It's "unsurprising" that the reduction of work hours without a pay cut improved employees' wellbeing and boosted productivity, an Aussie business expert said.

With mental health and wellbeing issues prevalent among overworked staff, Professor Zhou Jiang with RMIT University said that not shocked that performance, productivity, innovation and creativity were all boosted as a result of a four-day work week. 

"The introduction of a four-day work week delivers a strong message about the employer's emphasis on work-life balance, openness to new and innovative solutions to support employees and a commitment to building a sustainable, resilient workforce," Jiang, head of business and administration, said.

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"The evidence from pilots, such as at ANZ, shows that strategically moving to a four-day work week will be a game-changer for many sectors.

"It is likely that organisations which effectively implement this practice in a way that suits their specific contexts will gain and accumulate competitive advantage quickly and sustainably."

A "key factor" in the success of similar programs moving forward will be determined by how companies "redesign jobs in line with the new schedule", Jiang explained.

He said there are also likely many other benefits to the change, including many potentially positive impacts on the environment.

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"Less commuting helps reduce traffic jams and carbon pollution," he said.

"It may also help workers enrich their family roles, and assist to address the society's gender gaps, such as through enhancing flexibility for caregiving duties and increasing equal employee opportunities regardless of gender.

"So far, the evidence for a four-day week is mainly from developed countries.

"It's great to see that pilot programs will soon occur in developing nations like South Africa and Brazil.

"I look forward to seeing the results of future pilot programs in more developing countries such as India and China where many employees are stressed to work on a 9-9-6 model (9am-9pm for 6 days per week).

"I predict that societal cultures, as well as individuals' cultural norms and value orientations, will significantly influence the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing the four-day work week."

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From the top of the tallest mountain in the pacific, to the sets of hollywood blockbusters: these are the world's largest Telescopes.

A US man who went missing as a teen more than eight years ago was found sleeping in front of a Texas church, according to police.

Rudolph "Rudy" Farias IV, who is from Houston, had been missing since March 6, 2015, according to a missing persons flyer published by the Texas Center for the Missing.

On June 29, the Houston Police Department received a call for service, responded to the church in east Houston and later confirmed that the individual was Farias, a department spokesperson said.

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It's unclear where Farias has been over the years, and officials did not offer further details on his past whereabouts or what led to the call that reunited him with his family.

He is "receiving the care he needs to overcome his trauma," his mother, Janie Santana, said in a statement for the family.

Farias is nonverbal and is unable to communicate with his family, according to the statement.

He was found by a good Samaritan who called 911, the family statement said, adding they had no other information on his case.

The Houston Fire Department responded to the scene at the request of police, Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña told CNN. When they arrived, Farias' mother was also there, Peña said.

Crews assessed Farias but he refused to be taken to a hospital, according to Peña.

Farias' mother signed a form refusing her son's transport, he said. At that point, Farias was left with family and police, Peña said.

When he was initially found, Farias had an item on him that identified a family member, police said. That family member was called and his mother arrived on scene, according to police.

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The Texas Center for the Missing would not comment on the circumstances in which Farias was found, only telling CNN that its focus is on the missing person and their family.

"Our mission is to continue supporting our families whose loved ones go missing," Melissa Rangel told CNN on Monday.

"Rudy Farias has been missing for eight years and now has been located safe. We at Texas Center for the Missing continue to support our families through reunification and want to continue to support the families through the healing and the hope when their loved ones are missing."

Farias, then 17, was walking his two dogs in northwest Houston when he vanished, CNN affiliate KHOU reported.

Farias' whereabouts for the last eight years remain unclear. In September 2018, police received information from family that Farias was spotted sleeping behind the residence of a family member, according to police.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, nearly 360,000 reports of missing children were made to the FBI in 2022 – a figure that may include duplicates.

The police department's Missing Person's Unit has been interested in interviewing Farias and his family but has been unable to conduct those interviews as of Monday morning, the spokesperson said.

Investigators have scheduled an interview with Farias on Wednesday, police said. The case remains under investigation.

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It was a bit overcast on much of the east coast as the brightest moon of the year so far rose but the rest of the world gave us a preview a nigh earlier.

Inspectors have visited a United States amusement park to continue investigating a rollercoaster shuttered since shortly after a dad spotted a crack at the top of one of its steel support pillars.

"I'm not an engineer, but that's not right," Jeremy Wagner thought on Friday on his visit to the Carowinds park in Charlotte, North Carolina, he told CNN.

