Qatar's major international airport has reopened its airspace after dozens of flights heading to the Middle East were diverted or cancelled; however, travel chaos for Australians trying to head to the region for a holiday or stopovers to Europe is ongoing.

Qatar's airspace was closed after attacks on a US air base in the country at 2.45am (AEST), diverting flights from dozens of airlines, including Qatar Airways, Emirates, Etihad and FlyDubai.

The airline confirmed that while the airspace is now back open, there will be run-on effects, including their flights in and out of Europe, Asia and North America from Australia. 

LIVE UPDATES: Trump announces 'complete and total ceasefire' between Iran and Israel

Several flights headed to Doha from Australia are still being impacted this morning.

Qantas flight QF33 heading to Paris, leaving from Perth, has been turned back to Perth, while flight QF9 from Perth to London has been diverted to Singapore, a spokesperson for the airline confirmed.

Passengers on that flight will be given overnight accommodation until the airline can rebook them.

"Due to airspace closures and congestion through the Middle East resulting in air traffic restrictions, QF9 (Perth-London) has been diverted to Singapore and QF33 (Perth-Paris) is returning to Perth," a spokesperson for Qantas said.

"We continue to monitor airspace availability closely and will alter our schedule as required."We thank our customers for their patience and understanding."

Two Virgin flights operated by Qatar and three Qatar Airways flights from Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth have been diverted.

The flights are landing in other countries, including India and Singapore.

Another three flights scheduled to leave from Australian airports to Doha today have been cancelled, including: QR909 (Sydney to Doha, leaving at 8.45pm), QR905 (Melbourne to Doha, leaving at 10.45pm), and QR899 (Brisbane to Doha, leaving at 10.10pm).

CEO of the Australian Travel Industry Association, Dean Long, said impacted flights would be held in other countries until it is safe to leave.

"Those flights will be held in those countries for as long as it needs to be to be safe," Long said.

"They'll then be put back on those planes after those crew have been rested and moved to their final destination."

"If you're travelling in the next 24 or 72 hours, do not cancel.

"The airline or your travel agent will be in contact with you if your flight is cancelled.

"If you don't want to travel, you get a full cash refund, and if not, the Airline has the responsibility to put you on another plane to get you to where you need to go to."

Qatar Airlines said that while the airspace is open, significant delays are expected.

"As operations resume, we anticipate significant delays to our flight schedule. We would advise passengers to check qatarairways.com or the Qatar Airways mobile application ahead of travel."

The disruptions are the biggest yet for air traffic in the region.

Qatar Airways runs a massive global operation out of its airport in Doha, connecting more than 170 destinations around the world.

Turkish Airlines suspended services to Gulf destinations, including Dubai, which is home to one of the world's busiest airports.

Other airlines, including Singapore Airlines and British Airways, have also cancelled flights.

Qatar Airways confirmed earlier that its flights had been temporarily suspended due to the closure of its airspace.

"The airline is working closely with government stakeholders and the relevant authorities to support impacted passengers, and will resume operations when the airspace reopens," a spokesperson for the airline said.

"Once usual operations resume, we anticipate significant delays to our flight schedule."

The airline also said it had rescheduled flights for the next few weeks, with some departure times moved to earlier in the day. 

Qatar and Dubai have a massive stake in international travel, becoming two of the biggest hubs for connecting flights to hundreds of destinations.

Dubai is home to Emirates, the world's largest international carrier.

Hamad International Airport in Doha, in the capital of Qatar, is among the 10 largest airports in the world, operating more than 500 flights a day from its namesake carrier.

Together, they handle much of the traffic within the Middle East and are transfer points for long-haul travel between Asia, Europe and North America.

It means certain knock-on effects for the commercial aviation industry.

Air traffic controllers have managed to carve out a safe entry into Dubai in the United Arab Emirates after flights were temporarily suspended to and from the airport.

There is no indication how long the impacts will last. 

9News understands a pilot told passengers that the situation in the region was "very volatile." 

