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By Larissa Ham, ABC News Tim from Melbourne Snake Control was contacted, quickly identified the tiger snake (the fourth most venomous snake in the world) and volunteered his services. Photo: Supplied / Victoria Police A woman was driving along the Monash Freeway on Saturday morning when she felt a snake slithering up her leg. She weaved through traffic, pulled over to the side of the freeway, and leapt out of her car to safety. The shaken driver was taken to the hospital for observation, and the snake was released "well away from houses, people and pets". You might have heard of the movie Snakes on a Plane. But what happens if you're driving down a busy city freeway, and you suddenly, terrifyingly, feel a tiger snake slithering up your leg? That was the case for a woman on Melbour...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: AFP It has been more than 1000 days since Russia invaded Ukraine, and there seems to be no end in sight. This week, Russian president Vladimir Putin levelled threats against Kyiv with a new ballistic missile, dubbed Oreshnik. With neither Putin or Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky seemingly prepared to give up their position, expect both to hold firm ahead of potential peace talks, according to veteran war correspondent Mike Eckel. "I think what's happening right now from all sides, being it the Americans, the Europeans, the Ukrainians, and for Russia, there is a jockeying for positioning on the negotiation table," he told Sunday Morning. "People are setting out their chips, trying to see where they...

Anti-government fighters celebrate in a street in Maaret al-Numan in Syria's northwestern Idlib province on November 30, 2024. Photo: ABDULAZIZ KETAZ By Tom Perry and David Brunnstrom, Reuters The Syrian army have said dozens of its soldiers had been killed in a major attack led by Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels who swept into the city of Aleppo, forcing the army to redeploy in the biggest challenge to President Bashar al-Assad in years. Russia's Defence Ministry said its air force had carried out strikes on Syrian rebels in support of the country's army, Russian news agencies reported. The strikes followed what was the boldest rebel assault for years in a civil war where front lines had largely been frozen since 2020. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, once known as the Nusra Front, i...

By Sarah N. Lynch, Reuters Former chief of staff to the US secretary of defence Kash Patel speaking during a campaign rally for US Republican president-elect Donald Trump. Photo: AFP / REBECCA NOBLE Republican president-elect Donald Trump said he wanted former National Security official and firebrand loyalist Kash Patel to lead the FBI, signalling an intent to drive out the bureau's current director, Christopher Wray. Republican President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday local time he wanted former National Security official and loyalist Kash Patel to lead the FBI, signaling an intent to drive out the bureau's current director, Christopher Wray. Patel, who during Trump's first term advised both the director of national intelligence and the secretary of defense, has previously call...