A New Zealand-born mother-of-one has died from liver failure after drinking too much Lemsip and unintentionally overdosing on paracetamol.Joan Ita Bergin, 58, was living in the United Kingdom last December when she developed a cough…

A tour boat with 26 people aboard was missing in rough and cold waters off northern Japan on Saturday after issuing a distress call and reporting to be sinking, the coast guard said.

No survivors have been found after more than seven hours of an intense search involving six patrol boats and four aircraft.

The 19-ton Kazu 1 made an emergency call in early afternoon, saying the ship's bow had flooded and was beginning to sink and tilt while it was traveling off the western coast of Shiretoko Peninsula in the northern island of Hokkaido, the coast guard said.

The tour boat has since lost contact, according to the coast guard. It said the boat was carrying 24 passengers, including two children, and two crew.

Average April sea temperatures in Shiretoko National Park are just above freezing.

An official of the vessel's operator, Shiretoko Pleasure Cruise, said he could not comment as he had to respond to calls from worried families of the passengers.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who was attending a two-day water summit in Kumamoto in southern Japan, was canceling his program for Sunday and was set to return to Tokyo to deal with the missing boat, the NHK public broadcaster reported.

High waves and strong winds were observed in the area around noon, according to a local fisheries cooperative. Japanese media reports said fishing boats had returned to port before noon because of the bad weather.

NHK said there was a warning for high waves of up to 3 metres high.

According to the operator's website, the tour takes about three hours and offers a scenic view of the western coast of the peninsula, including the nature and animals such as whales, dolphins and the brown bear.

The national park is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site and is famous as the southernmost region to see drifting sea ice.

Harry Hunter is an inspirational 15-year-old who turned to music as he spent years of his childhood battling cancer.

And now his hero British pop star Ed Sheeran has sent him a special message, wishing him well on his road to recovery.

Harry was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia at age nine.

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"I didn't know what it meant but mum did and mum broke down," he said.

He spent 15 months in a wheelchair, having to learn to walk again.

In Queensland Children's Hospital, music was his great escape.

He had Sheeran, his idol, on repeat.

So he was thrilled when Ed himself sent him a special video message.

"Hey Harry, Ed Sheeran here. I heard you were a fan of my music so I wanted to make a video for you," Sheeran says.

He'd had no idea his mum, Tash, had written to the superstar to thank him for his music.

The teen said he was speechless when his mum showed him.

"It's quite surreal," he said.

Meanwhile Harry has donated 270 LEGO kits to kids in oncology wards in south-east Queensland hospitals.

He said the bricks helped keep him entertained.

Shocking dashcam footage has captured the moment a motorcyclist, who is suspected of running a red light, slammed into a car and was flung through the air at a Melbourne intersection.

Video shows the moment the accident unfolds, with the rider clipping a four wheel drive at a busy intersection in Melbourne's south-east.

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He was then catapulted, spinning across the road.

Incredibly, the man, aged in his 20s, escaped with non-life threatening injuries.

He was wearing a helmet and gloves but no other protective gear.

The accident happened earlier this month.

The Opposition has continued its criticism of the Government over the recently signed security deal between China and the Solomon Islands, claiming Australia is "less safe" as a result.

Speaking in Queensland, deputy leader Richard Marles persevered with Labor's recent attacks on the government about its role in the Pacific in recent years.

"They have let the Pacific go. Under their watch, they have made it so that Australia is not the partner of choice for the Solomon Islands," Mr Marles said.

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"And by virtue of that, our security is much worse than it would otherwise have been.

"This is a watershed moment in terms of Australia's national security, in terms of our place in the region and it is a watershed moment which is very negative.

"It definitely raises the increased prospect of Chinese military presence in the Pacific and that makes Australia less safe."

However, when asked about the prospect of raising foreign aid to improve Australia's standing in the region, Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers did not commit to any increase, saying it was only "part of the story, but not the whole story", and that Labor would make further announcements about their Pacific policy later in the campaign.