A visitor has damaged a 17th-century painting at the Uffizi Galleries in Florence after stumbling back into it while posing for a photo, the museum said in a statement.

The visitor was visiting the world-famous museum on Saturday when he accidentally damaged a portrait of Tuscan prince Ferdinando de' Medici, which was painted some time around 1695-1700 by Anton Domenico Gabbiani, the museum said on Monday.

In widely circulated security camera footage of the incident, a man can be seen posing in front of the oil painting before leaning back and then quickly jumping up as he realises he touched it.

READ MORE: Tourists break 'delicate' Van Gogh chair covered in crystals

Pictures later published by local media showed a small tear in the painting around the area of the nobleman's ankle.

The visitor, who hasn't been publicly identified, was reported to the authorities. Meanwhile, the painting was removed from the exhibition for repair works, although the museum said the damage was "light" and it will be displayed again soon.

The incident prompted Simone Verde, director of the Uffizi Galleries, to issue a statement condemning "the problem of visitors who come to museums to make memes or take selfies for social media."

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLKvBXfNCfp/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=9774326f-5938-41ba-a5b4-c96e6d3bb855

"We will set very precise limits, preventing behaviours that are not compatible with the sense of our institutions and respect for cultural heritage," he added in a statement sent to CNN.

Museum-goers accidentally damaging exhibits in the pursuit of the perfect photo appears to be an increasing problem for the institutions.

Just last week, a crystal-covered chair inspired by one of Vincent Van Gogh's most famous paintings was seriously damaged when a tourist sat on it while posing for a photograph at a museum in Verona.

In April, a child damaged a huge painting by Mark Rothko, thought to be worth tens of millions of dollars, while visiting a Dutch museum.

Behavioral ecologist Michael Weiss was browsing through new drone footage of the orca pods he studies in the Salish Sea when he spotted one of the killer whales carrying something green in its mouth and noticed an unusual behaviour: Some orcas were rubbing against each other for up to 15 minutes at a time.

At first, Weiss didn't think much of it "because whales do weird things," he said. But more observations yielded similar sights on his drone camera.

"I zoom in, and sure enough, there's clear as day this piece of kelp that they're using to rub on each other."

READ MORE: Bizarre deep-sea spider 'farms' body out to eat

Over the course of just two weeks in 2024, Weiss and his team documented 30 examples of these curious interactions.

They found that the southern resident orcas — a distinct population of killer whales — were detaching strands of bull kelp from the seafloor to roll between their bodies in a behaviour the scientists dubbed "allokelping."

Allokelping could be a form of grooming for skin hygiene, as well as a way to socially bond with other members of the pod, the researchers reported in a new paper published Monday in the journal Current Biology.

The discovery marks the first time cetaceans — marine mammals including whales, dolphins and porpoises — have been observed using an object as a tool to groom.

Across the animal kingdom, using tools is rare, according to behavioural ecologists. But when it does happen, it's often for finding food or attracting mates.

"This is a quite different way of using an object," said Weiss, the study's lead author and research director of the Centre for Whale Research in Washington state.

Allokelping theories

There are two possible reasons behind the allokelping behaviour, Weiss and his team hypothesise.

Hygiene, such as treating or removing dead skin, could be one explanation. Cetaceans often shed dead skin, which helps keep their bodies smooth and aerodynamic. Skin lesions, particularly gray patches, are becoming more prevalent in southern resident orcas, Weiss added, so allokelping might be a way to treat those lesions.

The other hypothesis, Weiss explained, is that allokelping is a way to strengthen social bonds, as the whale pairs seen exhibiting this behaviour were usually close relatives or similar in age.

"These guys are incredibly socially bonded," said Deborah Giles, an orca scientist at the SeaDoc Society who was not involved with the research. This behaviour is fascinating but not entirely surprising, she added.

Orcas are curious and tactile, with brains that are large compared with their body size, Giles explained, adding that some parts of the killer whale brain are more developed than what's seen in humans. Each orca population even has its own dialect.

