Melbourne mum and hairdresser Gillian Jenkins was in the salon cutting a client's hair when she suddenly felt her hand go numb.

"I walked over to the basin and I was thinking, 'This isn't normal'," the 34-year-old said.

"Then my arm went numb, and my leg and my face. I started freaking out."

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But, almost as quickly as it came, the strange episode passed. Within minutes, Jenkins said she felt fine.

On the advice of a colleague, Jenkins saw a GP at a local medical centre, who did a blood test that didn't show up anything out of the ordinary.

But, a week and a half later on Boxing Day, almost exactly the same thing happened again.

"I was out having lunch with a girlfriend and I went completely numb on my right side," she said.

Jenkins' friend called an ambulance and paramedics took her to Footscray Hospital.

While the numbness soon went away, Jenkins said she was left feeling nauseous and with a pounding headache.

At the hospital, a doctor ordered an electrocardiogram (ECG) and a blood test.

"Both of the tests came back clear and the doctor said he thought it was just anxiety and stress (causing the symptoms)," Jenkins said.

"I questioned that because I have never suffered anxiety in my life – but you take the doctor's advice."

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Over the next week, things grew more frightening. On a day trip to the zoo with her seven-year-old son Thomas and 16-year-old step-daughter Annabelle, Jenkins fell ill with a splitting headache and began to lose her vision.

"It was quite scary, everything was blurry and I just couldn't focus on anything. It was like there was a big blob in front of my face," she said.

After a nap, Jenkins' vision returned. But on New Year's Day, she deteriorated again so her husband took her to Werribee Mercy Hospital.

There, doctors did more tests, including a CT scan, which led to some devastating news.

"They told me there were multiple lesions on my brain, one on my lung and possibly one on my kidney," Jenkins said.

It turned out that a health scare Jenkins thought was well and truly in her past had come back to blindside her.

'It was never meant to come back'

Four years ago, when Jenkins was 29, she developed a melanoma on her back.

The melanoma and its surrounding tissue were removed. 

At the time, Jenkins was told she would not need any further treatment or scans, given the melanoma was so small.

Jenkins said she continued to get three-monthly skin checks in the intervening years, never missing an appointment.

It did not occur to Jenkins, or her doctors, to connect her past melanoma with her recent distressing symptoms because the skin cancer was considered such a low risk of returning, she said.

"It was never meant to come back," she said.

"I thought it was all done and dusted. I was only meant to have a 1 per cent chance of getting melanoma again."

However, a biopsy confirmed what doctors now suspected – the melanoma had returned.

Jenkins was diagnosed with stage four melanoma and a BRAF gene mutation was detected in the melanoma cells.

Her paralysis and vision loss were being caused by swelling on the brain. 

Once doctors treated the swelling, Jenkins said the symptoms stopped.

Under the care of doctors at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Jenkins is now taking medication to target the BRAF mutation, before undergoing a year-long course of immunotherapy treatment.

With Jenkins unable to work because of the side effects of her medication, her aunt set up an online fundraiser to help the family with bills that are piling up.

"That actually made me cry. I've been so lucky that I have had so much support," Jenkins said.

'I was always in the sun'

Melanoma makes up roughly one-in-10 new cancer cases in Australia, where we have the highest incidence of the deadly skin cancer in the world.

Last year, an estimated 17,750 Australians were diagnosed with melanoma, according to Cancer Australia.

More advanced treatments and earlier diagnoses have lead to improved outcomes for melanoma patients over the past few decades, with 93 per cent now surviving at least five years.

Due to the success of past campaigns such as "Slip, Slop, Slap", the risk for developing melanoma has more than halved for Australians aged under 30 since the 1980s.

Having grown up in the New South Wales coastal town of Port Stephens, Jenkins said much of her sun damage happened as a child.

"It was beach and bush – I was always out in the sun during my younger years," she said.

"I often got burnt as a teenager and I didn't really think much of it."

Jenkins said despite the progress Australia had seen, she still came across some people who appeared to be complacent about the dangers of too much sun exposure.

Jenkins said she hoped her story would encourage others, particularly parents, to be vigilant about sun safety.

