The Herald recently reported on a teen who said he was unfairly judged by an AI interview.

A teenage boy in NSW's west is set to front court today after he was charged with possessing extremist material and a prohibited weapon.

An investigation began in December last year after receiving information that a teenager, 15, was allegedly accessing extremist material online.

In response to this information, police executed a search at a home in Moree yesterday.

READ MORE: The rise of Looksmaxxing: 'Creating shame and secrecy among young men'

During the search, police allegedly found and seized a mobile phone, a ballistic-style vest, and several notebooks.

He was arrested and taken to Moree Police Station, where he was charged with using a carriage service to possess violent extremist material and possessing a prohibited weapon without a permit.

He was refused bail and will face children's court today.

Police have reassured the community that there is no ongoing threat.

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As the fuel crisis continues to deepen, the Queensland government is reportedly looking to fast-track the opening of an oil lake the size of Singapore.

The Queensland government has already granted several companies approval to conduct exploration work at the Taroom Trough, an oil lake the size of Singapore, just 300km west of Brisbane.

The investigation of the site will allow the government to learn by the end of 2026 whether it is viable to drill into the lake and extract the supplies.

READ MORE: The rise of Looksmaxxing: 'Creating shame and secrecy among young men'

While it is not an immediate relief from the ongoing shortage, if it is deemed usable, oil could be extracted from the site as early as 2028.

In Queensland alone, more than 100 service stations were out of fuel yesterday, with even more shortages across the nation.

The reports come just days out from the federal government being poised to reveal a national emergency fuel plan that will allow industries that require the supplies most to secure quantities.

READ MORE: 'By far the worst, the most scary': Tropical Cyclone Narelle makes landfall in third state

The plan would aim to create safeguards for supplies going to industries, such as farming, trucking and emergency services, as well as to regional areas.

There are calls from the opposition, however, to slash the fuel excise to immediately reduce costs for drivers.

"When you fill up your car, about 52 cents every single litre goes to taxation," Shadow Foreign Minister Ted O'Brien told Today.

"So we need to cut that taxation in half for a three-month period."

Cutting the tax would carry consequences for the federal budget, which brings in billions of dollars each year.

However, the fuel crisis is expected to affect the budget regardless.

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Iran has vowed revenge after Israel struck two nuclear sites in the country overnight.

Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Israel had struck two steel factories, a power plant and civilian nuclear sites.

"Israel claims it acted in coordination with the US," he wrote on X.

READ MORE: Iran looking to turn Strait of Hormuz into massive toll booth

"Iran will exact HEAVY price for Israeli crimes."

Araghchi said the attacks contradicted US President Donald Trump's claims of an extended deadline for diplomacy.

Israel's Defence Forces announced they had targeted a heavy water plant in central Iran.

They said the plant was a "key plutonium production site for nuclear weapons".

"The IDF will not allow the Iranian regime to continue advancing its nuclear weapons program, which poses an existential threat to Israel and the entire world," the IDF said in a statement.

Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation said there were no casualties or radiation leaks as a result of the attack.

READ MORE: Iranian ally could cause chaos if drawn into the war

International human rights organisations have condemned attacks on nuclear facilities this week.

Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) Melissa Parke said it was "playing roulette with civilian lives".

"Nuclear risks are not theoretical — they are immediate and human," she said.

"The US, Israel and Iran must stop all military action and return to the diplomatic path."

Before working with ICAN, Parke was a Labor MP representing the WA seat of Fremantle.

ICAN said a direct hit on a nuclear facility would not cause an atomic weapon-like explosion.

READ MORE: Ground invasion of Iranian island a 'mistake', says expert

But a release of radiation could have profound long-term impacts on the region.

Overnight Iran attacked targets in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, Iran has agreed to allow humanitarian aid and food through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran is effectively blockading the narrow body of water, preventing shipping from going in or out of the Persian Gulf.

But today's decision would allow agricultural shipments into the region.

READ MORE: Iran could develop nuclear suicide bomb vests, claims JD Vance

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People across NSW are being urged to stay out of the water this weekend with a one-in-50-year event bringing powerful winds, dangerous surf, and the risk of coastal erosion across the state's coastline.

Last night, the coastal low stirred up 100km/h winds and an 11-metre swell, with a coastal hazard warning continuing to stretch down from Forster to past Eden.

The hazardous surf warning is set to remain in place for the rest of the day, bringing dangerous surf forecasts, cold temperatures and powerful winds.

READ MORE: 'By far the worst, the most scary': Tropical Cyclone Narelle makes landfall in third state

"Our concern is that those conditions that we are predicting may exceed our ability to safely respond and affect a rescue," Brent Manieri from Surf Lifesaving NSW said.

The Bureau of Meteorology said the low is expected to move slowly east into the Tasman Sea and weaken during Saturday evening.