Cetaceans also have sensitive skin, explained Janet Mann, a behavioural ecologist at Georgetown University who has studied marine mammals for 37 years. Orcas are known to rub on other objects such as smooth-pebble beaches in Canada, or on algal mats. But it's unusual to see two individual killer whales using a tool to seemingly exfoliate each other, she said.

"What (the study) shows is that we know very little about cetacean behaviour in the wild," Mann said.

Allokelping likely wouldn't have been discovered without advances in drone and camera technology, which have opened up "a whole new world" for scientists to better understand cetaceans' complex lifestyles, Mann said.

Historically, whales are observed from shore or from boats, offering a limited perspective of what's happening in the water. But drones offer a bird's-eye view of what marine animals are doing just below the surface. It's likely this population has been allokelping for a while, she said — only now we can see it.

Cultural phenomenon

Orca scientists with drone footage are probably going to be on the lookout for this sort of behaviour now, Giles said.

Killer whales aren't the only cetaceans known to use tools, though. Some bottlenose dolphins have been observed carefully removing and using sponges to scare up prey on the seabed, a sophisticated behaviour that only a small fraction of the population exhibits, said Mann, who has studied the dolphins in Australia's Shark Bay.

Some other bottlenose dolphins use their tails to slap the ground in a circle, creating mud-ring plumes that trap fish. And humpback whales have long used bubble nets to catch prey.

Whether these examples constitute "using tools" is a topic of debate in the scientific community, but regardless, they are all behaviours related to foraging for food. What makes allokelping unique is its potential benefits for skin health and relationships — in other words, it appears to be a cultural practice.

"This idea of allogrooming (with tools) is largely limited to primates, which is what makes it remarkable," said Philippa Brakes, a behavioural ecologist with the nonprofit Whale and Dolphin Conservation who was not involved with the research.

"This kind of feels like a moment in time for cetaceans, because it does prove that you don't necessarily need a thumb to be able to manipulate a tool."

Brakes, who studies social learning and culture in cetaceans, added that this new research "tells us quite a lot about how important culture is for these species."

Each population — in this case, southern resident orcas — has a distinct dialect for communication, specific foraging strategies and now a unique type of tool use.

In a rapidly changing environment, Brakes said, "culture provides a phenomenal way for animals to be able to adapt," as it has for humans.

"It's more reason to ensure that we protect their habitat as well as their behavior," she noted.

A 'completely novel' find

Indeed, southern resident killer whales are critically endangered and federally protected both in the United States and Canada, with a total population of just 74 whales.

And as bull kelp is in decline due to human activities that disrupt the seabed and more frequent heat waves caused by climate change, the overall ecosystem is degrading.

Kelp forests are also critical nursery habitat for juvenile chinook salmon — a key part of killer whales' diet, Giles said. Southern residents have been spending less and less time in the Salish Sea over the years, possibly because of dwindling prey, said Monika Wieland Shields, cofounder and director of the nonprofit Orca Behavior Institute.

"This study makes me wonder if one of the reasons the Southern Residents continue to visit the Salish Sea periodically even during times of low salmon abundance is to engage in allokelping," Shields wrote in an email to CNN.

The research is now leading to new areas of study.

"This cetacean data point is a really important one because it's completely novel," said Dora Biro, an animal cognition researcher at the University of Rochester who was not involved with the study.

Biro, who has mostly studied tool use in wild chimpanzees, added that examples of terrestrial tool use are much more widespread than in aquatic environments. She is now working on a grant proposal with Weiss' team to better understand the purpose of the behavior.

But for Brakes, there doesn't necessarily need to be a purpose: "The objective may just be social bonding, and that would still make it a tool."

An Australian is among 285 people arrested in an Indonesian crackdown on drug trafficking as authorities seized more than half a tonne of various narcotics during a two-month-long nationwide crackdown.

