Australia's first TV celebrity doctor James Wright has died aged 94.

Wright is believed to have died peacefully in his sleep over the weekend, just two weeks shy of his 95th birthday.

In a previous interview with 9News, he had said he planned to live to 110.

"That's the current plan. I might revise it later on," he said.

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Known as "The Merry Medic", he was a regular guest on Channel 9's morning programs including The Mike Walsh Show, Midday with Ray Martin and Midday with Kerri-Anne Kennerley.

He then pivoted to radio, where he hosted programs on 2GB and 2UE.

He also contributed countless columns for publications like The Sunday Telegraph, The Australian Women's Weekly, Woman's Day and teen magazine Dolly.

Not only did he contribute to magazines but he also wrote 30 books over his career.

Wright had a colourful life – in fact, his name was not originally James Wright but rather he was born John Franklin Knight.

As a doctor, he was unable to use his real name on radio or in his magazine publications so adopted the professional pseudonym Dr James Wright for his media work.

He was awarded an order of Australia medal in 1998 for his work in media and philanthropy.

The celebrity doctor also faced serious health battles including fighting throat cancer in 2012 and bowel cancer five years later.

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But his life took a turn when Wright was the victim of a serious scam scandal.

In 2005, a New Zealand fraudster conned him out of $51 million.

Former neighbour Derek Turner convinced Wright to invest tens of millions of dollars of his family's money in his companies.

But despite the serious fraud, Wright kept a positive outlook and said it would "business as usual" for his aged care foundation.

"I'm still the happiest and healthiest doctor in Australia," told Southern Cross radio at the time.

"This is unfortunate. I made a bad decision, but life moves on."

Wright's legacy lives on through his Medi-Aid Centre Foundation which continues to provide subsidised housing for older people who are unable to afford long-term accommodation.

Every job has its occupational hazards – but there aren't many where you run a daily risk of hospitalisation.

Yet that's exactly where Darling Downs snake catcher Gunter Glasser ended up after he tangled with an eastern brown snake last week.

Glasser was called out to Oakey on Friday, where he ended up sustaining a bite on his left index finger.

EXPLAINER: What to do if you encounter a deadly snake, spider or jellyfish

"It was just too fast for me," he told 9news.com.au.

"You're always watching for what they can do, but this one was just too fast."

Glasser managed to bag the snake and safely contain it, before he put a pressure bandage on his hand and called paramedics.

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They swiftly took him to hospital, where they removed the bandage – and he said that's where his memory hits a blank spot.

"The doctor said I was extremely confused and didn't know what had happened," Glasser said.

"I had extreme nausea, vomiting, headaches, terrible kidney pain.

"But I don't remember any of it."

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It's not the first bite the long-time snake catcher has suffered, but Glasser said his previous bites were all from black snakes, and he had been in and out of hospital in 24 hours.

Eastern brown snake venom can be and has been deadly to humans.

It attacks the heart and kidneys and causes dangerous blood thinning.

Yet, as Glasser noted on Facebook, there was often no pain from the bite, so somebody who is bitten on the foot or ankle might not realise it straight away.

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Glasser woke up Saturday morning thinking it was still Friday and remains in hospital undergoing tests after initial scans found his heart and kidneys had been affected by the bite.

Physically, he said, he was feeling much better.

Glasser said he had felt a "little bit anxious" as he waited for the paramedics, this being his first brown snake bite.

But the main reaction, he said, was being "annoyed" at the inconvenience and at being unavailable when people needed help.

"With the black snake bites, it's a lot more pain, but you know you'll be back at it in 24 hours," he said.

And he doesn't plan to take a break from his job – he's been farming out calls to other, part-time catchers from his hospital bed.

READ MORE: Tributes to woman killed in Woolworths tragedy

"As soon as I feel okay, if I go home this afternoon, I'll be back at work tomorrow," he said.

"I like to do it as a community service, I keep fees as low as possible, and do things like discounts for pensioners."

He's likely to have plenty to do – summer is just around the corner and the extremely wet year in the eastern states means snake numbers are forecast to be high.

If you're bitten by a snake, Queensland Health offers a quick five-step response to carry out immediately.