"Wind gusts can be 40 per cent stronger than the forecast, and even stronger in squalls and thunderstorms," the bureau said.

"Maximum waves can be twice the forecast height."

Marine Rescue NSW Acting Superintendent Commander Dan Duemmer described the coast as a "no-go zone" this weekend.

While the conditions are expected to ease, close to 100 flights were cancelled to and from Sydney Airport last night.

READ MORE: Israel warns attacks on Iran 'will escalate and expand' as Trump claims advances in ceasefire talks

The ferry between Manly and Circular Quay has also been cancelled until at least Sunday morning due to rough conditions.

The system also impacted travel in Melbourne, with more than 40 flights cancelled last night.

All flights at the airport have resumed this morning.

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Howard Williams was a fit and active 65-year-old when he and his wife Lorraine set off on what was supposed to be a relaxing holiday cruise in Japan.

Howard could never have predicted that a tiny slip would cause a life-altering accident, leaving him a quadriplegic.

In the harrowing months after the accident, which happened in May last year, another small but crucial detail would end up blindsiding the Melbourne father.

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Because the accident happened just 16 days after his 65th birthday, it meant Howard isn't eligible for help under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), leaving the couple missing out on extra $220,000 a year needed to meet his basic support needs.

Instead of the specialist support the NDIS offers, Howard said he was relegated to an aged care system designed for age-related frailty, not the complex, 24-hour medical requirements of a spinal cord injury.

The moment life changed

Howard's accident occurred in the port city of Hakodate, in northern Japan.

It was the couple's final day in the country – their cruise ship was due to leave for Alaska in a matter of hours – and the pair were sightseeing.

Walking along the Shichizai Bridge, which was narrow and crowded with both cars and pedestrians, Howard bumped into one of their travelling companions.

"I stopped to talk to my friend, and I just lost my balance," Howard said. 

"I sort of stepped back, and unfortunately, the railing on the bridge was only 53 centimetres high, so it didn't really even go up to my knees." 

Howard fell three metres onto concrete, fracturing his C1, C4, and C5 vertebrae.

READ MORE: Warning to airlines as domestic airfares set to soar

"When I landed, my limbs started tingling. I couldn't move. I couldn't raise my arms, so I knew something serious had happened," Howard said.

What followed the accident was a blur of sirens and frantic confusion. 

"It was very traumatic," Lorraine said of being suddenly thrown into the hospital system in Japan.

"And very difficult with the language barrier. It was quite scary."

After having initial surgery in Japan, Howard was medically evacuated to Melbourne.

He then spent months in specialist rehab at The Royal Talbot as the reality of his "new life" set in – as did the reality of Australia's age threshold for disability support.

Howard was assessed and found to require 24-hour care, as he is unable to feed, dress, or shower himself without assistance.

Sixteen days too late

A social worker at The Royal Talbot broke the news that Howard had "aged out" of NDIS eligibility two weeks before his accident.

"That was really a devastating shock to know that Howard wouldn't get the support that he needed," Lorraine said.

Howard went back to living at home a few weeks ago, for the first time since his accident.

He is eligible for the highest level of funding under the federal government's new Support at Home program, at $73,000.

While that amount may sound significant, Howard said the reality of living with quadriplegia meant it fell far short of meeting his bare minimum needs.

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Howard currently has two carers coming for two hours in the morning and another hour in the evening. Outside of those times, Lorraine, 70, is Howard's sole carer.

She wakes at 3.00 AM every day to turn Howard to prevent pressure sores and acts as a second carer everyday and on weekends to avoid the "prohibitive" cost of caring staff.

"I get angry that the government's done this," Lorraine said. 

"The burden has been placed on me by the government because they are not providing the amount of support he needs. It's not right that a birth date determines the care you get."

The total cost of Howard's true needs sits at roughly $290,000 a year – a figure the couple simply cannot sustain.

Howard, who worked and paid taxes for over 40 years, describes the situation as blatant "age discrimination".

The situation has led to Lorraine starting a parliamentary petition last month calling on the government to remove the NDIS aged care limit for people with severe disabilities, which collected 4500 signatures.

"If Howard had the accident when he was 64 and 10 months, everything would be totally different," Lorraine said. 

"He would have the support he needs to live as normal a life as possible. Instead, we are left navigating a system that wasn't designed for us."

Growing calls for reform

The age limit for NDIS eligibility was one of the topics raised in The Aged Care Royal Commission, which handed down its findings in 2021.

One of the final report's recommendations was that every person receiving aged care who is living with a disability should receive supports equivalent to those available under the NDIS.

The Morrison Government said at the time it would further consider the recommendation as the Support At Home program was being developed.

A government spokesperson said the NDIS and Support At Home were "two distinct and separate programs underpinned by different legislation, rules and funding considerations".

"The NDIS supports eligible people who apply before age 65, while older Australians are supported through the aged care system," the spokesperson said.