Indonesia is a major hub for drug trafficking in South-East Asia despite having strict drug laws, with convicted smugglers sometimes executed by firing squad.

The head of the National Narcotic Agency, Marthinus Hukom, said the crackdown, launched between April and June across 20 provinces, also uncovered money laundering schemes by two drug syndicates and confiscated assets worth more than 26 billion rupiah (about $2.4 million).

READ MORE: Arrests made after 145 people 'stabbed with syringes' at festival

Thirty-six of the suspects, including 21 women, were paraded in front of reporters, along with confiscated drugs, in their orange prison uniforms and hands handcuffed.

Hukom said the women arrested were mostly housewives.

"I call on Indonesian women to be more vigilant in establishing friendships both in the real world and in cyberspace," he said during a joint press conference with officials from the security affairs ministry and the customs office who took part in the operation.

One of the agency's deputies, Budi Wibowo, said authorities seized 683,885 grams of crystal meth, marijuana, ecstasy, THC, hashish and amphetamines, adding this helped stop them falling into the hands of "more than 1.3 million people".

Wibowo also said that drug syndicates have used various methods to distribute narcotics to users via land and sea transportation or mail services.

The seven foreign nationals were an Australian, an American, two Kazakhs, two Malaysians, and an Indian, Wibowo said.

READ MORE: Australia supports US military strike on Iran, PM says

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says Indonesia is a major drug-smuggling hub in part because international drug syndicates target its young population.

In a separate operation, authorities in the province of Riau Island exposed in May two cases of drug smuggling in its waters and seized 2.7 tonnes of crystal methamphetamine and 1.2 tonnes of ketamine, Hukom said Monday.

In 2023, authorities uncovered more than 52,000 of drug cases and confiscated 6.2 tonnes of crystal meth, 1.1 tonnes of marijuana and other types of synthetic narcotics, said Mochammad Hasan of the ministry of security affairs during the press conference.

Hasan said the number increased in 2024 with more than 56,000 cases and confiscated 7.5 tonnes of crystal meth and 3.3 tonnes of marijuana, with a combine value worth 7.5 trillion rupiah ($711.2 million). Authorities have arrested a total of 27,357 drug suspects by November 2024, he said.

Earlier this month, three British nationals accused of smuggling nearly a kilogram of cocaine into Indonesia were charged in a court on the tourist island of Bali. They face the death penalty under the country's strict drug laws.

About 530 people, including 96 foreigners, are on death row in Indonesia, mostly for drug-related crimes, the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections' data showed. Indonesia's last executions, of an Indonesian and three foreigners, were carried out in July 2016.

– Reported with Associated Press

Israel hit Iranian government targets in Tehran on Monday in a series of strikes that followed a salvo of missiles and drones fired by Iran at Israel in the wake of the Trump administration's massive strikes on Iranian nuclear sites the day before.

The Israeli military also confirmed it struck roads around Iran's Fordo enrichment facility to obstruct access to the site. The underground site was one of those hit in Sunday's attack by the United States on three nuclear facilities. The Israeli military did not elaborate.

In Tehran attacks, Israel's Defence Ministry said it hit targets that included the notorious Evin Prison in the Iranian capital and the security headquarters of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guards.

READ MORE: 'It is now our turn': The Iran retaliation that could be disastrous

"The Iranian dictator will be punished with full force for attacking the Israeli home front," the ministry said.

Nuclear fears mount after US strikes

In Vienna, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said he expected there to be heavy damage at the Fordo facility already following Sunday's US airstrike there with sophisticated bunker-buster bombs.

"Given the explosive payload utilised … very significant damage … is expected to have occurred," said Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

With the strikes on Sunday on Iranian nuclear sites, the US inserted itself into Israel's war, prompting fears of a wider regional conflict. Iran said the US had crossed "a very big red line" with its risky gambit to strike the three sites with missiles and 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs.

Several Iranian officials, including Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi, have claimed Iran removed nuclear material from targeted sites ahead of time.