"Make sure you have always got a hat and sunscreen on your kids, even if it's cloudy, there is still UV," she said.

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The Biden administration has determined that the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that traversed the United States last week was operating with electronic surveillance technology capable of monitoring US communications, according to a senior State Department official.

The balloon "was capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations" and was part of a fleet that had flown over "more than 40 countries across five continents."

"We know the PRC used these balloons for surveillance," the official said.

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"High resolution imagery from U-2 flybys revealed that the high-altitude balloon was capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations."

Signals intelligence refers to information that is gathered by electronic means – things like communications and radars.

Despite the latest revelations about the capabilities of the spy balloon, the Pentagon has insisted since the vessel was first acknowledged publicly that it does not give China capabilities above and beyond what they already have from spy satellites or other means.

"We did not assess that it presented a significant collection hazard beyond what already exists in actionable technical means from the Chinese," said Gen. Glenn VanHerck, the commander of US Northern Command and NORAD, on Monday.

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Capitol Hill briefings

Administration officials from the Pentagon, State Department and intelligence community briefed lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Thursday on the balloon, which has prompted criticism from Republicans over allowing it to float across the US before it was shot down off the Atlantic coast.

Sources familiar said the House's briefing with Biden administration officials was tense.

The officials told lawmakers that the US has assessed that little new intelligence was gleaned by the Chinese balloon operation because the Chinese appeared to stop transmitting information once the US learned of the balloon, in addition to US measures to protect sensitive intelligence from China's spying operations, according to the sources.

The US also believes what they have recovered from the shot-down balloon is beneficial to US intelligence, the sources said.

The State Department official said the balloon was part of a Chinese fleet developed to conduct surveillance operations" with a manufacturer tied to China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), the official added.

READ MORE: How big was the Chinese 'spy balloon'?

The official suggested that the US is eyeing sanctions for the presence of the balloon in US airspace – which US officials have repeatedly called a violation of US sovereignty and international law – noting the US "will also explore taking action against PRC entities linked to the PLA that supported the balloon's incursion into US airspace."

A recovery operation to secure debris from the balloon is ongoing with analysis continuing at an FBI laboratory in Virginia, but the officials' remarks suggest the US has already established the balloon was operating with electronic surveillance technology.

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However, the US has said it has been able to prevent the balloon from intercepting US communications.

"The high-altitude balloons' equipment was clearly for intelligence surveillance and inconsistent with the equipment onboard weather balloons.

It had multiple antennas to include an array likely capable of collecting and geo-locating communications.

It was equipped with solar panels large enough to produce the requisite power to operate multiple active intelligence collection sensors," the official added.

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"We could track the exact path of the balloon and ensure no activities or sensitive unencrypted comms would be conducted in its vicinity," a senior administration official said this week.

"The US military took immediate steps to protect against the balloon's collection of sensitive information, mitigating any intelligence value to the PRC."

Administration looked to avoid escalating tensions with China

In the congressional briefing, the administration officials argued that the US didn't move earlier to shoot down the balloon in part over fears it could provoke an escalation of military tensions with China or even a military conflict.

Biden gave the order to shoot down the balloon whenever the Pentagon felt it was safe to do so, the sources said, so the Pentagon ultimately made the call on when to shoot it down.

The House briefing on Thursday morning was tense, the sources said, with several Republicans railing against the administration, including GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who said that the Pentagon made the president – whom she noted she doesn't like – look weak by their actions.

In response, the briefers tried to lay out a detailed timeline of the actions, the sources said.

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President Joe Biden suggested on Wednesday that bilateral relations with China had not been affected by the balloon fallout, but China reacted angrily to the shootdown, refusing a call with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a high-stakes trip to Beijing on Friday.

New sanctions in response to the balloon would likely further inflame tensions.

"We know these balloons are all part of a PRC fleet of balloons developed to conduct surveillance operations. These kinds of activities are often undertaken at the direction of the People's Liberation Army (PLA)," the senior State Department official added.

Still, lawmakers were told on Thursday that the order to send the balloon was dispatched by a part of the Chinese government without Xi Jinping's knowledge, sources familiar with the briefing said. It's still unclear what the motivation was.