• First, call an ambulance on triple-zero (000).

• Don't move and don't panic – staying still could save your life. Snake venom moves through the lymphatic system, meaning its passage through body speeds up when you move your limbs.

• Leave the snake alone – hospital staff can test to see what kind you were bitten by.

• Apply a pressure bandage and a splint to keep your limb straight and still.

• Do not wash the bite, or try to cut the bitten area or suck the venom out – and avoid using a tourniquet.

And remember, even if you are bitten, it's extremely rare for people in Australia to die from snakebite, especially if first aid is swiftly rendered.

A protester has run onto the field carrying a rainbow flag and wearing a blue Superman T-shirt that said “SAVE UKRAINE” on the front and “RESPECT FOR IRANIAN WOMAN” on the back during a World Cup match between Portugal and Uruguay.

Security officials chased the protester down and the flag was dropped on the field before the person was escorted off the field.

The referee then picked up the flag and left it on the sideline, where it stayed for a few moments before a worker came and collected it.

READ MORE: Families of Iran players threatened after World Cup protest

The spectator was ushered away through a tunnel.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the protester faced any charges or had been detained by police.

In the first week of the tournament in Qatar, seven European teams lost the battle to wear multi-coloured “One Love” armbands during World Cup matches.

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Fans also complained they weren’t allowed to bring items with rainbow colours, a symbol of LGBTQI+ rights, into the stadiums of the conservative Islamic emirate.

Qatar’s laws against gay sex and treatment of LGBTQI+ people were flashpoints in the run-up to the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East.

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Qatar has said everyone was welcome, including LGBTQI+ fans, but that visitors should respect the nation’s culture.

The incident occurred during the second half of the game at Lusail Stadium.

What do you have on your bedside table if you're one of the richest people in the world?

Elon Musk has answered that question with a photo posted on Twitter overnight.

And it's the usual stuff. A couple of books, a bottle of water, four open cans of Diet Coke, a gun that probably doesn't work, and a gun that certainly doesn't.

READ MORE: Elon Musk's chaotic first month at Twitter

"My bedside table," Musk wrote.

"There is no excuse for my lack of coasters."

It's an odd collection of objects for a man not known for being especially normal.

One of the guns is a replica of the flintlock pistol George Washington used to have. It's kept in a box along with an image of the first president crossing the Delaware River.

There's also a model replica of the Diamond Back .357 revolver from the video game Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

READ MORE: Elon Musk has lost $419 million every day for the past year

It's not apparent if any of the Coke cans have any drink left in them. It's possible the world's richest man is saving the cans to exchange for the 5c exchange. 

Though Musk lives in Texas, which does not have a can exchange program. 

Also on his table is a Tibetan Buddhist amulet called a Vajra Dorje, which is used for meditation.

Behind what appears to be a lamp is a three-book set, consisting of the US Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and an etiquette book written by Washington himself.

The photo is among a stream of angry, bizarre and unhinged tweets Musk has made overnight.

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Musk posted several tweets about psychological operations (psy ops) happening on Twitter.

He then accused Apple of hating free speech because they "mostly stopped advertising on Twitter".

"Did you know Apple puts a secret 30 per cent  tax on everything you buy through their App Store?" he wrote.

He then posted a meme which indicated an escalation in his war against Apple.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1597302404239659008

He wrote that Apple had threatened to remove Twitter from its app store.

Musk said if Apple bans Twitter, he will make his own smartphone.

READ MORE: Mass exodus after Twitter workers reject Musk's 'hardcore' demands

The world's largest active volcano spewed some ash and lava on Monday and officials warned residents of Hawaii's Big Island to prepare for the possibility of a larger eruption.

Predicting volcanic eruptions is an inexact science. The US Geological Survey warned the island's 200,000 residents that an eruption of Mauna Loa "can be very dynamic, and the location and advance of lava flows can change rapidly."

The eruption began late Sunday night in the summit caldera of the volcano on the Big Island following a series of closely spaced, fairly large earthquakes, said Ken Hon, the scientist-in-charge at the Hawaiian Volcanos Observatory.