The Fury 325 will stay closed until inspections and repairs happen, park officials have said. It's one of the tallest and longest rides in a massive park that straddles the North and South Carolina state line.

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"The North Carolina Department of Labor … (has) inspectors on site who are working to gather more information," the agency said on midday on Monday (2am Tuesday AEST).

"We will be able to make a full assessment and provide further information as it becomes available. Safety always has been and always will be our top priority."

Personnel with the department's Elevator and Amusement Device Bureau were expected to visit the site. The agency didn't share anything else about the nature of its inquiry.

At the park with family, Wagner knew something was wrong when he spotted the aperture in the coaster's infrastructure, he told CNN.

He pulled out his phone and hit record, zooming in on the crack to show the support pillar move slightly out of place as passengers flew by.

"My daughter and niece rode it six times," he told CNN.

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Wagner reported the incident to the park's guest services but still felt uneasy after he left, he said, "so, I called Charlotte Fire".

"They called me back within 10 minutes and advised the ride was shut down," he said.

State or local governments have overseen fixed-site amusement parks since Congress revoked that authority in the 1980s from the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Nearly 40,000 injuries were estimated last year on amusement attractions, including rides, waterslides and inflatables, the commission reported.

Fury 325 is "the tallest, fastest, longest giga coaster in North America," with a peak height of 325 feet and reaching 95 mph, the park says. A "giga" roller coaster has a drop between 300 and 399 feet, according to Kings Island amusement park in Ohio.

The rest of the Carowinds amusement and water park was open on Monday, its website said.

All rides, including Fury 325, "undergo daily inspections to ensure their proper functioning and structural integrity" Carowinds said.

"Safety is our top priority," it said, "and we appreciate the patience and understanding of our valued guests during this process."

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It might be one of Hollywood's biggest stars' birthday but it turns out he would rather spend it on the red carpet promoting his new blockbuster film.

Tom Cruise told Nine's Richard Wilkins it's a privilege to share his new film Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One at the Sydney red carpet premiere on his birthday.

"I get the feeling you'd rather be doing this than blowing out candles?" Wilkins asked.

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"Yeah, I'll do that later tonight," Cruise said.

The nearly three-hour non-stop action film is made for the big screen, Cruise said.

"When you look at the sound, the picture and effort we put into it, it's a whole different experience seeing a movie on the big screen," Cruise said.

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Global audiences will even be spoilt, with part two arriving in the coming months as the "story and journey" was "so big".

"It needed to be separated into two," he said.

"It will be a complete story.

"We're not going to leave people on a cliffhanger and it'll lead you on to the next."

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Cruise said he was elated to be back in Sydney and the red carpet was a flurry of screaming fans.

"It's beautiful to be back here. What a gorgeous, gorgeous city this is," he said.

"I've spent so much time here so it's great to be back."

Watch the full interview with Tom Cruise on the red carpet in the video player above.

With just five words, a recent tweet from Kraft Heinz sparked a bit of a debate about how you should store your ketchup.

"FYI," began the tweet from the United Kingdom-based branch of the food and beverage company. "Ketchup. Goes. In. The. Fridge!!!"

Kraft Heinz, whose ketchup is among its popular condiments, shared the heavily punctuated statement on Tuesday in a tweet that reached over four million people.

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A day later, the company asked the public via a Twitter poll whether they kept their ketchup chilled or in the pantry.

"Where do you keep yours? It has to be … in the fridge!" the poll stated.

The answer of "fridge" appeared to be the consensus, according to 63.2 per cent of over 13,000 votes cast, the poll's results showed.

Meanwhile, 36.8 per cent of respondents said they preferred their ketchup in the cupboard.

Some Twitter users who voiced their distaste for cold ketchup pointed out that ketchup bottles are stored at room temperature on tables at restaurants.

Other users didn't understand the need for a debate, asserting that once the ketchup bottle is opened, it belongs in the refrigerator.

In 2017, a Twitter user posed the same question to the United States branch of Heinz through the social media website.

At the time, Heinz responded, "Because of its natural acidity, Heinz Ketchup is shelf-stable, but refrigerate after opening to maintain product quality."

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The first of four supermoons to rise in 2023, July's lunar display will appear to be brighter in the night sky than any other full moon event that has occurred this year.

The full moon, known as the buck moon in the US, will rise on Monday night and will be visible in Australia, according to astrophysicist Brad Tucker, from the Australian National University.