China "has overflown these surveillance balloons over more than 40 countries across five continents," the State Department official said, noting that "the Biden Administration is reaching out to countries directly about the scope of this program and answer any questions."

The official said that based on China's "messaging and public comments, it's clear that they have been scrambling to explain why they violated US sovereignty and still have no plausible explanation – and have found themselves on their heels."

"As we saw with the second balloon over Central and South America that they just acknowledged, they also have no explanation for why they violated the airspace of Central and South American countries," the official said.

"The PRC's program will only continue to be exposed, making it harder for the PRC to use this program."

Listeriosis can be especially dangerous for people during pregnancy, says NZ Food Safety.

With Valentines Day around the corner, flower farmers have a message to loved-up Aussies: buy local.

Passionate growers are among many in the industry who want customers to buy blooms that are grown in Australia rather than the abundance of stems imported from overseas.

It's estimated 10 million rose stems will arrive in the country ahead of next Tuesday.

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Cut by hand, flowers at 302 Flowers in Victoria are supplied to wholesalers and the public.

"When the flower is ready, we cut it. It's not languishing on a shelf somewhere, the freshest you can get it from a farm," 302 Flowers owner Anna Sfyris said.

"This is the freshest you can get it.

"Imported flowers, there are some issues and they are often fumigated."

Sfyris said locally grown flowers are chemical-free and support the local economy.

"We need people to support local and from COVID, we have learned that we have to support our local businesses." 

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In an effort to steer people away from imported blooms, advocacy groups also want "country of origin" stickers on bouquets.

"We know consumers want to know where flowers come from, it makes common sense," Flower Association of Australia's Anna Jabour said.

The advice from flower growers is to buy only what's in season and ask your florist where each stem was grown.

A police chase that spanned two states has ended with a man and two teenage boys being arrested after fleeing an alleged attempted robbery.

At 12:20pm on Thursday, Queensland Police were called to a break-in at a house in Cleveland, southeast of Brisbane.

According to a neighbour, two men fled the scene in a Mercedes SUV after the owner chased the alleged robbers out of his home.

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Queensland Police Air units then tracked the car down to the New South Wales border, about an hour and a half away.

New South Wales police took over the chase when the three men crossed over the border into the Tweed-Byron district, deploying road spikes and stopping the car on the M1 motorway at Cudgera Creek, after the car did not stop despite direct instructions from the New South Wales Police Force.

The Queensland residents, aged 27, 17, and 16, were arrested and are currently being held at the Tweed Heads Police Station.

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The investigation is ongoing, and police ask anyone with information is to contact authorities.

Commuters heading south on the M1 highway from Queensland into New South Wales have been advised to avoid the area as delays are expected. 

A social media fight club has a South Australian community living in fear.

Teenagers are being encouraged to stage violent attacks and upload them online, with several involving ambushes on innocent people.

In one video, a teenage girl attacks an innocent shopper, repeatedly punching and kicking her to the floor.

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The unprovoked attack played out in front of several onlookers, including children.

Jessica Burk suffered cuts, bruises and memory loss but it is the mental trauma that is taking the greatest toll.

"I can't go down to the shop at Woolies, Coles or Big W," Burk said.

"I need someone with me because I'm too scared because those attackers will be after me and I know they will."

The same attacker appears to feature in similar videos uploaded to social media.

It is all part of what appears to be a trend of social media fight clubs playing out in Port Augusta.

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9News is aware of at least two accounts encouraging the videos.

Burk is shocked it appears to be a big joke.

"I can't walk down the street because people are laughing," she said.

"I think it's a joke for the kids."

South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said those perpetrating the violence and filming it could be charged.

"It is an offence to insight an offence, so if people are actively engaging in an activity that encourages other people to commit a crime then they can be held accountable for that," Stevens said.

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However, Port Augusta residents said they are not seeing any accountability at all, claiming teenagers are released on bail after being charged.

"These days it's just a slap on the wrist and send you on your way," Burk's partner said.

"So the system has just gone backwards."

Stevens said it is a "very complex" situation.

"It is made more complex when it involves young people committing offences," he said.

It is not just the attackers and those filming the violence that could be charged, those creating the social media pages and uploading the videos could be held to account for inciting violence.

