A 38-year-old Western Australian man has been charged over an alleged foiled plot to import more than four kilograms of methamphetamine hidden behind a painting sent from Canada.

The Perth man was arrested last Thursday and appeared in court on Friday, charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug.

He was remanded in custody to next appear on 19 November 2021.

LIVE UPDATES: COVID-19 booster jab rollout starts

If convicted, he could face a potential maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

The drugs were originally discovered by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who notified the Australian Federal Police.

Three vacuum-sealed bags holding 4.1kg of meth were allegedly found stuck in the frame of a painting.

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The drugs were removed and replaced with a substitute before the painting was sent on to Embleton in Perth's north-east, where the package was allegedly accepted by a 38-year-old man on Thursday.

AFP officers raided the man's home that afternoon and allegedly found the fake drugs buried in a pillow case in a garden bed.

The AFP alleged that the amount of meth could have made up 41,000 "street deals" worth a collective $4 million.

A man dressed in a 'Batman' Joker costume and brandishing a knife on a Tokyo commuter train stabbed several passengers before starting a fire, which sent people scrambling to escape and jumping from windows, police and witnesses said.

The Tokyo Fire Department said 17 passengers were injured on Sunday, including three seriously. Not all of them were stabbed and most of the injuries were not serious, the agency said.

The attacker, only identified as a man in his 20s, was arrested on the spot and was being investigated on suspicion of attempted murder, NHK said. His motive was not immediately known.

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Nippon Television reported that the suspect told police he used an earlier train stabbing case as an example.

Witnesses told police that the attacker was wearing a bright outfit — a green shirt, a blue suit and a purple coat — like the Joker in 'Batman' comics or someone going to a Halloween event, according to media reports.

Tokyo police officials said the attack happened inside the Keio train near the Kokuryo station.

Television footage showed a number of firefighters, police officials and paramedics rescuing the passengers, many of whom escaped through train windows.

In one video, passengers were running from another car, where flames were gushing.

NHK said the suspect, after stabbing passengers, poured a liquid resembling oil and set fire, which partially burned seats.

Shunsuke Kimura, who filmed the video, told NHK that he saw passengers desperately running and while he was trying to figure out what happened, he heard an explosive noise and saw smoke wafting.

He also jumped from a window but fell on the platform and hurt his shoulder.

"Train doors were closed and we had no idea what was happening, and we jumped from the windows," Mr Kimura said.

"It was horrifying."

The attack was the second involving a knife on a Tokyo train in two months.

In August, the day before the Tokyo Olympics closing ceremony, a 36-year-old man stabbed 10 passengers on a commuter train in Tokyo in a random burst of violence. The suspect later told police he wanted to attack women who looked happy.

While shooting deaths are rare in Japan, the country has had a series of high-profile knife killings in recent years.

In 2019, a man carrying two knives attacked a group of schoolgirls waiting at a bus stop just outside Tokyo, killing two people and injuring 17 before killing himself.

In 2018, a man killed a passenger and injuring two others in a knife attack on a bullet train.

In 2016, a former employee at a home for the disabled killed 19 people and injured more than 20.

The body of a missing tramper has been located in Arthur’s Pass following a search and rescue operation.A police spokeswoman said the woman was reported missing after failing to return from a hike on Saturday in the Arthur’s Pass…

A man has died and three others are fighting for life in hospital after a boat capsized on the New South Wales south coast.

Seven men were on a fishing trip about 10am on Sunday when their tinny overturned in rough waters at Waniora Point in Bulli.

Four of the men became trapped under the boat.

"Seven people went into the water, six came out. One has died unfortunately which is terrible," NSW Police's Darren Brown said.

Officers from the Wollongong Police Area Command were at the scene along with Surf Life Savers and the Marine Area Command.

"The members of the community and the surfers out in the water were onto the boat before the lifesavers got there are heroes," Surf Life Saving NSW CEO Steven Pearce said.

"They are the ones who were able to hold these persons afloat until we could get our life savers out there."

One of those surfers was among the injured.

Two patients were airlifted to Sydney hospitals, another taken by ambulance to Wollongong.

"It was challenging scene … it was very chaotic," NSW Ambulance Inspector Norm Rees said.

"Thirty-five years in the job, it's one of the biggest ones I've been to."

The local surf living saving was preparing for a training exercise at the same time the men in the tinnie ran into trouble.

"It is the quickest response that could have ever occurred for this incident," Mr Pearce said.

"If the moons hadn't aligned, if the sliding door moment hadn't occurred, we would multiple fatalities."

Authorities are investigating the incident.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and French President Emmanuel Macron have met face-to-face for the first time since their fallout over the sunken submarine deal.

The two leaders crossed paths at the G20 summit in Rome where Mr Morrison was asked if US President Joe Biden had "thrown him under the bus" during his meeting with Emmanuel Macron.

Mr Morrison has been dealing with questions about a tense phone call he shared with Mr Macron since touching down in Italy for a meeting of the world's most powerful leaders.

Photos from Rome showed Mr Morrison and Mr Macron greeting briefly in a crowd.

"He was having a chat with someone and I went up and just put my arm on his shoulder and said 'g'day Emmanuel', and 'look forward to catching up in the next couple of days'," Mr Morrison told reporters from Rome.

"All I can say is that we kept the US administration up to date with the status of what our conversations and discussions have been with the French government.

"You've got to make the right decision for Australia and that's exactly what we did."

There is no meeting scheduled between the pair in Rome, who spoke for the first time in months just before Mr Morrison flew out of Australia.

