An extremely-rare white sperm whale has been spotted cruising in the waters near Jamaica.

The animal was spotted by Leo van Toly who was travelling onboard a Dutch merchant ship.

In video captured by Mr Toly a flash of white is glimpsed gliding through the swell before the beast disappears below the waves.

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Mr Toly said he's still pinching himself over the sighting.

The sighting recalls Herman Melville's famed 1851 book 'Moby Dick', in which obsessive captain Ahab seeks revenge on a giant white sperm whale that took his leg.

In reality, only a handful of white whales have been spotted in the wild including the famed Migaloo; an albino humpback whale known to cruise Australia's east coast.

However, as Mr Toly only partially sighted his white whale it's unclear whether it has albinism.

Another skin condition called leucism can also cause partial loss of pigmentation in animals.

Sperm whales are mostly grey can, reach 18 metres in length, and are the largest toothed predator on earth.

A team of scientists spotted a rare and eerie deep-sea sight when they caught a giant phantom jellyfish on camera, nearly a kilometre below the ocean's surface.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) team, in California, were piloting a remote underwater vehicle in November when they spotted the underwater predator.

They posted the footage on YouTube this week, saying in an accompanying statement the jellyfish measured more than one metre across its bell, with four "oral arms" that inject its prey with poison.

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The arms can grow to more than 10m long.

"MBARI's ROVs have logged thousands of dives, yet we have only seen this spectacular species nine times," the Institute said.

MBARI said the giant phantom jelly was first collected in 1899, and had only been seen by scientists about 100 times since.

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It has been found in ocean basins all over the world, except for the Arctic region.

"The challenges of accessing its deep-water habitat contribute to the relative scarcity of sightings for such a large and broadly distributed species," MBARI said.

"Historically, scientists relied on trawl nets to study deep-sea animals.

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"These nets can be effective for studying hardy animals such as fishes, crustaceans, and squids, but jellies turn to gelatinous goo in trawl nets."

Modern cameras and remote vehicles allow scientists to get a closer look than ever before at such deep-sea denizens.

A massive clean-up is under way in Inglewood in southern Queensland after floodwaters ravaged homes and businesses. 

Nearly 1000 people were evacuated from their homes in the town at the start of the week after waters topped 11m, shattering a flood record that had stood since 1988.

Resident Kirsten Brown told 9News the ordeal had been exhausting and "extremely emotional".

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"To see so much work and stuff like that, to lose everything is pretty bad," she said.

The crisis is still not over with waters at Goondiwindi expected to peak today.

A 10.7m peak is forecast, similar to the devastating 2011 floods.

However, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Assistant Commissioner Steve Smith said Goondiwindi was "incredibly prepared" for floods.

"There's obviously a levee in place," Mr Smith told Today.

"The expected peak is 10.7m. The levee is sitting at 11m."

Mr Smith praised the resilience of flood-affected communities, who were working to "bring back some normality".

"We've moved specialist crews in and they are well-equipped to be prepared for and respond to anything that might arise," he said.

While less rain is expected in the flooded areas, thunderstorms are possible through the weekend and into next week.

Mr Smith said even a smaller amount of rain on "incredibly wet" catchments could trigger flash flooding, and urged residents to remain informed of the latest warnings.

Just one life has been lost in the floods so far – a 73-year-old Roma man who was washed off a causeway near Toowoomba as he tried to drive across it.

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Police found his body after hours of searching.

But hundreds of calls for help have been made, and police and emergency services have been praised for their rescue efforts.

Police officer Matt Owen rescued four children from floodwaters in Dalby, including a teenage girl clinging to a tree branch.

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Mr Owen said he was just doing his job, and though not specifically trained in swift water rescue, didn't think twice before running in.

"When I got to her I asked how she was doing, she was hysterical but I tried to calm her down," Mr Owen said.

"Definitely not a hero, anyone in that station would have done the same thing."

Stay up to date with Queensland's flood warnings at the Bureau of Meteorology website.

National ALP president Wayne Swan has cautioned against a Beijing Winter Olympics boycott, as concern remains over the safety of tennis star Peng Shuai.

Ms Shuai disappeared from public view for two weeks after accusing former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault.

She has since appeared in video calls expressing her safety.

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Nonetheless, the Women's Tennis Association this week decided to suspend all tournaments in China, with chair Steve Simon saying he could not "in good conscience" ask athletes to compete in the country.

Today, The Australian has reported that Labor has signalled its willingness to work with the government on a potential boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics, which will be held in Beijing.

Mr Swan told Today that Australia needed to be "consistent" in its approach.

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"We should be calling out the human rights abuses in China, which are truly dreadful," he said.

"Sport is one way to do that, although I would recall that in 1980 there was a call for a boycott of the Moscow Olympics. That didn't end well and it didn't work."