"Support at Home provides aged care services based on the assessed ageing-related needs of the individual, regardless of their location, background and life experiences. This may include individuals who are living with disability."

Spinal Life Australia CEO Mark Townend says the Williams' story was a tragic example of a policy failure that remained unaddressed.

"Disability doesn't end at 65, but the funding does," Townend said. 

"People who acquire a disability later in life are forced into a system that simply wasn't designed for their needs. This isn't just unfair; it is discrimination embedded in policy. Access to the supports required to live safely and independently should be determined by need, not age."

Do you have a story? Contact reporter Emily McPherson at EM********@******om.au

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Exclusive: Australia is in the grips of a tradie shortage and the fuel crisis could make it worse as apprentices struggling to make ends meet consider leaving trades.

Average apprentice pay rates vary depending on the trade and an apprentice's age and years on the job, and most have been stung by fuel price hikes.

Tom Brooks, a 20-year-old second year plumbing apprentice from rural WA, makes about $650 a week and is already considering other avenues to make money.

READ MORE: Tradies hit hardest by fuel crisis forced to raise prices or go bust

About a third of his weekly wage goes to fuel and he expects that figure will rise in the weeks ahead.

"I'm traveling about 70km every day for work, so it adds up quick," he told nine.com.au.

"It's made budgeting for other things like food a lot harder."

Have you got a story? Contact reporter Maddison Leach at our breaking newsletter here

At face value, a trend encouraging young men to take care of their physical appearance and maximise their self-worth appears harmless – even positive – but the fast-growing looksmaxxing trend has a very dark side, experts warn.

So what is it, and why are some health professionals calling it "terrifying"?

What is looksmaxxing?

Looksmaxxing has re-emerged on social media platforms like Reddit, Instagram and TikTok as a trend by men seeking to improve their physical appearance.

The methods used to maximise appearance are split into two categories: "softmaxxing" and "hardmaxxing".

Have you got a story? Contact reporter Joseph Sahyoun at ************@******om.au” target=”” rel=”” target=”” title=””>our breaking newsletter here

Israel threatened to "escalate and expand" its attacks on Iran on Friday, even as US President Donald Trump claimed talks on ending the war were going well and gave Tehran more time to open the Strait of Hormuz. Iran, meanwhile, gave no signs of backing down.

With stock markets reeling and economic fallout from the war extending far beyond the Middle East, Trump is under growing pressure to end Iran's chokehold on the strait, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil is usually shipped.

Iran has rejected a 15-point US proposal for a ceasefire that includes it relinquishing control of the strait, but at the same time has ordered thousands more troops to the region — possibly in preparation for a military attempt to wrest the waterway from Iran.

Trump has said if Iran doesn't reopen the strait to all traffic by April 6, he will order the destruction of Iran's energy plants. He said on Thursday that talks on ending the conflict were going "very well." Iran maintains it is not engaged in any negotiations.

Israel targets Iran's weapons production and Lebanese capital

Air raid sirens sounded in Israel and the military said it has been intercepting Iranian missiles on a daily basis. Defence Minister Israel Katz said Iran "will pay heavy, increasing prices for this war crime."

"Despite the warnings, the firing continues," Katz said.

"And therefore attacks in Iran will escalate and expand to additional targets and areas that assist the regime in building and operating weapons against Israeli citizens."

Israel's military said its attacks on Friday targeted sites "in the heart of Tehran" where ballistic missiles and other weapons are produced. It said it also hit missile launchers and storage sites in Western Iran.

Smoke rose over Beirut after a pre-dawn strike, and Lebanon's Health Ministry later reported two people were killed.

Iran launches missiles and drones at its Gulf Arab neighbours

Saudi Arabia's Defence Ministry said it shot down missiles and drones targeting the capital, Riyadh.

Kuwait said its Shuwaikh Port in Kuwait City and the Mubarak Al Kabeer Port to the north, which is under construction as part of China's "Belt and Road" initiative, sustained "material damage" in attacks. It appeared to be one of the first times a Chinese-affiliated project in the Gulf Arab states has come under assault in the war. China has continued to purchase Iranian crude.

US stocks fell on opening on Friday, in a fifth straight losing week — Wall Street's longest such streak in nearly four years. The S&P 500 dropped 0.4 per cent in early trading on Friday. The Dow lost 0.6 per cent, and the Nasdaq fell 0.6 per cent, breaking the week's pattern of flip‑flopping gains and losses as hopes for an end to the war vacillated.

Asian shares also fell on Friday over growing doubts about the chances of de-escalation. Oil prices rose again, the Brent crude, the international standard, at $107 a barrel in morning trading, up more than 45 per cent since Israel and the US attacked Iran on February 28 to start the war.