READ MORE: The explosive truth about 'supervolcanoes'

Magma moved to the surface, although lava flows were contained within the summit area and weren't threatening nearby communities.

Most of the people on the island live in the city of Kailua-Kona to the west of the volcano, which has about 23,000 people, and Hilo to the east, with about 45,000. Officials were most worried about several subdivisions about 50km to the south of the volcano, which are home to about 5000 people.

A time-lapse video of the eruption from overnight showed molten lava lighting up the caldera, moving across it like waves on the ocean.

The eruption migrated from the summit to the northeast rift zone, a notice from the US Geological Survey said. It was feeding several lava flows, which were not threatening any downslope communities.

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All indications pointed to the eruption staying in the northeast hazard zone, the USGS statement said.

An eruption from the northeast rift zone could send lava toward the county seat of Hilo or other towns in East Hawaii. It could take lava weeks or months to reach populated areas on this side of the mountain. A rift zone is where the mountain is splitting apart and the rock is cracked and relatively weak – making it easier for magma to emerge.

"We don't want to try and second guess the volcano," Hon said. "We have to let it actually show us what it's going to do and then we inform people of what is happening ASAP."

"At this time, it's not a time to be alarmed," Big Island Mayor Mitch Roth said.

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Hawaii County Civil Defense announced it has opened shelters in Kailua-Kona and Pahala because it has reports of people self-evacuating along the South Kona coast.

The average Mauna Loa eruption is not typically prolonged, lasting a couple of weeks, Hon said.

"Typically, Mauna Loa eruptions start off with the heaviest volume first," Hon said.

"After a few days, it starts to calm down a little bit."

The USGS warned residents at risk from Mauna Loa lava flows to review their eruption preparations. Scientists had been on alert because of a recent spike in earthquakes at the summit of the volcano, which last erupted in 1984.

Portions of the Big Island were under an ashfall advisory issued by the National Weather Service in Honolulu, which said up to 0.6 centimetres of ash could accumulate in some areas.

Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that together make up the Big Island of Hawaii, which is the southernmost island in the Hawaiian archipelago.

Mauna Loa, rising 4169 metres above sea level, is the much larger neighbour of Kilauea, which erupted in a residential neighborhood and destroyed 700 homes in 2018. Some of its slopes are much steeper than Kilauea's, so lava can flow much faster when it erupts.

During a 1950 eruption, the mountain's lava traveled 24km to the ocean in fewer than three hours.

Tourism is Hawaii's economic engine but Roth predicted few problems for those on vacation during the eruption.

"It will be spectacular where it is, but the chances of it really interrupting the visitor industry — very, very slim," he said.

For some, the eruption might cut down on some travel time, even if there is more vog, or volcanic smog caused by higher sulfur dioxide emissions.

"But the good thing is you don't have to drive from Kona over to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to see an eruption anymore," Roth said.

"You can just look out your window at night and you'll be able to see Mauna Loa erupting."

Law enforcement authorities in six different countries have joined forces to take down a "super cartel" of drugs traffickers controlling about one third of the cocaine trade in Europe, the European Union crime agency alleges.

Europol said 49 suspects were arrested during the investigation, with the latest series of raids across Europe and the United Arab Emirates taking place between November 8 and 19.

The agency said police forces involved in "Operation Desert Light" targeted both the "command-and-control centre and the logistical drugs trafficking infrastructure in Europe".

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More than 30 tonnes of drugs were seized during the investigations run in Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UAE with the support of Europol.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration also played a role in bringing down the organisation, which was also involved in money laundering, Europol said.

"The scale of cocaine importation into Europe under the suspects' control and command was massive," Europol said, alleging that the suspects used encrypted communications to organise drugs shipments.

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The Netherlands was the country where most of the arrests were made, with 14 suspects arrested in 2021. Europol said six "high-value targets" were arrested in Dubai.

Dutch authorities alleged one of the suspects arrested in Dubai allegedly imported thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the Netherlands in 2020 and 2021.

READ MORE: Woman who died in workplace incident at Woolworths remembered by loved ones 

The 37-year-old man with both Dutch and Moroccan nationality is also being prosecuted for allegedly laundering large amounts of money and possession of firearms.

