The Northern Territory's reprieve from the first cyclone of the season is set to be brief, with Fina set to return to category 2 status, and possibly even category 3, today.

Fina, which has prompted warnings of 300 millimetres of rainfall and 155km/h winds in some parts, dropped to category 1 after pivoting towards the Top End yesterday.

At 9.30pm (11pm AEDT), peak gusts were about 100km/h as the storm tracked south about 360 kilometres north-east of Darwin and 135 kilometres north-north-east of Minjilang, on Croker Island.

The Bureau of Meteorology expected it to return to category 2 strength some time today on its approach towards the Cobourg Peninsula and Tiwi Islands.

Fina was then forecast to head through the Van Diemen Gulf on Saturday and become a severe cyclone on Sunday afternoon in the southern Timor Sea.

But forecasters warned it could also hit category 3 as early as today or early tomorrow.

Bureau spokesperson Jude Scott said the cyclone would continue to move in a south-westerly direction over the next couple of days.

Widespread daily rainfall totals of between 50 millimetres and 200 millimetres were forecast for areas in the warning and watch areas.

"This could be 300 millimetres of rain in the areas closest to the centre of the system," Scott said yesterday.

"An initial flood watch has been issued for the north-west coastal rivers as creeks and rivers will rise in response to the forecast rainfall.

"Darwin is now in the cyclone watch area and that's because there is a risk of gales on Saturday, probably from later in the morning into the afternoon."

She said the impact on Darwin would depend on the cyclone's eventual path.

"If the track hugs the Tiwi Island coast, then the impacts will be less on Darwin.

"If the track moves closer to the mainland north Australian coast then Darwin is likely to see the impacts of the cyclone during Saturday."

The warning zone covers Milikapiti to Maningrida, including the Cobourg Peninsula, Minjilang and Warruwi.

Forecasters warned of wind gusts up to 120km/h over the Cobourg Peninsula between Cape Don and Warruwi last night, with possible destructive winds up to 155km/h today in the same area as the system nears the coast.

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A major archeological find in Western Australia's north-west has helped prove gigantic sharks roamed the state's coast 115 million years ago.

The work of Dr Mikael Siversson from the WA Museum helped rewrite the timeline for one of the planet's most fearsome predators. 

The head of earth and planetary sciences played a crucial role in identifying a species of super shark fossil found in Australia.

His breakthrough discovery in WA's Gascoyne region included teeth that hold the key to a prehistoric world.

"That tooth is 97 million years old, still razor sharp," he told 9News.

The teeth helped Siversson and his research team identify something straight out of Jurassic Park, a group of closely related mega sharks that grew to the size of orcas around Darwin and in Queensland.

"They dominated the oceans for about 23 million years," Siversson said.

Siversson's original discovery was in 1999 in the Giralia Range on Cardabia Station, in Baiyungu country.

It was a major scientific find but the real importance of the discovery only emerged recently.

He said they were the first modern great sharks to evolve into giant-sized sharks, and it happened off the coast of Australia.

"So that's why the Western Australian specimen is so critical to the understanding of this entire group of giant predatory sharks," he said.

His work also identified that colossal sharks swam the oceans 10 million years earlier than previously thought.

All from teeth and vertebrae found in the WA outback.

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NASA has unveiled close-up pictures of the interstellar comet that’s making a quick one-and-done tour of the solar system.

Discovered over the summer, the comet known as 3I/Atlas is only the third confirmed object to visit our corner of the cosmos from another star.

It zipped harmlessly past Mars last month.

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Three NASA spacecraft on and near the red planet zoomed in on the comet as it passed just 29 million kilometres away, revealing a fuzzy white blob.

The European Space Agency's two satellites around Mars also made observations.

Other NASA spacecraft will remain on the lookout in the weeks ahead, including the Webb Space Telescope.

At the same time, astronomers are aiming their ground telescopes at the approaching comet, which is about 307 million kilometres from Earth.

The Virtual Telescope Project's Gianluca Masi zoomed in today from Italy.

The comet is visible from Earth in the predawn sky by using binoculars or a telescope.

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“Everyone that is in control of a telescope wants to look at it because it's a fascinating and rare opportunity," NASA acting astrophysics director Shawn Domagal-Goldman said.

The closest the comet will come to Earth is 269 million kilometres in mid-December.

Then it will hightail it back into interstellar space, never to return.

ESA’s Juice spacecraft, bound for Jupiter, has been training its cameras and scientific instruments on the comet all month, particularly after it made its closest pass to the sun.

But scientists won’t get any of these observations back until February because Juice’s main antenna is serving as a heat shield while it’s near the sun, limiting the flow of data.

Named for the telescope in Chile that first spotted it, the comet is believed to be anywhere from 440 metres across to 5.6 kilometres across.

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Observations indicate that the exceptionally fast-moving comet may have originated in a star system older than our own, “which gives me goose bumps to think about,” NASA scientist Tom Statler said.

“That means that 3I/Atlas is not just a window into another solar system, it’s a window into the deep past and so deep in the past that it predates even the formation of our Earth and our sun," Statler told reporters.

