The death toll from torrential rains in Japan has reached at least 169, with 79 people still missing.

Concerns are mounting over further casualties with heat stroke, lack of clean water, and infrastructure damage all posing serious risk to those affected.

The central government has designated the torrential rains a “serious disaster,” a category that will lead to increased financial aid for recovery efforts and allow the use of a reserved fund for support.

The chairman of the board of the ABC, Justin Milne has said the broadcaster's future is in digital only, and failure to invest in it now would cause it to wither and die in the future.

Stating the current political storm around the ABC as "situation normal", Mr Milne maintained the case for the ABC to ramp up its expansion into the digital realm.

"Let's be clear: if the ABC were barred from serving audiences on digital platforms, it would wither away and cease to exist," Mr Milne said.

$8 billion dollars in tax is lost every year through dodgy tax returns, despite a multimillion-dollar crackdown on workers by the Australian Tax Office.

Each year up to $8.7 billion in income tax is estimated to be wrongly claimed or lost because income has not been declared, with only $500 million of that sum ever successfully recouped.

The transition to a fully digitised system will only increase compliance by an extra $250 million a year over the next four years, the Tax Office has estimated.

The Bruce highway has taken out the first spot once more in the RACQ’s 2018 Unroadworthy Roads survey.

The highway was the most complained about from respondents with 94 out of around 600 respondents complaining about the road.

RACQ spokeswoman Lucinda Ross said it was encouraging to see complaints about the Bruce Highway had dropped since the 2016 survey, taken before the $8.5 billion upgrade program.

Brisbane's low-lying and coastal suburbs face a risk of flash flooding until next week with a "king tide" forecast to bring tidal peaks of more than 2.7 metres.

Residents in areas prone to localised flooding have been asked to not park their cars on the street, with Brisbane City Council saying sandbags are also available if needed.

The weather bureau warned abnormally high tides were on the cards for low-lying areas near the coast and riverside suburbs from Thursday until Sunday.

41 people have died after a boat carrying Chinese tourists in Thailand sunk last Thursday.

Helicopters are searching the area for 15 people who are still reported missing, although rescuers fear there is ‘almost no chance of finding survivors’.

The ship’s owner and captain have been charged according to Thai media.

Following the successful rescue of all 12 Thai soccer players and their coach, doctors are looking to monitor the mental and physical health of the boys for several days.

Many of the boys recorded low body temperatures and at least two have developed lung infections, potentially pneumonia.

Malnourishment and sunlight deprivation mean the boys will likely remain quarantined for up to 7 days until risks of infection subside.

Avocado lovers are rejoicing at giant avocados or avozillas that are now available in Australia.

The avozillas weigh up to 1.8 kilograms and are five times the size of an average avocado.

The Groves family is the only commercial grower of the Avozillas in Australia and began their first harvest three weeks ago.

David Groves said he was thrilled to be part of an industry first, bringing a new variety to the market and seeing people get excited about it.

The Aboriginal flag was flown at Alice Spring’s Anzac Hill on Monday to mark NAIDOC Week celebrations in the Northern Territory.

The flag was raised at midday after a smoking ceremony and address from Alice Springs town councillor Catherine Satour.

It is the first time the flag has been flown at the site due to a 30-year battle with the Alice Springs town Council.