A homicide investigation is under way after a 5-year-old boy who was found badly injured at a house in Te Puna, Bay of Plenty, died in Starship children’s hospital. While detectives piece together what happened, the boy has been…

US President Joe Biden and China's Xi Jinping will hold their much-anticipated virtual summit on Monday evening as the two sides look to dial back tensions after a rough start to the US-China relationship since Mr Biden took office earlier this year.

The White House is setting low expectations for the video call between the leaders. Biden looks to stress the two nations need to set guardrails in deepening areas of conflict in the increasingly complicated relationship between the two nations. White House officials said no major announcements are expected to come from the meeting.

“I wouldn’t set the expectation … that this is intended to have major deliverables or outcomes," said White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who added the two leaders would discuss how to manage the countries' competition and cooperate in areas where interests align.

READ MORE: USA and China make surprise pledge on climate cooperation

The meeting will be the third engagement between the two leaders since February. It comes after the US and China this week pledged at U.N. climate talks in Glasgow to increase their cooperation and speed up action to rein in climate-damaging emissions.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi came to an agreement on holding the Biden-Xi virtual summit by year's end when they met last month for talks in Zurich but the two sides had not settled on a date.

The virtual meeting was proposed after Mr Biden, who spent a substantial amount of time with Mr Xi when the two were vice presidents, mentioned during a September phone call with the Chinese leader that he would like to be able to see Mr Xi again, according to the White House.

READ MORE: Taiwan says China seeking to degrade its military and morale

Mr Xi has not left China during the coronavirus pandemic. White House officials proposed a virtual summit as the best available substitute for the two leaders to have a substantive conversation on a number of issues that have put strains on the U.S-China relationship.

“We hope the U.S. will work together with China to jointly strive to make the leaders’ summit a success and bring China-U.S. ties back to the right track of sound and stable development,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Friday.

There has been no shortage of tension in the relationship in recent months as Biden has made clear he sees Beijing's actions on a number of fronts as concerning.

The president has criticised China for human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in northwest China, squelching pro-democracy efforts in Hong Kong, and resisting global pressure to cooperate fully with investigations into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. Tensions have also been exacerbated recently by the Chinese military flying dozens of sorties near the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory.

READ MORE: China and Taiwan on a dangerous path

The White House suggested Mr Biden would raise his concerns on many of those issues during Monday's meeting.

“There will be a broad range of topics that will be discussed and the President is certainly not going to hold back on areas where he is concerned," Ms Psaki said.

Mr Biden, at the Group of 20 meeting in Rome and again at the U.N. climate gathering, criticized Mr Xi for failing to show up to the summits, where world leaders discussed the way forward on the pandemic and steps to ease the impact of climate change.

"I think it’s been a big mistake, quite frankly, for China … not showing up,“ Mr Biden said in Glasgow.

”The rest of the world is going to look to China and say, what value added have they provided?"

Both leaders took part in Friday’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) virtual meeting, where leaders discussed efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic and support the global economic recovery.

A man will appear in a Sydney court today after being charged over allegedly stabbing another man in the back.

Emergency services were called to Mount Druitt, in Sydney's west, yesterday around 10:15am after reports of a stabbing.

Upon arriving on the scene, police were told a man allegedly exited a store without paying for items when a member of the public attempted to intervene.

READ MORE: Sad end in search for missing Queensland woman

The 26-year-old man then allegedly stabbed the member of the public in the back before attempting to flee.

He fled the scene on foot and was arrested nearby by officers.

The injured man, aged 28, was treated at the scene before being taken to Westmead Hospital in a stable condition.

The younger man was taken to Blacktown Hospital before being taken to Mt Druitt Police Station, where he was charged with five offences including common assault and use of an offensive weapon to prevent lawful detention.

He was refused bail and will appear at Parramatta Bail Court today.

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Large crowds of people have packed Melbourne CBD in a protest against the Victorian government's pending pandemic legislation.

Thousands of mostly maskless people carried Australian and Eureka flags as they marched through Melbourne's CBD.

Among the crowd was somebody carrying a fake gallows with three nooses strung from it.

READ MORE: COVID-19 infections keep climbing in Victoria

Included in the speakers scheduled to address the crowd is former Liberal MP Craig Kelly, who is now a part of Clive Palmer's United Australia Party.

Taking the stage, singer Claire Woodley dedicated her performance to "the victims of Satanic ritual abuse".