Mr Marles also faced questioning about his own conduct when he was quizzed about providing a copy of a speech he was about to make in China to the Chinese government.

However, he said he only provided the speech to the administration as a courtesy given he was giving the address on Chinese soil, and said "absolutely" no changes were made, noting he criticised China in the speech.

"I let people know what I was going to say so there were no surprises. But there were no changes whatsoever made to a speech that I made in China, criticising China in public. What government minister has done that?" Mr Marles said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has previously defended his government's actions in the Pacific.

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Speaking yesterday, Mr Morrison said the Solomon Islands is ultimately a sovereign nation entitled to make its own decisions, and that China was placing "vulnerabilities and pressures" on Pacific countries.

"The Chinese government doesn't play by the same rules as other transparent liberal democracies and that means there are vulnerabilities in our region which we're very well aware of and have been working hard to ensure we can mitigate," he said.

Mr Marles' and Mr Chalmers' comments come after the USA raised concerns about China's deal with the Solomons following a White House delegation's visit to the Pacific nation.

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"Solomon Islands representatives indicated that the agreement had solely domestic applications, but the US delegation noted there are potential regional security implications of the accord, including for the United States and its allies and partners," the White House said in a statement.

Rangers in Sydney are asking for locals to help them track down cane toads.

The Canterbury Bankstown Council have a critical task at hand after one of the mammoth creatures was spotted at WH Wagener Oval at Ashbury, in Sydney's inner west.

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https://twitter.com/ourcbcity/status/1516654153489072134?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

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The toads are common in Queensland and are poisonous as well as destructive.

The extreme weather has displaced all sorts of wildlife and residents are being asked to report any cane toad sightings to the Department of Primary Industries.

"As an invasive species in NSW, suspected sightings should be reported right away to the NSW DPI on 1800 680 244."

A 67-year-old man will face court on an assault charge next month after allegedly pushing a Liberal volunteer at a party event controversial candidate Katherine Deves was attending at Forestville RSL.

The accused man was a volunteer for an independent candidate in Mackellar, and has since been dumped from the role.

Meanwhile, Ms Deves, who was handpicked by Prime Minister Scott Morrison to contest the seat of Warringah, has tried to dodge the media since her comments about the trans community sparked outrage.

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She attempted to avoid journalists at the political event on Sydney's northern beaches on Friday night.

Media would normally be welcomed at an such an event – dubbed "politics in the pub" – but were prohibited from entering, leaving voters and party members waiting for 45 minutes as Ms Deves' team worked out how to navigate the landscape.

Ms Deves has vowed to resist moves to dump her from the Sydney seat of Warringah after serious backlash from now-deleted social media posts, in which she likening her lobbying to stop transgender athletes from competing in women's sport to standing up against the Holocaust.

She has apologised for the Twitter posts, where she wrote "half of all males with trans identities are sex offenders" and she also called trans people "surgically mutilated and sterilised".

Her team initially advised media could take photographs outside and Ms Deves would answer a couple of questions, but this was reduced to a short statement.

"I have fought for women and children, and now I'm fighting for Warringah," she said.

"Thank you all for coming along tonight. I am looking forward to campaigning hard over the next four weeks on the issues that affect the people in Warringah."

The Prime Minister handpicked Ms Deves to run for Warringah, an electorate currently represented by independent Zali Steggall, who won the seat from former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott in 2019.

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Mr Morrison said he won't allow Ms Deves to be silenced amid calls to dump the candidate, claiming she "regrets" the comments she made.

He said people don't want to "walk on eggshells" and Ms Deves shouldn't be "cancelled" for her beliefs.

Despite this, Ms Deves has faced criticism from within the Liberal Party.

Minister for Women Marise Payne has refused to endorse her, while Liberal Party state MP Felicity Wilson described her as a "false ally" for women.

"In my community, I am being asked to vote for someone who is using equality for women as a thin veil to disguise offensive attacks on transgender people – a group of people clamouring for their own safety and opportunity," Ms Wilson wrote in an opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald.