NASA officials were quick to dispel rumors that this friendly solar system visitor, as they called it, might be an alien ship of some sort.

They said that because of the federal government shutdown, they weren't able to respond to all the theories cropping up in recent weeks.

The space agency is always on the hunt for life beyond Earth, "but 3I/Atlas is a comet," said NASA’s associate administrator, Amit Kshatriya.

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A Victorian woman is outraged after she was forced to drive her 91-year-old mother to hospital when she was denied an ambulance following a serious fall at home.

Great-grandmother Lois Casboult suffered a brain bleed and broken pelvis after falling at home on Sunday night.

Her daughter Janne McFadyen drove her from Drouin, 90 kilometres east of Melbourne, to hospital in Warragul after attending paramedics and the virtual ED determined she did not need an ambulance.

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"I probably should have jumped up and down more and insisted on an ambulance taking her to hospital, but I didn't," McFadyen said.

"You're at the whim of the medical profession, you think they know everything, you know."

Casboult is now recovering at West Gippsland Hospital, with no date set for when she can return home.

"She's doing alright, she's resting and sleeping a lot, she's in pain if she moves but hopefully she will make a full recovery," McFadyen said.

Opposition spokesperson Georgie Crozier is calling for a review into the incident.

"It's an appalling example of just how broken our health system is," Crozier said.

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The state government maintains Casboult did not require an ambulance and was safe to be transported by family.

Victorian Ambulance Union executive Danny Hill is also backing his members.

"There's categorically no question marks over the treatment of this patient by the crew, they did exactly what they're trained to do," Hill said.

"In this case they even went to the extra step of contacting a virtual doctor."

That's something her family thinks shouldn't happen.

"When a lady's got so many prior illnesses and things it's just wrong, like, you've got to see people in person to give an opinion," McFadyen said.

Ambulance Victoria full statement

Our highly skilled paramedics attended quickly and sought the assistance of the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) and liaised with the treating doctor on a care plan.

Our thoughts are with Lois and wish her a swift recovery.

Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) full statement

Following a thorough review by an emergency physician from the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) in consultation with Ambulance Victoria, it was determined that the patient, Ms Casboult, should attend a hospital Emergency Department for further assessment.

Options for transportation were carefully discussed with the patient and their family, and a decision was made to proceed with private transport. Throughout the process, appropriate clinical care and advice were provided to ensure safety and continuity of care.

VVED has been in contact with the patient's family and have offered support during this time. A formal review of the case will be conducted.

We understand how distressing this situation can be and extend our deepest understanding and compassion to Lois and her family.

The VVED remains committed to delivering safe, timely, and patient-centred care in every circumstance.

Diversions are in place while the Serious Crash Unit investigates.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas has hit out at the "obscene" process for deciding the COP31 host after Australia – and Adelaide – missed out on holding the major climate conference.

The federal government today confirmed that Turkey will host the main summit in Antalya. 

However, Australia's Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen will assume the role of conference president.

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"Obviously, it would be great if Australia could have it all, but we can't have it all," Bowen said.

A pre-COP meeting is slated to occur in the Pacific region, fulfilling a commitment to involve the region's island nations in climate discussions.

"We're very pleased with the outcome," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

The state government, though, has been left disappointed by the outcome.

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"We won at our task, the federal government didn't achieve its objective, and that's the way it works," Malinauskas said.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young was blunter, saying "the prime minister has let down the country. He has let down South Australians".

The failed bid has financial implications for South Australia, with almost $4 million already expended on preparations.

"Lots of those costs will be reallocated to other means where we can achieve that," said Malinauskas.

The premier is adamant Adelaide should get another chance to host COP, but United Nations processes mean that opportunity won't come around again until 2031.

This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.

Victorian Animal Justice MP Georgie Purcell says she was repeatedly sexually harassed inside the walls of parliament, becoming the latest of a string of female MPs to speak out about workplace experiences.

Purcell, 33, made the admission in front of upper house colleagues this afternoon whilst speaking in support of a bill that would forbid the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in cases of workplace sexual harassment.

The MP said she was first sexually harassed at Spring Street in her first year as a staffer, aged 26.

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"Someone came into my office for a discussion and I bent over to get something from the fridge and he remarked to me, in my member of parliament's office, 'if you do that again, I won't be responsible for what happens next'," Purcell said.

That was one of a "litany of examples" of harassment Purcell says she experienced inside parliament, which she said extended "beyond the physical precinct".

"In my experience with someone else in this place, it was the late-night messages, the harassing phone calls, the harassing texts, the bombardment of digital contact, the knocks on our doors when you can't see who is on the other side, and the demands to meet us under the guise of work," she said.

Once she reported the harassment, Purcell claims she was slut-shamed by colleagues in the hall, including comments calling her past as a stripper into question.

"What did she expect? Look how she dresses, look at the tattoos, look at her past, you can't sexually harass a stripper," Purcell said was the response to her sexual harassment claims.

"I know the slut shaming far too well. Members of this place are not beyond it and we need to reflect on that today."

