A Mother’s Day gift has turned into a life-changing surprise for one New Plymouth woman who discovered she’d won $5.3 million with Powerball First Division. On Sunday morning her daughter heard in the news that Powerball First…

A young boy has sent a heart-warming letter thanking New South Wales paramedics for their work "keeping people alive".

NSW Ambulance posted the adorable letter to Twitter written by Benjamin from the state's Hunter region.

Benjamin said his school was tasked with writing to local community heroes, and his choice was the Newcastle paramedics.

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The letter praised health workers for their efforts during COVID-19 and the day to day support they provide for emergencies.

"I would like to thank you for helping us survive COVID and any other dangers like broken bones, or hard breathing and a lot more, so thankyou," Benjamin wrote.

"You are awesome.

"You do not care how far away injured patients are you still rush to save them.

"You are really good at keeping people alive and how do you remember all your tools everyone is getting inspired by your bravery and kindness.

"Thank you for being my hero."

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NSW Ambulance thanked the young boy for his sweet letter and their workforce.

"Thanks Ben," NSW Ambulance said.

"A huge thank you to all of our team that continue to respond to the community in their time of need."

A print of a Marilyn Monroe portrait by pop artist icon Andy Warhol has sold at auction for more than $280 million.

The artwork, Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, was auctioned by Christie's in New York.

It sold for a whopping US$194.04 million ($281.25 million) but even at that hefty price tag it failed to meet its pre-sale estimate, a record US$200 million ($288.4 million).

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It's not known who bought it, but it's one of the most expensive artworks ever sold.

It was sold as part of a collection from Swiss art collectors Thomas and Doris Ammann.

Warhol created the original piece in 1964, but it wasn't the first time he'd been drawn to the superstar's image.

Using a technique called silkscreen printing, which duplicates images on paper or canvas using a layer of fine-mesh silk like a stencil, he began creating them in 1962, shortly after Monroe's death.

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As with his depictions of other famous figures, including Elvis Presley and Chinese leader Mao Zedong, the Pop artist created numerous versions of Monroe's portrait in various different colours and configurations.

Shot Sage Blue Marilyn is based on a photo of Monroe taken in 1953 for the film Niagara.

In a press statement prior to the sale, Christie's chairman of 20th and 21st century art, Alex Rotter, described the work as "the absolute pinnacle of American Pop" and "the most significant 20th century painting to come to auction in a generation."

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The largest white diamond ever auctioned will go under the hammer in Geneva this week, part of a sale by Christie's that features two stones weighing more than 200 carats each.

"The Rock", a 228.31 carat pear-shaped stone roughly the size of a golf ball, is expected to sell for up to $30 million, the auctioneer said.

"Often with these largest stones, they sacrifice some of the shape in order to keep the weight," Max Fawcett, the head of Christie's jewellery department in Geneva, told Reuters.

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"This is a perfectly symmetrical pear-shape form and … one of the rarest gems ever to be sold at auction."

Diamond prices have been buoyed by sanctions on major producer Russia as well as the return of VIP events as pandemic restrictions unwind.

Mined in South Africa, "The Rock" was worn by its former owner as a Cartier necklace.

The previous auction record for a white diamond was a 163.41 carat gem sold in 2017.

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Christie's is also selling a 205.07 carat yellow, cushion-shaped stoned named "The Red Cross Diamond" since an unspecified portion of the auction proceeds will go to the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The gem, which has Maltese cross faceted at its base, was first sold by Christie's in 1918 at a London auction where residents sold precious household items to help the war effort.

Those proceeds, about $12,350, helped the British Red Cross Society. Its estimated selling price today is between $7 million and $10 million, Fawcett said.

An ICRC spokesperson said that this time, a portion of the proceeds from the sale would go to bringing clean water to people affected by conflict.

Australia's decision to acquire nuclear-powered submarines has made global headlines, but the underwater craft date back centuries. Here is a look at how they have developed.

Jacqui Lambie on TikTok, Scott Morrison's chicken curry, and a pensioner confronting the PM in a Newcastle pub are just some of the moments we have seen in the 2022 federal election campaign.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has warned "significant flooding" is likely in parts of Queensland today, issuing a flood watch for the majority of the state amid intensifying rain.

Residents are being urged to take care in the wet weather after a man in his 20s was rescued from floodwaters in Mount Isa, in the state's north-west, last night.

The man was transported to Mount Isa Hospital in a stable condition with hypothermia.

9News understands the man became stranded and was forced to cling to reeds for 30 minutes.

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https://twitter.com/BOM_Qld/status/1523743061305610247

Heavy showers and storms are expected to lash much of the state today as the rain event deepens.

A severe weather warning has been issued for the Central and Northern interior.