Senator Anne Ruston earlier called Ms Deves comments "absolutely unacceptable" but backed away from moves to dump her

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A man has been charged with several offences after allegedly making arrangements to meet a girl aged under 10 for sex.

The 59-year-old man was arrested in Sydney yesterday morning following an investigation by NSW Police's Child Abuse and Sex Crime Squad's Child Exploitation Internet Unit.

In a statement released today, police said they began engaging online with the man, who allegedly believed he was speaking with the mother of a girl aged under 10 and engaged in sexually explicit conversations about acts he wished to perform on the child.

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Police will also allege the man made arrangements to meet the child for sex.

Investigators also executed a search warrant at a home and seized several electronic storage devices for further examination.

After being arrested, the man was charged with attempted sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 10, using a carriage service to procure a child under 16 years for sexual activity, and using carriage service to transmit or publish or promote child abuse.

Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty warned parents about the danger children can face online.

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"Parents and guardians should be involved in their children's online activity and ensure they know they can come to you if they are uncomfortable with anything that happens online," Detective Superintendent Doherty said.

"Given that school holidays are underway, this man's arrest should serve as a timely reminder that strangers exist online and frequently use the internet as a tool to groom children.

"Any online platform that allows kids to be in contact with others they do not know or have only met in the online environment can put them at serious risk of harm.

"What this man allegedly said to investigators about what he wished to do to a young child is unspeakable and removing him from the community was of the highest importance."

The man was refused bail to appear at Parramatta Bail Court today.

A car wash became a crash scene as a vehicle smashed into the Sydney business, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage.

The man behind the wheel was allegedly over the blood alcohol limit.

In a video from the car wash, the sedan missed the driveway in Drummoyne altogether – and almost hit an employee.

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Witness Boris Erkes said it was lucky no one ended up seriously injured – or worse.

"He continued into the car wash and almost killed six people," he said.

"He is lucky he didn't kill anyone here."

The Rainbow Car Wash colleagues race to help the driver from his car, but he got out and tried to run away.

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9News understands the 25-year-old man, aged in his 20s, was allegedly four times the legal drink driving limit.

The owner of the Rainbow Car Wash told 9news the damage bill is $30,000, and he has had to close his business.

Researchers have finally cracked the genetic code to discover what an Australian dingo really is.

An international research consortium led by La Trobe University in Melbourne has sequenced the genome of the pure desert dingo, revealing for the first time the evolutionary position of the mysterious animal.

Scientists found pure dingoes are an 'intermediary' between wolves and domestic dog breeds.

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Senior author Professor Bill Ballard from La Trobe University said cracking the iconic Australian animal's genetic code was a breakthrough for researchers.

"It gives us much clearer insight into how the dingo evolved – which is fascinating from a scientific point of view but also opens up all sorts of new ways to monitor their health, and ensure their long-term survival," Professor Ballard said.

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"If dingoes aren't given the protection they deserve, it will upset the country's ecological balance potentially leading to environmental issues like erosion and species extinction."

Professor Ballard said one of the key differences between dingoes and dogs is the number of copies of the pancreatic "amylase" gene each has.

"A pure dingo has only one copy of the amylase gene, whereas domestic dogs have multiple copies – which we show influences the gut microbiome and, we predict, affects what dingoes eat," Professor Ballard said.

"Based on this new knowledge, we hypothesise that dingoes are far less likely to eat farm animals, including sheep.

"If we're correct, what farmers currently assume are dingoes killing their stock are likely to be feral wild dogs."

Sandy Malaki, the pure desert dingo that was part of the study, was discovered as a three-week-old pup by a roadside in the central Australian desert near the Strzelecki Track, with her sister and brother.

Scientists lined up Sandy's genome against a Greenland wolf and five domestic dog breeds including the German Shepherd, and the world's oldest known dog breed, the Basenji.

The research, which took five years, has been published today in Science Advance.