Romanian authorities said they have seized nearly $5.7 million worth of assets belonging to controversial internet personality Andrew Tate over the past week as he and his brother are investigated on allegations of human trafficking and rape.

Roughly 18 million lei, equivalent to $5,641,356, has been seized, the country's Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ANABI) said in a press release on Saturday

Among the 29 seized assets are motor vehicles, luxury watches and sums of money in several different currencies, ANABI said.

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The seizures were carried out on orders from prosecutors of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, according to ANABI.

Video published by Reuters on Saturday shows Romanian authorities at a compound emblazoned with a large "Tate" sign seizing several high-value vehicles, including a Rolls Royce, a BMW and a Mercedes Benz.

Andrew and his brother Tristan Tate were detained in Romania in December as prosecutors pursued claims of human trafficking and rape.

Authorities in Romania said police served search warrants at five homes and took four suspects into custody – two Britons and two Romanians – as part of the investigation.

Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) said the four suspects had been detained for an initial 24 hours.

A Bucharest court accepted an application by DIICOT to hold Tate and his brother Tristan in custody for a further 30 days, their lawyer Eugen Vidineac said on December 30.

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DIICOT alleged that the four suspects formed an organized criminal group that stretched from Romania to Britain and the United States, for the purpose of committing the crime of human trafficking.

The authorities allege that two of the suspects misled the victims "into believing that they intended to enter into a marriage/cohabitation relationship" while transporting victims to Romania and later sexually exploiting them with physical violence and coercion.

Authorities also said one of the suspects raped a victim on two separate occasions in March 2022.

At least six victims were allegedly "sexually exploited by the organised criminal group," the DIICOT statement said.

Tate known for misogynistic rants

Tate, a former professional kickboxer, is known for his viral rants online about male dominance, female submission and wealth.

He openly advocates violence against women, and had previously been banned from every major social media platform until Elon Musk reinstated his Twitter account after taking over the company.

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He rose in prominence earlier this year, with many adults including school teachers voicing alarm about his misogynistic ideas taking root in the minds of countless young boys.

Before it was taken down, his TikTok account racked up about 11.6 billion views.

He made headlines the week of his arrest for a Twitter interaction with Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who told Tate to get a life after he tweeted about his numerous cars "and their respective enormous emissions".

https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1608056944501178368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

There was speculation online that authorities were alerted to Tate's presence in Romania by the appearance of a particular pizza box in one of the photos he posted in his spat with Thunberg.

But, according to Reuters, a spokesperson for DIICOT said the pizza boxes did not play a role in the detentions.

‘He went out the way he wanted to go out, protecting his child.’

She is accused of having groped two women and a man.

Laura Patea was caught driving twice in two months, despite being disqualified until 2024.

“I’ve never seen anything like this hit the beach before. It’s an eye-opener.”

Wild weather will be felt across nearly every state and territory this week according to Weatherzone, which warns floods, storms, a heatwave and cold front will all hit the country in the next seven days.

The weather service said rain is "likely" to lash every region in Australia with pockets of heavy rain across Queensland and Western Australia.

There's also an "increasing" risk a tropical cyclone could develop in the Coral Sea, days after ex-tropical cyclone Ellie relinquished its grasp.

Let's cover the rain off first shall we.

READ MORE: Aussie among 72 on plane that crashed in Nepal

The heaviest falls are expected over central-eastern Queensland, with predictions 500mm could fall in the first half of the week.

Up to 500 mm of rain has already fallen over the past few days, generating life-threatening floods.

Numerous flood warnings are in place and residents are urged to stay across them.

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But Queensland is not the only state set for a soaking.

Weatherzone's accumulated rainfall map indicates up to 300mm could fall over Western Australia, while 100mm could inundate parts of New South Wales, Northern Territory, and Victoria.

"The map below paints a clear picture of how this week will unfold, with rain likely in part of every state and territory," it said.

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The deluge comes as the south and south-east brace for a heatwave and stormy conditions.

The mercury is expected to hit the mid-to-high thirties in Melbourne and Adelaide on Tuesday.

Sydney could also see a temperature-record tumble.

Tuesday or Wednesday could mark the Harbour City's first day over 30C since February 2021.

Temperatures in the low-thirties are forecast across Sydney, Hobart and Canberra.

"(This) would end the city's second longest stretch without a 30C day in records dating back to 1859," Weatherzone said.

But with the sticky heat comes the risk of storms. 

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"Southern Australia's hot start to the week will take a stormy turn when a cold front and associated trough bring clouds, rain and thunderstorms through the middle of the week," Weatherzone said.

"Rain and storms could affect parts of Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and southern Queensland between Tuesday and Friday, with severe thunderstorms possible in several states."

A dangerous squall line could even develop ahead of the cold front, which will make Tuesday afternoon and night "particularly dangerous" in parts of South Australia, Victoria and southwest New South Wales.

Australians can keep across latest weather warnings from the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) here as the week progresses.

Lower airfares might finally be coming to Aussie travellers who have endured skyrocketing prices throughout last year.

A government index which tracks the cost of discounted tickets has revealed a significant drop in its most recent figures.

The index, maintained by the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics, has not sat this low since August.

READ MORE: Aussie among 72 on plane that crashed in Nepal

It remains, however, considerably above 2018 and 2019 levels.