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OPINION: The only agenda is to accelerating and evaluate using an indigenous approach.

The trial of a former ultra-Orthodox Jewish school principal accused of raping three former students has moved behind closed doors.

Malka Leifer, 56, is facing 29 charges over the alleged sexual abuse of Melbourne sisters Nicole Meyer, Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper when she was head of religion and principal at the Adass Israel School in the city's eastern suburbs.

Leifer, a mother of eight, has pleaded not guilty and is facing trial in the Victorian County Court.

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The court was closed on Thursday when the first of the women, Meyer, was expected to begin her evidence.

It's believed to be the first time any of the women was in the same room as Leifer in 15 years.

The court is expected to remain closed in the coming days as Erlich and Sapper also give their evidence in the case.

Prosecutor Justin Lewis opened the case against Leifer in front of a jury of 15 on Wednesday, alleging Leifer had a tendency to act in the way alleged.

"It is said she has a tendency to have a sexual interest in girls when they were teenage students at the school and when those same girls were student teachers … to take advantage of their vulnerability, their ignorance in sexual matters and her position in the school," he said.

She's accused of raping all three women, now in their 30s.

Other charges include indecent assault and sexual penetration of a child aged 16 or 17.

After allegedly raping Meyer shortly before her wedding, Lewis said Leifer told her "this will help you for your wedding night".

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She's also accused of sexually abusing Meyer and Erlich when the trio shared a room on a school camp.

Leifer also allegedly told the youngest sister, Sapper, after abusing her on multiple occasions that "this is good for you".

Leifer's barrister Ian Hill KC said the defence position was that the allegations are "erroneous, imagined and/or fabricated".

"Mrs Leifer denies all of the criminal conduct alleged by each of the complainants," he said.

"You will hear that in 2008 she said to a fellow teacher … that she had done nothing wrong."

He said jurors were expected to hear there was a positive, glowing and appropriate relationship between Leifer and the sisters.

Support is available from 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

Defence Minister Richard Marles has ordered the removal of Chinese surveillance cameras from sensitive Australian government buildings as part of a review.

He announced the inquiry today after an audit revealed nearly 1000 Chinese surveillance cameras were installed at government sites.

The technology is made by Hikvision and Dahua, which have links to the Chinese government.

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"We're doing an assessment of all the technology for surveillance within the defence estate and where those particular cameras are found, they'll be removed," Marles told the ABC.

"It's a significant thing that's been brought to our attention and we're going to fix it – it's obviously been there … for some time and predates us coming into office."

The Defence Department said in the audit the total number of Chinese cameras was unknown but there was at least one.

Marles cautioned the Australian public shouldn't overreact about the risk of sensitive data being fed to Beijing.

"It's important that it's been brought to our attention, it is prudent we do the assessment and act on it," he told 9News.

Other western countries including the US and Britain have acted to remove Chinese cameras from their government buildings due to concerns they may contain spyware.

Shadow Cyber Security Minister James Paterson said today federal government buildings were "riddled" with the Chinese cameras and ministers needed to draw up plans for their removal.

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Paterson issued questions to every federal agency after the Home Affairs Department was unable to say how many of the cameras or related systems were in federal government buildings.

"We urgently need a plan from the Albanese government to rip every one of these devices out of Australian government departments and agencies," Paterson said.

The cameras and security equipment were found in nearly every department except Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Agriculture Department.

The audit showed the Attorney-General's Department had 195 of the camera systems installed at 29 sites.

The number in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was not revealed but it had identified at least 28 sites potentially affected.

Paterson said he was concerned about how CCTV technology made by Hikvision and Dahua had been used in China by the communist government.

"Both Hikvision and Dahua have been directly implicated in shocking human rights abuses and mass surveillance of Uyghur minorities in Xinjiang in partnership with the Chinese Communist Party," he said.

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The government review came after the Australian War Memorial in Canberra said it was removing Chinese cameras.

Eleven surveillance cameras will be removed from the memorial by the middle of this year, the Canberra Times reports.

A spokesperson for the memorial told 9news.com.au it does not comment on specific security matters but it "takes its security obligations seriously".



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The New Zealand pilot was flying five passengers before the plane was captured.