Police started investigating him after investigators cracked the encrypted messaging service Sky ECC, which is popular with criminals.

A 40-year-old Dutch-Bosnian citizen was also arrested in Dubai following an investigation based on intercepted Sky messages, according to Dutch police.

He is suspected of importing into Europe cocaine and raw materials for the production of amphetamines.

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Record amounts of cocaine are being seized in Europe. Its availability on the continent has never been higher, with extremely high purity and low prices.

More than 214 tonnes of cocaine were seized in the region in 2020, a 6 per cent increase from the previous year, and experts from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction believe that amount could reach 300 tonnes in 2022.

Mmalerato Harrison's loved ones say she was "someone you met only once in a lifetime".

The Lake Macquarie woman's life was cut short on Friday when she was killed in a workplace accident at Jesmond Woolworths where she was working a morning shift as a contract cleaner.

"She had this infectious smile. She was the kind of person who would do anything for anyone," colleague and friend Jessika Abra told 9News.

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Police said Harrison was crushed by cleaning equipment that reversed onto her.

Paramedics were called to the scene but were unable to save her.

Harrison's long-time friend and former colleague Tiana Campbell was left devastated.

Harrison had moved to Charlestown from South Africa, leaving behind her twin sister Lerato.

READ MORE: Police searching for body of missing man in Perth

She lived with her husband Glenn and his two teenage children.

"Every time she'd say their names, her eyes would just light up," Campbell said

"She thought the world of them."

Harrison was in the process of applying for Australian citizenship and had passed her test just days before she died, according to friends.

She had been working three jobs to make ends meet. While she was a beautician by trade, she picked up cleaning shifts during lockdown when her work began to dry up.

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Both Campbell and Abra have been in contact with Harrison's twin sister, who said she was yet to be contacted by Woolworths.

A spokesperson for Woolworths said they had offered support to the family via the contract cleaning company.

"We are now in contact with some of her direct family members and this will continue in the coming days," the spokesperson said in a statement.

Safework NSW confirmed it is investigating the incident.

"She was such a positive person and she will always hold a place in our hearts," Abra said.

"She touched so many people."

Concern for the protected great white shark stopped police conducting an experiment to see how a body might travel in the ocean using pig carcasses fitted with location trackers.

An inquest into Sydney fraudster Melissa Caddick's disappearance, which resumed on Monday, previously heard of the experiment, but it was unclear if it was conducted.

NSW Police Detective Chief Inspector Glen Browne, manager of the NSW missing persons registry when Caddick vanished, said the idea predated Caddick's disappearance.

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"Far too many people go missing along the shoreline … we generally don't recover the bodies at all," he said.

The experiment was never conducted due to concerns the tracking devices could harm sharks.

Before becoming one of Australia's most intriguing and notorious missing person cases, Caddick was just one person among dozens reported missing each day.

Det Insp Browne said the registry dealt with just under 10,000 fresh reports every year.

Two days after corporate watchdog ASIC and Australian Federal Police officers raided her Dover Heights home, Caddick was reported missing on November 13, 2020, by her husband Anthony Kolletti.

Browne did not find out for four days.

Other police were investigating and formed the view she was on the run.

In a conversation with the initial officer-in-charge, Detective Sergeant Michael Kyneur, Browne reminded him to keep an open mind.

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"I got a sense from the conversation that the primary line of inquiry is that Melissa was avoiding being located," Browne said.

The theory was "being given more importance than others".

There were also concerns she had been murdered or harmed herself, but they were not given as much weight as the fugitive theory.

Kyneur told the inquiry searches began almost immediately with helicopters and boats searching for Caddick's body around cliffs near her home.

He also phoned the homicide squad, but not until more than a week after Caddick was reported missing.

However, other lines of inquiry had not been abandoned.

"I had a view at that time about what happened, but I don't believe it was to the detriment of any other line of inquiry," Kyneur said.

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He was replaced as the officer-in-charge a short time later.

Asked whether he considered the phone call a formal notification of the homicide squad as set out in standard operating procedures (SOPs) for missing person cases, Kyneur said "a notification's a notification".

