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Rugby Union star Kurtley Beale has been arrested over an alleged sexual assault.

The 34-year-old Wallabies winger was taken into custody by police on Friday over an alleged incident in Sydney's east on December 17 last year.

Police received a report that a 28-year-old woman was sexually assaulted at a licensed premises on Beach Road, Bondi Beach.

"Detectives from Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command took carriage of the matter and commenced an investigation under Strike Force Titheradge," police said in a statement.

Beale was arrested in a vehicle stop on Rainbow Street, Kingsford, just before 2.30pm on Friday.

He was taken to Waverley Police Station for questioning.

Beale took part in a 44-man Wallabies training camp on the Gold Coast last week and has appeared in close to 100 international test matches for the side.

He recently returned to Australia after several years spent playing in France ahead of the Super Rugby season for the NSW Waratahs.

Beale, from NSW, has spent most of his more than decade-long career with the Waratahs, aside from a brief spell with the Melbourne Rebels.

Rugby Australia, the NSW Waratahs and Rugby Union Players Association (RUPA) said in a joint statement they were aware of the situation regarding Beale.

"As this is a police matter, and we understand there has been no charge made, we will be making no further comment at this time," the statement said.

© AAP 2023

Australian Olympic middle-distance runner Peter Bol is pleading innocence after failing a test for a notorious performance-enhancing drug.

Bol, among the world's best 800m runners, has been provisionally suspended from athletics and could be stripped of a state Young Australian of the Year award.

Australia's national 800m record holder tested positive to the banned drug erythropoietin, known as EPO, last October.

The 28-year-old says he was stunned when told of the test result last week.

"I am innocent and have not taken this substance as I am accused," Bol posted on Twitter.

"I ask that everyone in Australia believe me."

Bol, arguably the nation's highest-profile track athlete, has been provisionally suspended by Athletics Australia.

The dual Olympian and Commonwealth Games silver medallist said his "career, hopes and dreams" hinge on the result of a B sample from the October test which would be known next month.

"When I found out last week that the A Sample from a urine test taken on 11 October had tested positive for synthetic EPO, I was in total shock," he wrote.

"To be clear, I have NEVER in my life purchased, researched, possessed, administered, or used synthetic EPO or any other prohibited substance.

"I voluntarily turned over my laptop, iPad and phone to Sport Integrity Australia to prove this.

"I have requested the analysis of my B Sample which will take place in February.

"Given the subjective nature of interpreting this kind of test, I have asked that the lab perform a secondary confirmation.

"Above all, I remain hopeful that the process will exonerate me.

"My career, hopes and dreams are literally hanging in the balance over these next few weeks."

The Sudanese-born runner could also be stripped of his West Australian Young Australian of the Year award. He was a candidate for the national award to be announced in Canberra next week.

Athletics Australia provisionally banned Bol from formal training and competition at any level, the organisation's chief executive Peter Bromley said.

"There are procedural fairness and investigative considerations ... at this point it would be inappropriate for Athletics Australia or anyone else to speculate about the specific details or pre-empt any outcome," Bromley said in a statement.

"However what we can say is that learning about this adverse analytical finding was both extremely concerning and completely out of the blue."

Bol, who emigrated to Australia with his family when eight years old, competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, when he placed fourth in the 800m final.

In Tokyo, Bol broke the national 800m record en route to being the first Australian in 52 years to reach the Olympic final in his pet event.

Bol lowered his national 800m benchmark at a Diamond League meet in Paris in June last year and then won Commonwealth Games silver over the distance in Birmingham in August.

© AAP 2023

Australia's national carrier Qantas has sought to reassure passengers of its fleet's safety after enduring a third successive day of mid-air issues.

A QF430 flight returned to Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport some 10 minutes after departing for Sydney on Friday morning, turning around near Bonnie Doon and touching back down safely.

In a statement, Qantas said the Boeing 737 returned as a precaution after the pilots were alerted to a minor engine issue.

"Customers will be reaccommodated on the next available flights over the next few hours," it said.

"The aircraft landed normally - this was not an emergency or priority landing. Both engines remained operational throughout the flight."

Soon after, Canberra-bound QF1516 turned back to Melbourne as a precaution over an issue with its flaps. Customers were again transferred to a new aircraft.

The incidents come after a Qantas service from Auckland to Sydney issued a mayday following an engine shutdown on Wednesday and another service from Sydney to Fiji on Thursday turned back over potential mechanical troubles.

Transport safety investigators have since confirmed they will analyse the Auckland to Sydney flight's cockpit voice recorder and flight data after the engine failure.

More than 10,000 air turnbacks occur across the aviation industry each year, with Qantas accounting for about 60 of those on average.

There are an estimated 400 to 500 engine shutdowns in narrow body jet aircraft across the globe each year.

Qantas Domestic chief executive Andrew David said it was important to keep things in perspective, declaring diversions and air turnbacks happen every day for a range of reasons.

"They usually reflect an abundance of caution and that's why flying is such a safe way to travel," he said.

"We understand that when you hear reports of planes turning around, it's concerning. But people can be assured that aviation is built on safeguards, and one of those safeguards is that if something isn't right, we take a conservative approach to the problem rather than pressing on.

Mr David said aircraft are complex pieces of machinery with millions of moving parts, and it's not uncommon to have a problem with one of them.

The Australian and International Pilots Association declined to comment on the latest incidents.

© AAP 2023