An initial flood watch has also been issued for western and central Queensland and the central and north Queensland coast.

Longreach, in Queensland's outback, has already recorded 8.4mm of rain since 9am, Mount Isa 11.2mm, Townsville 12.4mm, while the Sunshine Coast airport has recorded 36.6mm.

Longreach local Jenny Gordon said the rain has not eased since midnight.

"It started around 12.15am and hasn't let up. Will measure (the gauge) at 9am," she said.

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Today weather presenter Tim Davies said Longreach has a monthly average of 23mm of rain.

"Today alone, Longreach is forecast to get around 100mm, if not more," he said.

"The record-breaking rainfall really is set to intensify today."

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Weatherzone said some parts of the state could be hit with "several month's worth of rain in a single day."

"This weather pattern is very unusual for May," the weather service said.

"A broad area of Queensland could pick up more than 100mm from this system and some areas could see more than 300mm."

Mayor of Townsville Jenny Hill said residents are on high alert, as "significant run-off" is expected tomorrow.

"The weather is already starting to roll in. We had about 50mm yesterday, which is pretty easy," she said.

"Tomorrow is the day that we expect to see anything up to well over 200mm.

"The big problem for us, the Bureau can only give us certain degree of accuracy. We can cope with 200mm if it falls throughout the day.

"It's very hard when you get 100mm, 150mm falling in an hour or two hours. That's the risk for everyone."

Residents in the coastal town are urged to "stay in place."

"We don't want people crossing getting out of their homes if roads are covered in water," Hill said.

More than two dozen catchments are "likely to be affected," BoM said. A full list can be found here.

Meteorologist Laura Boekel said "it doesn't take much rainfall for catchments to respond really quickly."

"That's when we can start seeing flash flooding and that's when we see the situations that become more life threatening," she said.

Ahead of the wild weather, Queensland Fire and Emergency (QFES) urged residents in affected areas to develop a "Plan B".

"So you know what to do if you're faced with flooded roads on your usual way to work, home, or school," it wrote last week.

"Remember, if it's flooded, forget it."

'Unusual' weather system behind big wet

The wet weather is being caused by an upper level trough over central Australia.

Rain will be heaviest over central parts of the state today, before the system sweeps across to the coast tomorrow.

Dangerous surf "up to three metres" is expected to develop in Queensland later this week.

Queensland's south-east is also on alert for heavy falls, however meteorologist Jackson Browne yesterday said the worst of the weather is expected across the central regions and north coast.

Areas in NSW are also expected to see heavy rain later in the week.

"The forecasting modelling really doesn't detail exactly how far south the heaviest of the rain will move," Davies said.

Australian rock star Nick Cave has confirmed the death of his eldest son, 31-year-old model Jethro Lazenby.

"With much sadness, I can confirm that my son, Jethro, has passed away," Cave wrote, in a statement provided to multiple media outlets. 

"We would be grateful for family privacy at this time."

READ MORE: Queensland homebuyers lose out on $25k due to satellite images

No cause of death has been confirmed.

Lazenby's mother is Melbourne-based model Beau Lazenby.

It is believed he did not meet his father until later in his childhood.

Lazenby was convicted of assaulting his then-partner in 2018, and in April this year was found guilty of assault on his mother.

His death comes seven years after the death of another of Cave's sons, Arthur, who was aged 15.

Arthur suffered a fatal brain injury after falling from a cliff near Brighton in the UK.

In a speech marking Russia's Victory Day, President Vladimir Putin has sought to link his country's struggle against Nazi Germany in World War II with his invasion of Ukraine and baselessly claimed the West had given him no choice.

Putin said the intervention in Ukraine was necessary as the West was creating "threats next to our borders" and "preparing for the invasion of our land."

He also said the West didn't want to hear Russia's proposals for dialogue.

"NATO countries did not want to hear us," Putin said, adding that that means "they had very different plans and we could see that."

"Russia gave a preemptive rebuff to aggression — it was a forced and sovereign decision," he said.

Putin told troops that "today you are defending what your grandfathers and great-grandfathers fought for."

He also addressed the soldiers of Donbas" who "together with Russian soldiers" are fighting for the "motherland." Donbas, a sprawling heartland region that blankets much of eastern Ukraine, has been the front line of Ukraine's conflict with Russia since 2014.

Fighting has intensified in the region in recent weeks as Putin refocused his war strategy following stiff resistance from Ukrainian forces.

"I address the servicemen of Donbas," Putin said in the speech. "You are fighting for the motherland, for its future, so that lessons of World War II are not forgotten," he said, adding, "there is no place in history for the punitive divisions of Nazis."

"We bow our heads in the memory of our comrades in arms who died in the just struggle for Russia," he said.

After those remarks, a moment of silence followed.

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