"It will be a supermoon tonight and it is 100 per cent full at 9.39pm AEST," he told 9news.com.au.

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"The 'buck' name is just a northern hemisphere name which really doesn't mean anything," he added.

"The best time to see it though is when the moon rises, which is at sunset.

"As the sun is setting in the west, the moon will be rising in the east, as it does it will look its biggest and brightest on the horizon."

What is a 'supermoon'?

Space agency NASA said a supermoon "occurs when the moon's orbit is closest (perigee) to Earth at the same time it is full".

This means it can look quite different to the naked eye.

"A supermoon is when the moon appears a little bit bigger in our sky," Dr Shannon Schmoll, director of the Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University, said.

"As the moon goes around the Earth, it's not a perfect circle.

"So, there are points in its orbit where it's a little bit closer or a little bit farther from the Earth."

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When the orb reaches its full moon phase at a point in its path where it is closer to the Earth, it appears to be slightly larger and a supermoon occurs, Schmoll explained.

While the size difference between a supermoon and a typical full moon may not be immediately apparent to the naked eye, The Old Farmer's Almanac says the first full moon of summer will be more luminous and 361,934km from Earth.

This month's moon is also known as the buck moon in the US as July is typically when male deer's antlers grow during an annual cycle of shedding and regrowth.

There are several other names for the buck moon that come from Native American peoples, according to Western Washington University.

Names like hot moon refer to summer weather while terms like raspberry moon and ripe corn moon signify the best times for harvesting fruit and other crops.

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Full moons and supermoons

While most years have 12 full moons, 2023 will have 13 of these lunar events.

There will be two supermoons in August, including a blue moon, which will be the closest moon to Earth this year, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac.

The fourth and final supermoon in 2023 will rise on September 29.

Here are the full moons remaining in 2023, according to the Farmer's Almanac:

• August 1: Sturgeon moon
• August 30: Blue moon
• September 29: Harvest moon
• October 28: Hunter's moon
• November 27: Beaver moon
• December 26: Cold moon

Lunar and solar eclipses

People across North, Central and South America will be able to see an annular solar eclipse on October 14.

During the solar eclipse, the moon will pass between the sun and Earth at or near its farthest point from Earth.

The moon will appear smaller than the sun and encircled by a glowing halo.

To avoid damage to the eyes, viewers should wear eclipse glasses.

A partial lunar eclipse will also take place on October 28.

Only part of the moon will pass into shadow as the sun, Earth and moon will not completely align.

This partial eclipse will be viewable in Europe, Asia, Australia, parts of North America and much of South Africa.

Meteor showers

Each of the nine remaining meteor showers expected to peak this year will be most visible from late evening until dawn in areas without light pollution.

Here are the events' peak dates:

• Southern Delta Aquariids: July 30-31
• Alpha Capricornids: July 30-31
• Perseids: August 12-13
• Orionids: October 20-21
• Southern Taurids: November 4-5
• Northern Taurids: November 11-12
• Leonids: November 17-18
• Geminids: December 13-14
• Ursids: December 21-22

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A champion Australian skydiver has been killed in the US while testing out a new method for the sport, with her mother saying she "died doing what she loved".

Melissa Porter, from Port Kennedy in Perth, died after the accident at the Skydive Spaceland Houston facility in Texas on June 24.

She was trying a high-risk manoeuvre called swooping when she had a hard landing and fell into water.

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Her mother Vonnie Porter said she was told to call the hospital in America before she was given the shock news.

"I said, 'I'm ringing about Mel Porter.' I said, 'She's been in a skydiving accident'," she told 9News.

"He said, 'She is dead.'

"She's my baby and she's not coming home."

Porter said her daughter "loved" the sport.

"That was her happy place. She'll forever be in the sky roaming the world now," she said.

Porter, who was also a skydiving instructor, helped set a skydiving record in Queensland earlier this year.

She was one of 23 women who jumped at Skydive Ramblers in Toogoolawah on May 6, completing the "2-point 23 way", an Australian women's total-break sequential record.

Local police yesterday confirmed friends had identified the woman as Porter. 

The Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office will work to determine Porter's cause of death.

Friends are now planning a tribute skydive to honour her.

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The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) confirmed it is "providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian woman who died in the United States".

"We send our deepest condolences to the woman's family," a DFAT spokesperson added.

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Pupils will study the school’s history ahead of the big weekend.