READ MORE: Iranian ambassador says US military bases could be targeted after strikes

Grossi told the IAEA board of governors on Monday that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had informed him on June 13 that Iran would "adopt special measures to protect nuclear equipment and materials".

"I indicated that any transfer of nuclear material from a safeguarded facility to another location in Iran must be declared," Grossi said, without saying whether Iran had responded.

Israel and Iran press their attacks

Iran described its Monday attack on Israel as a new wave of its Operation "True Promise 3", saying it was targeting the Israeli cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv, according to Iranian state television.

Explosions were also heard in Jerusalem. There were no immediate reports of damage.

In Iran, witnesses reported Israeli airstrikes hit areas around Iran's capital, Tehran, about midday. Iranian state television confirmed one Israeli strike hit the gate of Evin Prison.

The report shared what appeared to be black and white surveillance footage of the strike. The prison is known for holding dual nationals and Westerners often used by Iran as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West.

READ MORE: Australia supports US military strike on Iran, PM says

Evin also has specialised units for political prisoners and those with Western ties, run by the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which answers only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The facility is the target of both US and European Union sanctions.

Earlier on Monday, Iranian General Abdolrahim Mousavi, the chief of joint staff of armed forces, warned Washington its strikes had given Iranian forces a "free hand " to "act against US interests and its army".

Tens of thousands of American troops are based in the Middle East, many in locations within range of short-range Iranian missiles.

Calls for de-escalation

The US described its Sunday attack on the Fordo and Natanz enrichment facilities, as well as the Isfahan nuclear site, as a one-off to take out Iran's nuclear program, but President Donald Trump has warned of additional strikes if Tehran retaliates.

Mousavi described the American attacks as violating Iran's sovereignty and being tantamount to invading the country, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

In the wake of the American attacks, calls came from across the globe for de-escalation and the return to diplomacy to try and resolve the conflict.

READ MORE: 'MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN': Trump threat

On Monday, the European Union's top diplomat said the bloc remained "very much focused on the diplomatic solution".

"The concerns of retaliation and this war escalating are huge," Kaja Kallas said at the start of a foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels where Iran has jumped to the top of the agenda.

"Especially closing of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran is something that would be extremely dangerous and not good for anybody," Kallas said, referring to a maritime route crucial for oil transport.

After Sunday's attacks, Iranian officials repeated their longtime threats of possibly closing the key shipping lane.

Iran, which insists its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only, previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal with the US, France, China, Russia, Britain and Germany in exchange for sanctions relief.

But after Trump pulled the US unilaterally out of the deal during his first term, Iran began enriching uranium up to 60 per cent — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent — and restricting access to its nuclear facilities.

As he arrived in Brussels on Monday for a meeting with his EU counterparts, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul renewed calls for Iran to agree again to direct talks with the US but said Europe still had a role to play.

"We already made it very clear to the Iranian side that a real precondition for a settlement to the conflict is that Iran be ready to negotiate directly with the US," he said, while adding that the European group known as the E3 "will contribute what we can".

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was meeting on Monday in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, one of Iran's key allies.

Exclusive: Iran's ambassador to Australia has warned Donald Trump's "act of animosity" in ordering the bombing of Iranian nuclear sites could see US military bases targeted and a key sealane closed.

In an exclusive interview with 9News, Ahmad Sadeghi said the US president had proved himself to be the "puppet" of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for which there would be "consequences".

"Islamic countries all around the world would consider this (an) act of animosity and they won't be silent inside the region," Sadeghi said.

READ MORE: PM denies terror threat has changed as US warns over 'sleeper cell' attacks

"The US does have personnel and bases, either in southern part of the Persian Gulf or other regions in the West Asia, that they have bases.

"The other (consequence) is, you know, the ramification on the Persian Gulf from the navigation and just transfer of energy in the region."

A fifth of the world's oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz and its closure would see fuel prices skyrocket.