"I don't know whether I turned my mind to the SOPs in particular but the point of the phone call I had … was for the purposes of notifying them of what had occurred," he said.

Browne said Caddick's disappearance and the subsequent investigations prompted changes to the SOPs.

Despite being predominantly responsible for authoring the standard operating procedures, he was confused himself.

More than three months after Caddick went missing, police had only reviewed about 20 per cent of the CCTV footage gathered in an attempt to trace her movements.

Browne said that was not necessarily a significant failing.

Police might visit a home multiple times before finding someone around, and they might not know how to work the CCTV system.

Police can also struggle reviewing the footage.

"Quite often you can't play it because you don't have the right software," he said.

Caddick defrauded family and friends of between $20 million-$30 million in a Ponzi scheme before vanishing hours after authorities raided her Dover Heights home in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

In February 2021, her decomposing foot washed ashore in a running shoe at Bournda Beach on the NSW south coast.

The inquest is due to conclude on Tuesday.

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Crisis support is available from Lifeline on 13 11 14.

A police officer has sustained significant injuries after he was allegedly stabbed while responding to an incident in Victoria.

Police said the officer was attending an address in Torquay, south west of Melbourne, to conduct a welfare check on a resident about 4.30pm today.

The resident allegedly rushed at police officers with a knife, stabbing a male officer multiple times.

READ MORE: Police searching for body of missing man in Perth

Police used their taser and OC spray and arrested the 49-year-old Torquay man, who is assisting police with their enquiries.

The police officer was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Queensland bears the brunt of economic damage from climate-fuelled disasters with the total losses triple those of other states.

The Climate Council's latest report revealed Queensland suffered the most economic damage from the climate emergency after record-breaking floods wreaked havoc in the state earlier this year.

Queensland's total losses from extreme weather since the 1970s were three times higher than Victoria's and 50 per cent higher than New South Wales, the report detailed.

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The report found Queensland copped $7.7 billion in social, financial and economic impacts due to the floods.

Brisbane suffered around $1.38 billion in insured losses during the floods - more than any other local government area in the country.

The floods in Queensland and northern NSW cost $5.56 billion in insured losses from 236,000 claims and the Climate Council claims this is the costliest extreme weather event in Australian history.

Agricultural damage to southeast Queensland in the February floods was around $254 million.

Meanwhile, the spring flooding in NSW and Victoria could see up to $5 billion in damage to the grain harvest with 10 million tonnes of product already damaged.

The Climate Council warned the flooding that has caused millions of dollars in damage to growing regions could lead to food shortages and "higher supermarket prices for grocery staples like milk, fruit and vegetables".

2022 named year of the floods, more extreme weather on the way

The report also named 2022 as the year of the "Great Deluge" due to the record-breaking floods.

"Australians will remember 2022 as the year of the 'great deluge', when record-breaking rain and floods, supercharged by climate change, left a trail of devastation from Queensland down to Tasmania," climate councillor Professor Lesley Hughes said.

READ MORE: Three states bracing for severe storms

But Hughes warned more extreme weather is on the way for Australia including flooding, tropical cyclones and a major Japanese Encephalitis outbreak.

The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast a 73 per cent chance of more than the typical 11 tropical cyclones this summer.

The bureau also forecast above average rainfall along the east coast bringing the renewed risk of flooding in already saturated catchments.

Emergency services struggling to keep up with climate change

Former Commissioner of NSW Fire and Rescue Greg Mullins said in the face of the escalating climate emergency and the increase of severe weather events in Australia, emergency services can't keep up.

"Australia's current disaster planning and management systems are struggling to keep up with escalating disaster threats fuelled by climate change," he said.

"In recent years, we have seen emergency responders overwhelmed by the scale, speed, and severity of extreme weather events, like the 2022 floods and Black Summer bushfires.

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"Long-term recovery operations are also more challenging because disasters are striking more frequently."

Mullins said emergency service responses need to be made "fit-for-purpose" as climate disasters worsen.

"Governments must invest in emergency services, better disaster management coordination, more accurate risk models, and community resilience programmes," he said.