That boycott was launched by the US in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

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In turn, the USSR and its allies boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

"We need to consistently, at every level, through government and non-government organisations, to be calling out human rights abuses in China," Mr Swan said.

"What's happening in tennis is replicated right across the board in that country. So I think we need to be more consistent as a country in calling out these abuses, and this action by the tennis authorities is welcomed.

"But I don't think we should necessarily be seeing it in the context of athletic participation in the Olympics, for example."

A Queensland woman and her husband have been shocked to find 10 double-yolked eggs in their dozen egg carton, a rare and some might say lucky find. 

Brisbane resident Selina Dunn was called over by her husband on Sunday morning when he discovered two double-yolked eggs whilst cooking the pair's barbecue breakfast.

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"He called me out to say he had two double yolkers on the grill. We hadn't seen them in a couple of years," Ms Dunn said. 

"The next day he cracked an egg into the pan to make an omelette and found another double yolker, and it just went on from there."

Ms Dunn said by the time the couple had finished the carton, 10 of the 12 eggs had double yolks.

"It turned into a bit of a competition who could find the most," Ms Dunn said.

"It was a bit unusual. This is certainly the first time in eight, nine years I've seen that many double-yolkers in a dozen. This is the most I've ever seen."

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Ms Dunn added the last time she had found multiple double yolk eggs was a few years ago and she had called the egg company to tell them something was wrong with their chickens. 

The chance of finding a single double yolk egg is believed to be about one in 1000.

But the phenomena may not be as rare as initially believed.

Nadine Goody, a second generation egg farmer and member of the Queensland United Egg Producers, said double-yolked eggs can occur when a hen is young and new to laying and she releases two yolks instead of one. 

"If you think a lady can have twins, it works the same in chooks. So the egg is made and if another ova comes along they can produce two yolks in the one egg," Ms Goody said.

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Chickens on farms are usually the same age, increasing the odds of finding more than one double yolk in a carton.

Ms Goody said double-yolk egg finds are rare in regular egg packets but are quite common in jumbo or extra large cartons.

"It all depends, if you have a younger stock you can get a lot of double-yolkers," Ms Goody said.

"People get excited when they crack them in the pan to see they've got two yolks."

A British court has dismissed an appeal by a newspaper publisher seeking to overturn an earlier ruling that it breached the privacy of the Duchess of Sussex by publishing portions of a letter she wrote to her estranged father.

The Court of Appeal in London on Thursday upheld a February High Court ruling that publication of the letter Meghan Markle wrote to her estranged father, Thomas, after she married Prince Harry in 2018 was "manifestly excessive and hence unlawful".

The publisher of the Mail on Sunday and the MailOnline website challenged that decision in a hearing last month.

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In a statement on Thursday night, Meghan said the appeals court ruling was "a victory not just for me, but for anyone who has ever felt scared to stand up for what's right".

"While this win is precedent-setting, what matters most is that we are now collectively brave enough to reshape a tabloid industry that conditions people to be cruel, and profits from the lies and pain that they create," she said.

Associated Newspapers disputed Meghan's claim she didn't intend the letter to be seen by anyone but her father.

The publisher said correspondence between Meghan and her then communications secretary, Jason Knauf, showed the duchess suspected her father might leak the letter to journalists and wrote it with that in mind.

The publisher also argued the publication of the letter was part of Thomas Markle's right to reply following misleading media reports that alleged he was "cruelly cold-shouldering" his daughter in the run-up to her royal wedding.

But a judge ruled Thursday that the article, which the Mail on Sunday described as "sensational," was "splashed as a new public revelation," rather than focusing on Thomas Markle's response to those reports.

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In its appeal, Associated Newspapers also argued Meghan made private information public by cooperating with Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, authors of Finding Freedom, a sympathetic book about her and Harry.

The duchess' lawyers had previously denied she or Harry collaborated with the authors. But Knauf said in evidence to the court he gave the writers information, and discussed it with Harry and Meghan.

Knauf's evidence, which hadn't previously been disclosed, was a dramatic twist in the long-running case.

In response, Meghan, 40, apologised for misleading the court about the extent of her cooperation with the book's authors.

The duchess said she didn't remember the discussions with Knauf when she gave evidence earlier in the case, "and I apologise to the court for the fact that I had not remembered these exchanges at the time."

"I had absolutely no wish or intention to mislead the defendant or the court," she said in a written statement.

Meghan, a former star of the American TV legal drama Suits, married Harry, a grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, at Windsor Castle in May 2018.

Meghan and Harry announced in early 2020 that they were quitting royal duties and moving to North America, citing what they said were the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media.

They have settled in Santa Barbara, California, with their two young children.

A new cancer treatment which uses radioactive agents to seek and destroy tumours could soon benefit a large number of patients.