Sadeghi said Australia, as a peace-loving country, should "support justice and legality" and not side with the US.

"We are friendly with Australia. We do not have any sort of animosity with them," he said.

"What we have to do is just remind them, what is the real situation on the ground, and just remove the misunderstanding, because Iran's nuclear program has been legal and has been a peaceful, neutral program."

READ MORE: Influencer accused of poisoning baby facing 'large, complex' evidence brief

Asked if Iran was enriching uranium to near-weapons grade quality, Sadeghi said, "of course not".

"The Director General of IAEA Rafael Grossi is responsible in this bloodshed," he said.

"IAEA inspectors had maximum access to Iran.

"Iran was unique in terms of accepting inspection. Therefore, Mr Grossi had a very bad failure in that regard."

Sadeghi said Iran did not believe that the US wants regime change.

"When it comes to our country, the people are consolidated and united inside Iran to protect their country, and they protect their government."

You can watch the full interview above.

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The US strike on Iran has prompted fears that retaliatory action could be carried out in Australia or abroad by a "sleeper cell".

Australia's national terrorism threat level remains unchanged at "probable" and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there is no immediate threat after being probed over the possibility of a domestic attack.

"We are constantly under a position where the ASIO director-general and our security intelligence agencies are constantly engaged in monitoring," Albanese said in a press conference today.

READ MORE: Arrests made after 145 people 'stabbed with syringes' at festival

"There's been no change in any of the advice that has been issued."

Albanese said the government is "opposed to any action against Australians or indeed anyone else".

"What we want to see, as President Trump has said, is peace going forward," he said.

"There's an opportunity for that to occur."

However, there are reports of a heightened alert in the US for what are called "sleeper cell" attacks.

READ MORE: Australia supports US military strike on Iran, PM says

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) today warned that the threat of sleeper cells in the US has "never been higher" shortly following the military strike on three nuclear sites in Iran.

"Though we have not received any specific credible threats to share with you all currently, the threat of sleeper cells or sympathisers acting on their own, or at the behest of Iran has never been higher," CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott reportedly said in an internal memo.

Multiple US outlets have reported Iran sent a message to Trump in the days leading up to yesterday's strikes threatening to activate sleeper-cell terror in the US if an attack took place.

It has been reported Trump received this communication while at the G7 summit in Canada. The White House has not confirmed this report.

Trump later said to reporters he was not "in the mood" to negotiate with Iran.

US officials said FBI Director Kash Patel has increased efforts to monitor potential domestic sleeper cells on US soil, CBS News reported.

Vice President JD Vance told NBC's Meet The Press that the US is prepared for Iran to respond.

He also criticised former president Joe Biden's immigration policy after being asked about sleeper cells on US soil.

"We're, of course, doing everything that we can to keep our people safe. I think that we're prepared in the event that the Iranians do retaliate," Vance said.

"Unfortunately, we know that a lot of people who we don't have full accounting of were let in over the last four years under the Biden administration."

READ MORE: The Republicans voicing dissent against Trump's strikes on Iran

What is a sleeper cell?

A sleeper cell is one or more agents who placed in a country or within an organisation with the intent to stay dormant and only take action on short notice in the future.

During the Cold War, sleeper cell spies were used by both the Soviet Union and United States to undertake espionage duties.

Sleeper agents live under false names and identities, sometimes for years.

In early 2020, ASIO revealed it uncovered a sleeper agent running a major spy ring in Australia.

Director-General Mike Burgess said at the time that the threat Australia faces from foreign espionage was "higher now than it was at the height of the Cold War".

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

A Gold Coast woman has celebrated her 109th birthday with prawn cocktails, lamb cutlets and a sip of champagne.

May Baker was born in Lismore in 1916, became a home economics teacher and was married to her late husband Ken for 60 years.

Ken was a school principal and the couple travelled extensively around Australia in their caravan.

READ MORE: Revolutionary high-risk, early-stage melanoma treatment sees survival rates surge

The great-grandmother of eight now lives in the Golden Age aged care facility in Southport, where she today celebrated with family and friends who reflected on her long life.