US pushes diplomatic solution while sending more troops to the region

Iran's stranglehold on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has increased concerns of a global energy crisis, and appears part of a strategy to get the US to back down by roiling the world economy. A Gulf Arab bloc said on Thursday that Iran has been exacting tolls from ships to ensure safe passage.

Trump envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington delivered a 15-point "action list" to Iran for a possible ceasefire, using Pakistan as an intermediary. It proposes restricting Iran's nuclear program and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran rejected the US offer and presented its own five-point proposal that included reparations and recognition of its sovereignty over the vital strait.

Diplomats from several countries have tried to organise a direct meeting between US and Iranian envoys, possibly in Pakistan.

Egypt's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday that Foreign Minster Badr Abdelatty spoke with his Turkish and Pakistani counterparts by phone as part of "intensive efforts" to organise the talks.

Abdelatty said they hoped for "gradual de-escalation efforts that would ultimately lead to the end of the war."

Meanwhile, US ships drew closer to the region carrying some 2500 Marines, and at least 1000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne — trained to land in hostile territory to secure key positions and airfields — have been ordered to the Middle East.

The UN Security Council will engage in a closed consultation on Iran on Friday, according to two UN diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting is not public. They said Russia requested the meeting and that the US — which holds the Security Council presidency — scheduled it.

Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said its teams in Iran have reported "countless homes, hospitals and schools have been damaged or destroyed," and that nearly every neighbourhood in Tehran has sustained damage.

"Civilians are paying the highest price for this war — it must end" Egeland said in a statement.

The UN's International Organisation for Migration said Friday that 82,000 civilian buildings in Iran, including hospitals and the homes of 180,000 people, are damaged.

"If this war continues, we risk a far wider humanitarian disaster," Egeland said.

"Millions could be forced to flee across borders, placing immense pressure on an already overstretched region."

Israel deployed the 162nd Division into southern Lebanon to support efforts to protect its northern border towns from Hezbollah attacks and uproot the militant group, the military said.

Death toll climbs, primarily in Iran and Lebanon

Eighteen people have died in Israel, while four Israeli soldiers have been killed in Lebanon. Two Israeli soldiers were severely injured in Lebanon on Friday during an "operational accident," the military said.

Authorities said more than 1100 people have died in Lebanon and over 1900 people have been killed in Iran.

At least 13 American troops have been killed and four people in the occupied West Bank and 20 in Gulf Arab states have also died.

In Iraq, where Iranian-supported militia groups have entered the conflict, 80 members of the security forces have died.

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High-profile businessman Adrian Portelli has been cleared of running illegal lotteries, but his business has been fined $40,000.

The 36-year-old Melbourne billionaire was found not guilty today of nine charges of assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery in South Australia.

His business, Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, which trades under the name LMCT+, was found guilty of 10 counts of conducting an unlawful lottery.

READ MORE: Big banks hike variable and fixed rates – but not all customers will feel it right away

On social media, Portelli shared a news story on the court's decision and commented "thank you very much".

"I'm clear, business $40,000 fine," he wrote.

"They would've made more money from me issuing the permits that are entitled to the business to begin with."

The charges, instigated by SA's Consumer and Business Services, alleged Portelli's business did not hold a licence to conduct 10 separate lotteries between January 29, 2023 and May 16, 2024.

Magistrate Melanie Murton said that she accepted that "the parties' swords were apparently drawn" over whether the commissioner should issue a licence to Xclusive Tech to conduct trade promotion lotteries in SA.

Portelli's company offers members subscriptions to a rewards club that includes entries to win cars and properties.

Under SA law, any trade promotion lotteries with prizes exceeding $5000 need a licence to operate and entries must be free of charge.

"The primary products being bought and sold for value were the draw entries," Burton found.

"In my view, the draw entries are at the very heart of the transactions.

"I find, beyond any reasonable doubt, that XT conducted 10 standard lotteries as alleged."

She fined the company $40,000. Each offence carried a maximum penalty of $10,000.

But she found Portelli not guilty.

"I am not prepared to find that the simple act of drawing an entry in a lottery is … sufficient to bring it within the scope of the substantive offence of assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery," Burton said.

Portelli gained fame as "the Lambo Guy" in 2022, after arriving at a house auction for The Block in a yellow Lamborghini.

The Block is broadcast by Nine Entertainment, the publisher of this website.

READ MORE: Tropical Cyclone Narelle to make landfall near Coral Bay after smashing WA's Pilbara coast

In the 2024 series of the reality show, he spent $15.03 million to acquire all five homes on offer.

While three of the four prize properties were featured on The Block, nothing in this case turned on that, Burton said.

Portelli was not in court for the decision.

Outside court during the two-day trial last September, he agreed the prosecution was a waste of taxpayers' money.

"I'm not going to sit down and let them walk all over me, I'm going to fight it," he said.

He had previously stated on social media that if he were convicted, he would "round it up to $200,000".

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