The dip follows a warning sent to airlines last month from Australia's consumer watchdog over the sustained price escalation of domestic airfares.

The ACCC promised to closely monitor fares after a report showed the cost of flying has soared well above pre-pandemic levels.

The research showed the average revenue per passenger, an indication of average airfares across all fare types, was 27 per cent higher in October 2022 than in October 2019.

Analyst Matthew Findlay from Ailevon Pacific Aviation Consulting said it was difficult to forecast what kind of ticket prices Australians can expect this year, because of a confluence of factors.

"There are too many dynamics involved," he told 9news.com.au, pointing to the price of oil, the broader challenge for airlines to return to full capacity and wider global economic uncertainty.

"It's difficult to find a place in airline businesses where the costs are falling, and so the prices do reflect that," he said.

"There hasn't been capacity available and fares have been incredibly expensive."

While travellers had been suffering, and airlines appeared to be reaping rewards, Findlay said aviation executives would be wary about the consequences of elevated fares over prolonged periods.

"You invite more competition into your market if prices are well above where peak equilibrium of profit is."

He warned airlines to "tread carefully", saying more airlines like low-cost carrier Bonza could be encouraged to enter the market.

READ MORE: Mystery illness finally diagnosed seven years after Thailand holiday

Qantas, Virgin Australia and Rex have all scaled back the supply of flights, which has resulted in a significant spike in prices.

The three airline groups are all forecasting a profitable financial year after three years of significant losses.

In November, Qantas lifted its profit forecast for the December half by $150 million.

The national carrier expected to record an underlying profit of between $1.35-1.45 billion for the last half of 2022.

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Findlay said there were good deals out there for people who planned ahead and booked early.

"People also need to look beyond the first airline that comes to mind."

"Smart and canny" consumers were often looking to smaller carriers to move them around the country, he said.

"There haven't been enough airlines able to return their capacity back to levels that were what they were pre-pandemic," he said.

"And so it's been a simple supply and demand outcome."

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A young woman from Victoria who contracted a rare parasite on holiday in Thailand is urging travellers to learn from her experience.

Tess Swift from Ocean Grove, south of Geelong, has suffered from chronic illness for more than seven years and warns it could happen to anyone.

She started feeling ill soon after arriving home from the family trip.

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"I started feeling not great a couple of weeks after we got back but … we put it down to being overseas eating different food," she said.

"Then about four weeks after we got back I woke up in the middle of the night with really severe abdominal pain and nausea."

Swift was admitted to emergency and had her appendix removed.

But the excruciating pain continued and the nausea has never stopped.

"The nausea has been my biggest issue for the last seven and a half years," she said.

"I haven't had a day where I'm not nauseous for the last seven and a half years, and again, we tried over 20 medications for nausea with not much success."

At her worst in 2019, Swift spent six and a half weeks in hospital.

Doctors couldn't work out what was wrong.

"I've been in and out of hospital, being told all sorts of different things from 'we think you have an eating disorder' to 'it's just irritable bowel syndrome', and a thousand other things in between."

Her mother Virginia Dickson-Swift said it had been a "challenging" time.

Finally the answer came after her specialist tested for rare parasites.

It was gnathostomiasis, a bug that comes from eating undercooked or raw infected freshwater fish, birds, and reptiles.

It's particularly prevalent in Thailand.

"It was the craziest thing ever," Swift said.

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Swift and her mum have decided to share their story to raise awareness.

They say they don't want anyone to go through what they've endured.

"I feel like it stole seven years of my life," Swift said.

"I missed out on so much like social time in my 20s."

Dickson-Swift urged anybody with a health condition like her daughter to keep pushing for answers.

"If you've got something that is a condition that's a little bit different, you know, keep advocating for yourself, keep pushing," she said.

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An Australian was on board the 72-seat Nepali passenger aircraft that has crashed into a gorge while landing at a newly opened airport in the central resort town of Pokhara on Sunday, killing at least 32 people, an official said.

Rescuers were scouring the crash site near the Seti River, which is nearly 1.6 kilometres away from Pokhara International Airport, and were expecting to find more bodies, said Tek Bahadur K C, a senior administrative officer in the Kaski district.

It was not immediately clear what caused the plane to crash.

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The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft operated by Nepal's Yeti Airlines was carrying 68 passengers, including 15 foreign nationals, and four crew members, Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement. The foreigners included five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one each from Australia, Ireland, Argentina and France.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been contacted for comment.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who rushed to the airport after the crash, said the plane was flying from the capital, Kathmandu, to Pokhara. He urged security personnel and the general public to help with the rescue efforts.

Images and videos shared on Twitter showed plumes of smoke billowing from the crash site as rescue workers, Nepali soldiers, and crowds of people gathered around the wreckage of the aircraft.

Pokhara, located 200 kilometres west of Kathmandu, is the gateway to the Annapurna Circuit, a popular hiking trail in the Himalayas. Pokhara International Airport began operations only two weeks ago.

Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest, has a history of air crashes.

Last year, 22 people died when a plane crashed on a mountainside in Nepal. In 2018, a US-Bangla passenger plane from Bangladesh crashed on landing in Kathmandu, killing 49 of the 71 people aboard.

In 1992, all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when it plowed into a hill as it tried to land in Kathmandu.

Christian fundamentalist Lincoln Russ should learn to cope with progress.