Sydney researcher Professor Philip Hogg has been awarded more than $3.7 million from the Cancer Institute to broaden the use of theranostics.

Theranostics has shown the most promise in diagnosing and treating advanced prostate cancer and neuroendocrine tumours.

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Professor Hogg heads the new theranostics project at Sydney's Centenary Institute and the new funding will be used to apply this technique to all solid tumours that have spread.

Theranostics uses PET scan imaging to see if specific markers on the surface of the tumour are present.

A radioactive drug is then injected to seek and destroy the tumours identified on the scan.

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Professor Hogg said they've invented a molecule that latches onto dead and dying tumour cells which the radioactive agent can target.

"The theranostic we've developed should target all types of tumours, not just specific ones, and it's also designed so it becomes substantially more effective with each administration rather than less effective," Professor Hogg said.

Sydney patients have taken part in diagnostic trials which have been promising.

"That data looks terrific," Professor Hogg said.

There are plans to test the treatment on patients within two years.

Hard-to-treat tumours of the pancreas, liver and bowel are likely to be targeted first.

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The funding announcement is part of the state government's $21 million boost for cancer research through the Cancer Institute NSW.

"One person continues to die of cancer in our state every 30 minutes," NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said.

"This funding promises new clinical trials for emerging cancer treatment within five years."

A Queensland police officer has been praised for his efforts, after running into floodwaters to save four children.

Matt Owen had just pulled three kids from the floodwaters, when minutes later he saw a teenage girl crying for help.

Police vision captured the rescue, which occurred in the south-east Queensland town of Dalby yesterday.

Mr Owen is seen running through the water to reach the teenager, who reportedly jumped in to the water without realising the danger.

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Weighed down by his heavy and soaked police uniform, Mr Owen stripped down to his underwear to reach her, with the pair carried by the current before grabbing a nearby tree.

An hour later, reinforcements arrived.

Mr Owen's partner can be heard yelling for him to watch the current, and the young girl is then pulled by the policeman to safety.

Mr Owen said he was just doing his job, and though not specifically trained in swift water rescue, didn't think twice before running in.

"When I got to her I asked how she was doing, she was hysterical but I tried to calm her down," Mr Owen said.

"Definitely not a hero, anyone in that station would have done the same thing."

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Elsewhere in Queensland, flooding is still a massive concern despite the sun coming out tonight.

Two hours south-west of Dalby, in the town of Warwick, a dam has flooded for the first time in 10 years.

The Leslie Dam spilled over due to heavy rainfall, inundating the town.

In the town of Texas, also the state's south-east, police rode in search and rescue boats to ensure the safety of residents.

Rescues continued across the south-east, with emergency services receiving hundreds of calls for assistance.

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Some drivers were fined for knowingly entering floodwaters, including a man issued a $500 fine after requiring rescue in Lowood.

In Oxley, a vehicle was washed away through a car park and in Yalangur a man was killed in the floods.

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The 73-year-old Roma man's car was washed off the road as he tried to cross a flooded causeway.

At the same causeway – a council worker who was putting up flood warning signs was hit by an unexpected torrent of water that swept him and his ute 250m downstream.

The man managed to get onto the roof of his car and reach the safety of the bank.

https://twitter.com/BOM_Qld/status/1466295098765824000

Across the state today, river levels continued to rise with the Bureau of Meteorology warning flood threats are far from over.

Although parts of the south-east saw sun and blue skies, residents are warned floodwaters could peak again tomorrow.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Steve Smith said there is "a lot more water moving through the systems".

"The town of Goondiwindi is still to reach its peak, so later today and into Friday," he told Today.

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"We have had significant rainfalls over the last 24 hours. Whilst those conditions are easing, there is a lot of water in the catchments and there is a lot of water moving through.

"So levels will go up and down through areas and we are urging caution for everyone out in those areas to be very conscious of their environment, stay informed and just respond to the conditions that they are experiencing."

Northern NSW is also set to experience its own floods in the coming days.

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Some parts of Queensland received falls of more than 100mm in 24 hours overnight on already wet ground.

Two towns have undergone emergency evacuations as flood records tumble.

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QFES Commissioner Greg Leach issued a stern warning for those continuing to put themselves, and rescue crews in danger.

"We've been getting this message out for a long time and people still aren't taking heed, if it's flooded forget it," he said.

"It might look calm and shallow and you might have a powerful vehicle but the reality is it's dangerous to drive through waters.

"A modern motor vehicle can float in as little as 15cm of water."

While towns remain flooded, residents must remain cautious.

"In the majority of rescues they've driven into floodwater and stalled or been washed away and they've been able to self evacuate. It still requires the attendance of emergency services," Mr Leach said.

"I think it's inexcusable that people drive into floodwaters putting not only their own lives but first responders at risk."