She then sang a song co-written by her father Bruce, 'I Am Australian'.

Allegations of Satanic ritual abuse are a common thread in the QAnon conspiracy theory.

The crowd is protesting the Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (pandemic management) Bill 2021, which passed the lower house in October.

It is expected to face a vote in the upper house next week.

The Victorian opposition has claimed the bill would hand the premier too much power and discretion in pandemics.

READ MORE: New COVID-19 crisis in countries with high vax rates

COVID-19 cases are continuing to climb in Victoria, with another 1221 cases recorded in the past 24 hours.

There are 405 people in hospital with the disease. Four people died with the virus in the past day.

Eighty-six per cent of Victorians over the age of 12 are fully vaccinated.

An adélie penguin who made a long 3000-kilometre journey through icy waters and waddled ashore a New Zealand beach has returned to the wild.

The confused bird — called Pingu — was first spotted at Birdlings Flat on the South Island on Wednesday by local Harry Singh.

After observing the lost bird struggling to make sense of the unfamiliar shore, Mr Singh got in touch with rescuer Thomas Stracke of Christchurch Penguin Rehabilitation.

READ MORE: Sad end in search for missing Queensland woman

New Zealand's Department of Conservation shared photos and video of the bird's release yesterday, which occurred along the shores of the Banks Peninsula where no dogs roam.

"After being cared for overnight in Christchurch, this morning our team released this bird back into the wild at Bank's Peninsula," the department said.

"This bird is a long way from home and was a little worse for wear when he was discovered on a Christchurch beach."

Little Pingu was filmed staring at the water before turning and waddling down the pebbled shoreline.

A rare visitor to New Zealand

Pingu's arrival is the third time in recorded history an adélie penguin has found its way to New Zealand, an online encyclopaedia of New Zealand birds said.

Rescuer Mr Stracke told Stuff he was shocked to see the bird.

"I never expected an adélie when I got the call," he said, explaining he was expecting a blue penguin.

"I was quite surprised… it probably just lost its way."

Remarkably blood tests showed Pingu was just dehydrated and a little underweight after the marathon swim.

He was given fluids and a "fish smoothie" via a feeding tube before getting a couple of days' rest.

Hundreds of Cantabrians have protested against Covid-19 lockdowns, restrictions and vaccine mandates, despite inclement Show Weekend weather today. Despite just one active case in Canterbury, hundreds of vocal and passionate protesters…

A person has been found dead this morning at a residential address in the West Auckland suburb of Swanson.Police are making inquiries after the person was found in a property on Candia Rd. The death is being treated as unexplained…

By Sam Olley, RNZ Raw sewage is leaking down the inside of walls in Whangārei Hospital’s medical wing.The Northland District Health Board expects the failing piping will take two years to fix, costing $2.8 million, because…

Victoria has recorded 1221 new COVID-19 cases and a further four deaths in the last 24 hours.

Currently 405 people are in hospital with the virus and 86 per cent of the population over the age of 12 is vaccinated.

The new cases mark a slight increase from yesterday's number of 1115.

READ MORE: International students to return to NSW quarantine free

https://twitter.com/VicGovDH/status/1459279912527745025

New South Wales records zero deaths for the first time in months

Meanwhile New South Wales has seen a slight drop, and the first day with no deaths since August 23.

The state recorded 250 new local COVID-19 cases, compared to 286 yesterday. Six new cases have come from overseas.

Currently there are 228 patients being treated in hospital.

Up to 90.8 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated.

READ MORE: New COVID-19 crisis in countries with high vax rates

https://twitter.com/NSWHealth/status/1459279886325977088

Queensland records no new local cases

Queensland has recorded no new locally acquired COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours.

Health Minister Yvette D'Ath has, however, called on the Gold Coast community to come forward and get tested after mystery cases were reported earlier this week.

"We want to identify if there is anyone else moving around the community who may have the virus," she said.

"If you have any symptoms no matter how mild please come and get tested today."

https://twitter.com/AnnastaciaMP/status/1459311824067706880

More than 17,000 Queenslanders came forward yesterday to get vaccinated.

"That's three days in a row with vaccination numbers over 17,000," Ms D'Ath said.

Queensland has almost reached the 70 per cent fully vaccinated milestone, with 69.3 per cent of the state now double dosed.

When Queensland reaches the 70 per cent double dosed, fully vaccinated people from interstate hotspots will be able to home quarantine in the state.