Having survived two world wars and personal health challenges, including bowel cancer at age 65, she was described by her son, Ian, as resilient.

"It looked like the end and [yet] here she is," he said.

Her son Keith attributed her longevity to her calm demeanour.

"I don't recall mum ever shouting or yelling at me," he said.

Baker has already received seven letters from Queen Elizabeth II and two from King Charles III and intends to stick around a little longer.

"I suppose it'll catch up with me before too long," she said.

This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.

SA's premier has confirmed iconic rock band AC/DC will be the headline act for the Adelaide 500 supercars event in November.

Peter Malinauskas says the coup, first revealed by 9News last week, followed 18 months of negotiations.

"It will dramatically elevate the status of the event on the streets of Adelaide," he said.

READ MORE: The Republicans voicing dissent against Trump's strikes on Iran

He said that for $99 fans will be able to go to the Supercars Grand Final on Sunday and see an AC/DC at the same time.

"So it will be two for the price of one," Malinauskas said.

A taxpayer-funded incentive is understood to have been part of the agreement to bring AC/DC to Adelaide as part of their Australian tour.

"We believe it's an investment that is worthwhile given our ability to recoup the revenue," the premier said.

9News understands the Adelaide Oval was considered as a potential venue, but logistical challenges associated with moving the supercars crowd led to the decision to host the concert in the parklands.

"This is potentially the last time they will playing live in Australia and we have got the only festival-style event," Malinauskus said.

Tickets for the BP Adelaide Grand Final, including access to the AC/DC concert, will go on sale from 10am on Thursday.

This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.

EXCLUSIVE: Vic, 73, went to hospital hoping to be cared for. Instead, he says he was choked by a security guard who refused to let him leave. 

For more than a year, the pensioner has been fighting for justice, and he recently managed to obtain body-worn camera footage that shows the incident. 

The hospital claims Vic was the instigator, but Vic says he's the victim.

READ MORE: PM claims terror threat unchanged as US warns of 'sleeper cell' attacks

"That's me throat, you're hurting me throat," audio from the bodycam footage records Vic saying.

Pushed down and restrained to a hospital chair, the 73-year-old pleaded for mercy as a security guard grabbed his throat.

"I'm still disgusted what they did to me, you shouldn't do that, and the hospital did nothing about it," he told 9News.

Vic says the footage is hard to watch, even 15 months later.

"What they did to me was terrible, and nobody cares," he said.

The retiree took himself to Monash Health's Moorabbin Hospital in March last year, with a cyst in his throat and emphysema.

He needed a tracheostomy but was unhappy with how he was being treated.

"I was disgusted with how I was being treated so I wanted to go to another hospital, he wouldn't let me go, I was his property," he said.

The situation became tense.

Vic said he struggled to hear with his cochlear implant before he was pushed back into his seat.

"He's being aggressive, he needs to be medicated," the hospital worker could be heard saying during the struggle.

Vic complained to Monash Health and Victoria Police, accumulating a mountain of correspondence.

"I'm like an old tin can that's been kicked down the road," he told 9News.

"Your behaviour became aggressive and you took hold of a fire extinguisher still on the wall … the staff present felt threatened," Monash Health told the pensioner in an email.

"I was angry because they wouldn't let me go, I was angry because they were assaulting me," Vic said.

"What am I supposed to do?"

A spokesperson from Monash Health said it has a duty to protect patients and staff, and it concluded that "all teams involved acted appropriately".

"Monash Health has a duty to take all reasonably practicable steps, including de-escalation, to protect patients and staff from the consequences of aggressive behaviours, including by taking appropriate steps to prevent patients from harming themselves.

"Monash Health conducted a thorough review of this incident, concluding that all teams involved acted appropriately. We also supported Victoria Police in investigating the matter.

"We are unable to provide further comment due to strict patient privacy obligations."

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