Imagine a virtual model of a real city where you can plonk a proposed renovation next door to your home and see the impact it will have on your sunlight.

Or if you want to put a new kitchen into your home, you can see exactly how it will fit.

The cost? It's free.

The NSW government's Spatial Digital Twin will soon provide a 4D model for the entire state after receiving a $40 million funding injection from the NSW Digital Restart Fund.

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Digital and Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello said the technology is an evolutionary leap in shaping communities and boosting productivity, allowing customers, developers and planners to see into the future.

"This digital architecture makes it possible to visualise a development digitally before it is physically built, making it easier to plan and predict outcomes of infrastructure projects, right down to viewing how shadows fall, or how much traffic is in an area," Mr Dominello said.

"In the last 12 months, the Spatial Digital Twin has received 18 million requests for access to 3D datasets.

"We are creating a digitally cutting-edge state that will benefit from all the productivity advantages and job creation this technology brings."

The Spatial Digital Twin brings together data sources from across government, including spatial, natural resources and planning, and integrates it with real-time feeds from sensors to provide insights for planners, designers and decision-makers across industry and government.

At the moment, the twin hosts a virtual representation of eight high-growth council areas: Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Liverpool, Penrith and Wollondilly.

Next, it will be rolled out to the rest of metropolitan Sydney and across the state over the next two years.

"By boosting access to the Spatial Digital Twin through smartphones and tablets, the NSW Government is making it easier for customers to collaborate and gain planning information about their streets, neighbourhoods and communities," Mr Dominello said.

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This has been done in conjunction with the CSIRO's data and digital research team, Data61.

Dr Laurence Troy, a lecturer in urbanism at Sydney University's School of Architecture Design and Planning, agreed such tools are useful in helping people understand how development could affect their community or neighbourhood.

But he warned there are other concerns.

"One of the biggest fears or anxieties at the minute is the actual outcome of the buildings and making sure they are of high quality," Dr Troy said.

"And you know what you're walking into when you walk into a new apartment.

"That there's not going to be major defective issues and that's a very live issue at the moment in NSW."

Asked if access would result in more objections and delays to development applications, Mr Dominello said information is power and the technology would make planning faster, more accurate and more efficient.

He said the digital twin would help with decisions such as where to put a crane on a building site and help mums and dads picture suburban renovations.

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The Spatial Digital Twin forms part of the newly launched Live.NSW program, which will create new avenues for residents to access data.

The $40 million investment in the Live.NSW program will include the development of a new customer platform early next year to deliver a simplified user experience that allows the community to search for information based on their needs and places of interest.

It will bring information together to inform people about local schools or a proposed hospital, creating a snapshot of what exists and what is planned.

"Now, no matter where you are in the State, Live.NSW will make it easy for the community to see infrastructure and its impact before it's built and ensure new projects keep the community at their heart," Mr Dominello said.

$2.1 billion will be invested over four years into digital transformation projects through the Digital Restart Fund.

More info on the Spatial Digital Twin is available on their website.

A P-plater who hit and killed a blind retiree and his guide dog in regional Victoria, then lied about the crash and destroyed footage of it, has been jailed.

Billy-Jo Salter, 24, has been sentenced to three years and nine months' jail before the County Court, having pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and destruction of evidence.

Salter was 21-years-old when he caused the death of 62-year-old Raymond Meadows and guide dog Gerry as he was driving along the Calder Highway at Wedderburn in North Western Victoria about 6.30am on June 2, 2019.

The court heard it was dark but Mr Meadows was wearing a high-vis vest and a backpack with flashing lights as he and his dog walked along the shoulder of the road, heading to the gym.

The dog died almost straight after being hit by Salter's car while Mr Meadows died on the way to hospital.

Salter stopped at the scene and was not found to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

He removed the memory card from his dashcam at the scene and later had his friend destroy it.

For months he told police Mr Meadows and his dog had been on the road, but analysis of the crash scene proved they had been on the bitumen shoulder by the road.

Investigations revealed Salter had not applied the brakes or steered the car in the five seconds before the crash, using cruise control to travel at 94km/h on the straight road where the speed limit is 100km/h.

Judge Rosemary Carlin said Salter's actions had shown "a total abdication" of his responsibility as a driver.

"To drive for five seconds at that sped in the dark without exerting any control at all over your car and without keeping a proper lookout for whatever reason is highly irresponsible and risky behaviour," she said.

Judge Carlin said Salter's lies about what had happened any destruction of the dash cam footage, making the reason for the collision "known only to him", had deprived Mr Meadow's family of know what had happened.

"You have refused to tell the truth about what happened and you destroyed the only evidence," she said.

Judge Carlin said the destruction of the footage "was serious, planned offending".

The court heard Salter had suffered an abusive childhood, was experiencing health issues and lived with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

He was sentenced to a non-parole period of two years and three months' jail.