Victoria – marking about a third of Soliman's needs.

Now, with the next batch being flown in from the UK, Amira is about half way, but the "search is still far from over".

Soliman will require a total of 20 bags of blood that will be distributed before, during and after her surgery.

Red Cross' Director of Donor Relations Steven Eldridge said searching for suitable donors is akin to "finding a needle in a haystack."

"Most people know about A and O blood groups, but within these main groups there are hundreds of varieties and Amira has a rare combination of them, with just one in 10,000 donations likely to be a match," he said.

"Our teams are working around the clock to test donations and have so far identified four suitable donors.

"We've still got more than halfway to go to ensuring there is enough blood for Amira's surgery to proceed.

"We're pleased to confirm that two bags of blood are currently en route to Australia from the United Kingdom, and we're working with other blood services overseas to search for potential donors."

READ MORE: Donors found for rare blood type needed to save Aussie mum's life

The Red Crooss said the appeal for Soliman "had an instant impact across Australia", with people responding "in their droves" by booking donations and turning up at Lifeblood donor centres.

Between Thursday and Sunday appointments were up 14 per cent nationally and up 102 per cent in Soliman's home state of SA.

In addition, there was also an 80 per cent increase in people donating for the first time during that period.

"Our team has been working tirelessly to collect, process and test donations," Eldridge said.

"We can't thank the people who have donated enough and hope the goodwill continues as we search for more matches.

"All blood donations are appreciated because they go to patients in need. Lifeblood needs 33,000 donations each week to meet patient demand across Australia."

A Lifeblood team, set up to support Soliman, now has more than 3,000 members.

To be a match for Soliman, a donor's blood type must be "O" or "A".

If a donor does not know their blood type, they should still donate to see if they are a possible match, Lifeblood says.

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