The call was a welcome end to the icy silence that had developed between the pair since Mr Macron temporarily withdrew his ambassador to Canberra and began refusing to take Mr Morrison's calls in outrage at Australia's shredding of the $90 billion submarine deal.

READ MORE: Morrison 'respects' submarine deal disappointment in call to French president

But it was a tense reunion, according to the French, who said Mr Macron made it clear Australia "broke the relationship of trust" when it ditched the diesel-powered submarines in favour of a future deal for nuclear-powered submarines, enabled through a new defence pact with the US and UK.

The Group of 20 leaders summit in the Italian capital is the first time the French and Australian leaders will sit down together since the diplomatic crisis.

https://twitter.com/Fi_Willan/status/1454518689298993152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

US President Joe Biden's comments to Mr Macron as they met on Friday didn't make things any easier for Mr Morrison.

"I was under the impression that France had been informed long before that the deal was not going through, honest to God," he said, in comments that could be interpreted as a criticism of Australia's handling of the situation.

Mr Biden described the incident as "clumsy" and "not done with a lot of grace.

"I was under the impression that certain things had happened that had not happened," he said.

France has appeared to forgive the US more quickly than Australia for what it termed a "stab in the back" and Mr Macron and US President Joe Biden were seen arm in arm at the G20 on Saturday.

The main focus of this G20 meeting, coming on the eve of the momentous COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, is not the scrapped submarine deal but climate change.

Here Mr Morrison will also face questions, having already been urged by Mr Macron to step up the nation's 2030 emissions reduction targets and commit to ditching coal, two actions Australia has refused to take.

Mr Morrison committed to net zero by 2050 earlier this month after protracted negotiations with the Nationals but COP officials are looking for more ambitious 2030 targets from everyone.

Italy's Premier Mario Draghi made a sharp call to pick up the pace in getting vaccines to poor countries as he the G20 on Saturday, calling the gaping global COVID-19 vaccine gap "morally unacceptable".

The host for the two-day summit only 3 per cent of people in the world's poorest countries were vaccinated, while 70 per cent in rich countries have had at least one shot.

Climate change, vaccines, the recovery, international taxation are all themes occupying leaders holding their first in-person summit since the pandemic took hold.

The call for more collective vaccine help for low-income countries sounded a theme running through the G20 summit that confronts a two-track global recovery in which rich countries are bouncing back faster.

Mr Draghi welcomed the G20 leaders to Rome's Nuvola cloud-like convention centre in the Fascist-era EUR neighbourhood, which was sealed off from the rest of the capital.

Saturday's opening session was focused on global health and the economy. Rich countries have used vaccines and stimulus spending to restart economic activity, leaving the risk that developing countries that account for much of global growth will remain behind due to low vaccinations and financing difficulties.

– with Associated Press

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Bert Newton's wife Patti has expressed her heartbreak at the death of her husband, describing him as "the most wonderful man".

Mrs Newton, 76, spoke through tears as she talked about her husband and Australian TV icon.

"It's very, very devastating. All our hearts are breaking because he was just the most wonderful man," she said outside the couple's Hawthorn East home.

READ MORE: Australian entertainment icon Bert Newton dies aged 83

Bert had been battling complications related to a leg amputation from May. He died last night at age 83. Patti and Bert had been married for almost 47 years.

"He had such a fabulous attitude," Mrs Newton said.

"And he gave us so much joy right up to the end."

Patti also revealed the heartbreak of missing her husband's final moments.

"I left at ten past seven, and I was just pulling around to come into my drive and I get the call to say he'd taken his last breath at 7.22pm," she said.

"So, I missed him, but maybe he didn't want me to be there for his last breath."

A state funeral will be held to farewell the beloved television personality.

Former Nine CEO Eddie McGuire appeared on Weekend Today, saying Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews would ring Bert's widow Patti to make the offer of a state funeral.

Mr McGuire said the farewell service will most likely be held at Bert's "beloved" St Pat's Cathedral in Melbourne in a loving testimony to his former employee.

Mr Andrews has since released a statement confirming a state funeral will be held.

"We will all have an opportunity to honour his memory, his talent and his achievements at a state funeral – details will be shared in the coming days," the statement reads.

"Bert Newton was an icon, a larrikin and a born entertainer."

"We have never known TV without Bert," Mr Andrews said.

"Bert will live on in the memories of an entire generation."

Mr McGuire told Weekend Today how Newton had touched him personally.

"To say I was Bert Newton's boss is stretching it. I couldn't carry Bert Newton's bags," Mr McGuire said. 

"He was a hero to me. Bert was a legend to me. I sat alongside him on set. I watched him as a young boy. I was thrilled with everything about Bert Newton.

"When the opportunity came for me to rehire him as CEO, it was one of the greatest moments of my career."

Mr McGuire confirmed during their time together at Nine, Bert had named one of his famous hairpieces after the CEO.

"I knew I had made it when Bert Newton one, knew my name, and two, named his toupee after me. That was Bert," Mr McGuire said.

"Bert said he thought I was on everything at that stage, I might as well be on his head as well. That's what he was about."

TRIBUTES TO BERT: 'We all grew up with Bert, the ultimate showman'

Mr McGuire said Bert had what he described as "generosity of spirit", and was equally at home leading the comedic moments on a show or playing the straight man alongside some of Australia's most famous comedians.

"He was showbiz royalty. It was when Bert got on stage with the international names, Sammy Davis Junior, Bob Hope. He could spar with Muhammed Ali. He could do everything," Mr McGuire said.

"You could see the sense of respect. America had Carson. The United Kingdom had Parkinson and we had Bert Newton and he could match it with every one of them."

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