Purcell says from the age of 14 she realised sexual harassment would be a feature of her working life, when leering and "ongoing comments" forced her away from customer-facing roles.

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When she began a job at a pub aged 18, Purcell says she was groped, pulled onto laps, and received demeaning and sexualised comments.

"Once I was even followed out to my car by a customer, who threatened me after I turned down his advances," she said.

The crossbencher said she first reported sexual harassment in the workplace at age 20 when she was working in the legal profession.

"It really doesn't matter how senior or successful you become," Purcell said.

"Men will always see us as up for grabs."

During debate on the same legislation earlier this month, lower house MP Natalie Hutchins alleged she was harassed by Essendon Football Club players while working as a waitress in the early 1990s.

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"People questioned if that could even be possible," Purcell said of Hutchins' claims.

"It creates this false narrative of a perfect victim, that you can only experience or endure this behaviour and, importantly, you can only speak out about this behaviour if you meet a certain, impossible criteria.

"It's all well and good to remove the gag on survivors of sexual harassment, but we need to start listening when people speak."

Shadow finance minister Bridget Vallence and Nationals MP Emma Kealy have also publicly detailed experiences with sexual harassment and stalking.

"It really doesn't matter how senior or successful you become," Purcell said.

"One thing I have learnt is that men will always see us as up for grabs."

Purcell's experiences were detailed under parliamentary privilege.

National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

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NSW Police have pepper-sprayed an 87-year-old man at a nursing home in Sydney's south-west, a senior officers are now investigating the incident.

Police were called to the aged care facility just before 8pm yesterday after a concern of welfare report was made about a resident.

The man, who police said had dementia, had allegedly threatened to harm other residents and himself while he was armed with what officers described as a "metal ornament".

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"[He was] armed with a large metal pole, it had sharp edges", Assistant Commissioner Brett McFadden told media this afternoon.

"He was threatening staff, he was violent, he was suffering from an altered state of consciousness, and was making indications of self-harm."

As a result of his actions, staff locked themselves in a room for their own safety.

When two officers arrived at the home, they found the man in the foyer and still armed with the metal object.

After refusing police direction to drop the weapon, he was pepper-sprayed.

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McFadden said he was satisfied with the police response, saying they had to think fast and to protect other residents, staff, and themselves.

"It was very challenging circumstances," he said.

"Despite the age, he was still a man of reasonable size, and he was still exercising a level of strength [that was] a risk.

"We don't have the luxury of what could have been done, we managed the situation."

The man was ultimately restrained and assessed by paramedics before being taken to Campbeltown Hospital for further treatment.

There were no injuries reported to other residents, staff or officers during the incident.

The incident is still being investigated, which McFadden said is due to the "public interest" in such cases, and because as Australia's population ages, there could be more similar incidents to follow.

"I recognise the public interest in these matters," he said.

"We have an ageing community where the insidious nature of dementia is being managed in private homes, it's being managed in aged care communities, and it's a challenging situation for everyone."

He also insisted the incident was not reflective of the elderly man.

"I just want to emphasise the conduct of this male is no way a reflection of this individual, such is the insidious nature of dementia and the challenges it presents," he said.

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Security barriers and fencing separated supporters and protesters in the capital.

More than 1000 friends and family have packed out Melbourne's Junction Oval to farewell a beloved teenager tragically killed in a cricket training accident last month.

Ben Austin, 17, died in hospital days after he was fatally hit by a cricket ball in his head and neck area while at training in Ferntree Gully on October 29.

The Shane Warne Stand was a sea of 1100 of the teen's friends, family and members of the public today.

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Mourners were encouraged to wear their cricket club tops, scarves or a splash of colour.

Ben's closest loved ones sat on chairs in the middle of the grounds, where his Collingwood Football Club-adorned coffin was displayed.

The Magpies' 2023 premiership cup had pride of place at the service, on a table next to a framed photo of Ben, a Sherrin football bearing his name, and a cricket bat inscribed with his Ferntree Gully Cricket Club cap number 512.

His father Jace – wearing Ben's number 512 cricket cap – his cricket coach and other family members were among those to eulogise the talented young sportsman.

"Ben Andrew Austin, 17 years, 19 days, five hours, you lit up the world. Your mum and I have never been prouder," Mr Austin said.

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"The best goal you ever scored or four you ever hit wasn't on the field, but it was when your soul chose us as your family.

"Our first achievement and greatest love."

Mr Austin said the family found peace knowing Ben would join his cousins and nana on the other side.

"But mostly playing cricket with Warnie and Phil Hughes will be high on the list," Jace said.

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Ferntree Gully Cricket Club coach Josh Henry remembered Ben as "the perfect young man".

"Only the other week, a new left-handed batsman turned up to training without gear," Henry said.

"I asked Benny if the kid could borrow his. Without hesitation – yes.

"Not only did he lend it, he helped the boy pad up, doing the straps, fitting the gloves, making sure he was ready, that's who Benny was.

"Anything, for anyone, anytime. A heart of gold."

Ben's coffin was carried from the ground by Ben's friends and teammates into a hearse which performed a lap of honour around the ground at the end of the service.

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