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Five people have been killed by Iranian security forces during protests that were sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, who was being held in police custody, according to a human rights monitor.

Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, a Norwegian-registered organisation monitoring rights violations in Iran, said five people were fatally shot during demonstrations in Iran's Kurdish region on Monday.

It said 75 others were injured in other cities over the weekend.

The UN's Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif issued a statement on Tuesday expressing alarm at "the violent response by [Iranian] security forces" to the demonstrations.

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Meanwhile, the governor of Tehran, Mohsen Mansouri, accused the protesters of attacking police and destroying public property, claiming in a Twitter post late Monday that the protesters were "fully organised and trained to create disturbances in Tehran".

CNN was unable to independently verify the reports of the deaths and injuries.

The protests erupted after the death of Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who died in Tehran after being arrested by Iran's morality police last week.

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Iranian officials said that Amini died on Friday after suffering a "heart attack" and falling into a coma following her arrest last Tuesday.

However, her family said she did not have a pre-existing heart condition, Emtedad news, an Iranian pro-reform media outlet which claimed to have spoken to Amini's father, said.

Edited security camera footage released by Iran's state media appeared to show Amini collapsing at a "re-education" centre where she was taken to receive "guidance" on her attire.

Iran's morality police are part of the country's law enforcement and are tasked with enforcing the strict social rules of the Islamic Republic, including its dress code that mandates women wear a headscarf, or hijab, in public.

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The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said in its Tuesday statement that the morality police have expanded street patrols in recent months and have been subjecting women perceived to be wearing "loose hijab" to verbal and physical harassment and arrest.

"(OHCHR) has received numerous, and verified, videos of violent treatment of women, including slapping women across the face, beating them with batons and throwing them into police vans," it said.

Al-Nashif said Amini's death and the allegations of torture and ill-treatment must be "promptly, impartially and effectively investigated by an independent competent authority".

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Iranian police said Amini's death was an "unfortunate incident" and denied that she was physically harmed while in custody, Iran's semi-official news agency Fars News said on Monday.

Iranian officials said they have conducted an autopsy on Amini's body.

Speaking Saturday on state TV the director of Iran's Forensic Medical Organisation, Mehdi Forozesh, said the results would be publicised after further examination by medical experts.

Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Greater Tehran Police Commander Hossein Rahimi said police had "done everything" to keep her alive.

But the explanations from the police were not accepted by protesters.

The UN said thousands of people have taken to the streets in cities including Tehran, Isfahan, Karaj, Mashhad, Rasht, Saqqes and Sanandaj to demand justice and accountability.

The semi-official news agency Fars reported the protesters were "not convinced" by the police's justification of Amini's death and claimed she died "under torture".

Following Amini's funeral ceremony on Saturday, security forces fired tear gas on protesters in her hometown of Saqqez, in Iran's Kurdistan province, Fars said, while Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency said the demonstrators were demanding answers from the police and allegedly threw rocks at the governor's office.

Fars also published a video showing protestors demonstrating in the capital of Kurdistan province, Sanandaj, late on Sunday and chanting slogans against officials.

One video shared by the Free Union of Iranian Workers showed protesters in Sanandaj chanting "death to dictator".

Another video showed women taking off their hijabs and waving them in protest in Tehran.

Separately, the internet watchdog NetBlocks said on Monday that its real-time data were showing a "near-total disruption to internet connectivity in Sanandaj".

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A man has been arrested over a helicopter crash in the Northern Territory earlier this year that killed TV star Chris "Willow" Wilson.

Wilson, 34, was one of the stars of reality series Outback Wrangler.

Police announced today a 44-year-old man had been arrested and was assisting police with their inquiries. He has not been charged.

The crash took place in Arnhem Land, about 500km east of Darwin, in late February.

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The helicopter was part of an expedition to collect crocodile eggs from local habitat.

Wilson, who had been slung below the helicopter, was found dead about 40m from the crash site.

A preliminary report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau found Wilson was dangling about 30m below the R44 Raven II chopper when it struck trees shortly after take-off in Noonamah, West Arnhem Land.

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The sling line attachment rings were not connected to the helicopter cargo hook, the report said.

The helicopter's main rotor blade had struck and cut through the trunk of at least one tree.

"Initial assessment indicated the engine had stopped prior to the helicopter colliding with the ground," the report said.

US and Canadian warships have sailed through the Taiwan Strait following weekend remarks from President Joe Biden that the US would defend Taiwan in the event it is attacked by China.

A US Navy ship, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins, conducted a "routine Taiwan Strait transit" on Tuesday, US Navy spokesperson Lt Mark Langford said in a statement.

The US ship conducted the transit "in cooperation with Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver," Langford said.

The two ships "transited through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal State," Lt. Langford said. The transit "demonstrates the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific," Lt. Langford added.

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Tuesday's transit marked the second time in just over three weeks that a US Navy warship had made the voyage. The guided-missile cruisers USS Antietam and USS Chancellorsville did so on August 28.

Since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in early August, the US has witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of Chinese military ships and submarines around Taiwan, a US defence official told CNN.

Though the US called the transit "routine," it comes after Biden added fuel to tensions between Washington and Beijing over Taiwan, telling CBS's "60 Minutes" that he would use US troops to defend the island if China tried to invade.

The strait is a 110-mile (180-kilometer) stretch of water that separates the democratic self-ruled island of Taiwan from mainland China.

Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan – an island of 23 million people – despite China's ruling Communist Party never having controlled it. Beijing also claims sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the waters of the Taiwan Strait under Chinese law and its interpretation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

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The US Navy, however, says most of the strait is in international waters, citing a UNCLOS definition of territorial waters as extending 22.2 kilometres from a country's coastline. The US regularly sends its warships through the strait, making dozens of such transits in recent years.

In the CBS interview, Biden was asked whether "US forces, US men and women, would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion."

"Yes," the US President replied.

The comments reiterate a pledge to defend Taiwan that Biden has previously made, though Sunday he specified that "US men and women" would be involved in the effort.

Canadian Ministry of Defence Head of Media Relations Daniel Le Bouthillier confirmed Canada participated in the transit on Tuesday.

"Following port visits in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Manila, Philippines, HMCS Vancouver sailed through the Taiwan Strait along with the USS Higgins, as this was the most direct navigational route. This sail was done in full accordance with international law, including high seas navigation rights as outlined in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea," Le Bouthillier told CNN.

Chinese aircraft and ships were present through "various parts" of the US and Canadian ships' transit, US military confirmed, but "all interactions with foreign military forces during the transit were consistent with international standards and practices and did not impact the operation," Langford said.

Beijing swiftly condemned Biden's weekend comments and repeated its warning that China reserves the "option to take all necessary measures" to defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

"The US remarks seriously violate the one-China principle and the provisions of the three US-China joint communiqués. It is also a serious violation of the important commitment made by the US side not to support Taiwan independence," China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning said in a briefing Monday.

"It sent a serious wrong signal to the separatist forces of Taiwan independence. China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition and has made serious representations to the US side," Mao added.

US and Canadian warships last went through the strait at the same time 11 months ago, when the destroyer USS Dewey and frigate HMCS Winnipeg made the trip.

After that transit, Senior Col. Shi Yi, spokesperson for the People's Liberation Army Eastern Theatre Command, said in a written statement that "the US and Canada made provocations with odious nature and stirred up troubles in cahoots, which seriously jeopardized the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait."

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has said that "reunification" between China and Taiwan is inevitable and refused to rule out the use of force. Tensions between Beijing and Taipei are at the highest they've been in recent decades, with the Chinese military holding major military drills near the island.

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