Passenger reveals terrifying moment on Qantas flight, city's coldest September morning ever: Australia news live

Plus find out why Aussies are not happy with Coles and Woolworths as the cost of an iconic treat shoots up.

QF1871 (in red) between Mackay and Rockhampton. Picture: FlightRadar
QF1871 (in red), which had an emergency descent this morning, between Mackay and Rockhampton. Source: FlightRadar

Yahoo's live news blog for Tuesday, September 17 has now concluded. A Qantas flight was forced into an emergency landing this morning with one terrified passenger sharing the moment the pilot informed those onboard. Read more below.

A licence plate in South Australia has smashed state records after it sold for a staggering $2.3m. The plate, which is simply the number 8, added an extra $1 million to its price in just a few hours on Monday as competition grew before the auction closed at 7pm.

The Royal Family cropped Meghan Markle out of a photo they used to wish Harry a happy 40th birthday. Read more below.

LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER15 updates
  • Featured

    Passenger relives scary ordeal as Qantas flight makes emergency landing

    A passenger onboard the Qantas flight which was forced into a sudden landing thanks to a cabin pressure issue has revealed the terrifying moment the pilot informed travellers of the problem.

    “The pilot just said, ‘Emergency descent, emergency descent,’ so the stewards sat down, and then we heard nothing, and the plane just dropped really, really quick," passenger Naomi Lynch said, according to the Courier Mail.

    The Brisbane bound flight was forced to divert to Rockhampton after departing Townsville at 6am.

    Lynch said passengers' fear quickly turned to frustration after a lack of communication from Qantas once they landed.

    "No one spoke to us. No one checked on us," she said.

  • Australia Post gives second chance to disappointed Bluey fans

    Did you miss out on the limited edition $1 Bluey coins? Well after insane demand, which saw the Australia Post website crash, the Royal Australian Mint has revealed post offices will be dishing them out randomly in stores as change when a customer pays in cash.

    Read more about it here.

  • Baby hippo Moo Deng takes over the internet

    So you've probably seen this little ray of sunshine at some point on the internet over the last few days, and if you haven't, you're more than welcome.

    Moo Deng, a two-month-old female pygmy hippo who has recently become a viral internet sensation, follows her mother Jona, 25, at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province on September 15, 2024. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP) (Photo by LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP via Getty Images)
    Moo Deng having a little chomp on her mother. Source: Getty

    Meet Moo Deng, the baby hippo in a Thai zoo that has taken the world by storm.

    Moo Deng, which translates as "bouncing pig", is a huge draw at Khao Kheow Open Zoo and her insane popularity has seen the zoo struggle with an influx of visitors. She has millions of fans across the internet and we can see why. The zoo has hinted at extending opening hours to accomodate fr all the tourists arriving at the park.

  • Former Seven host Andrew O'Keefe has bail overturned after reported overdose

    Former television host Andrew O'Keefe will remain in custody, which a magistrate said is "the best thing to do" following his latest arrest.

    The 52-year-old has had his bail revoked, days after a reported drug overdose.

    He was arrested on Monday after emergency services responded to an incident at a home in Sydney's eastern suburbs on Saturday.

    Former TV host Andrew O'Keefe (file image)
    Former TV host Andrew O'Keefe. Source: AAP

    O'Keefe was charged with drug possession after police searched a nearby car and allegedly found methamphetamine.

    Magistrate Jacqueline Milledge said O'Keefe was "lucky to be alive" as she read a police statement of facts on an application to detain the former Network Seven host in Waverley Local Court on Tuesday.

    O'Keefe was on bail after allegedly breaching a court order, trespassing and intimidating a man in Sydney's eastern suburbs in July.

    O'Keefe's lawyer did not argue against the application and the magistrate revoked his bail, keeping O'Keefe in custody to return to court in October.

    "If he wants to stay alive that's the best thing to do," Ms Milledge said.

    Read more here.

  • Struggling homeowners set for big relief

    Is it really going to happen? Could this be it?

    Well according to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) Reserve Bank of Australia Target Rate Tracker (yes, it's a mouthful I know), struggling mortgage holders are set for four rate cuts in seven months.

    The first will come in February, it predicts, and will end in August, bringing the official cash rate down to 3.35 per cent. Fingers crossed.

    Read more from Yahoo Finance here.

  • Lifeline for iconic Aussie festivals

    A lifeline has been handed to some of Australia's biggest festivals including Bluesfest and Splendour in the Grass after NSW's government set aside funding to support the struggling festival scene.

    The funds will allow organisers to obtain $500,000 in a much-needed cash boost to help with rising operational costs. It will be available next year and comes after both festivals were forced to cancel due to finances.

    Minister for Music and the Night-Time Economy John Graham said the move should hopefully ease the "intense pressure" on the industry.

    BYRON BAY, AUSTRALIA - JULY 23: A general view during Splendour in the Grass 2023 on July 23, 2023 in Byron Bay, Australia. (Photo by Matt Jelonek/Getty Images)
    Revellers at Splendour in 2023. Source: Getty
  • Amazon scraps working from home

    Well the return to the office push is gathering momentum, and if you're set on working from home, the following news doesn't bode well.

    Many businesses will take note of Amazon's decision to mandate office work for its employees, enforcing it five days a week.

    The change is necessary to "invent, collaborate and be connected" wrote CEO Andy Jassy in a letter to employees on Monday posted to its website. He said the experience of a three-day mandate "strengthened our conviction about the benefits" of in-office work.

    Read more about the fate of working from home in Australia from Yahoo Finance's Tamika Seeto here.

  • Sad question school kids face after Trump claim

    It was the claim that left millions watching on stunned. During last week's US presidential debate, Donald Trump pushed the baseless conspiracy that Haitian migrants in an Ohio town were eating pet cats and dogs.

    The wild claim was jumped on by Democratic voters, who mocked Trump online with a wave of memes, however the conspiracy has had more serious implications for the Haitian residents of Springfield.

    Mia Perez, a Haitian immigration lawyer in Springfield, told the Associated Press that her 9-year-old daughter came face to face with the claims in school.

    PHILADELPHIA, PA September 10, 2024: Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during the first presidential debate with Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris at National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, PA on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. ABC News hosted the first presidential debate between Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during the 2024 general election. 

(Photo by Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
    Donald Trump during last week's debate. Source: Getty

    “Kids in school are being asked by other kids: ’How does the dog taste? How does the cat taste?” Perez said. “She’s asking, 'Are we the kind of Haitians who eat this kind of stuff? Is it true? What’s happening?' This is a conversation that I was not ready to have with my daughter,” she continued. “I felt disrespected of our culture.”

    “I know a woman whose daughter hasn't gone to school since this happened because at the school the kids are asking her about eating cats and dogs,” Sophia Pierrelus, a Haitian American small business owner in Columbus, told the Columbus Dispatch. “They're afraid to go into the street because they feel they may be attacked.”

    Johnson Salomon, a Haitian immigrant who moved to Springfield in 2020, told the Guardian that he has notice of the sparse presence of Haitians in places in the city where they used to frequent.

    “Normally, when I drive through south Springfield, where a lot of Haitians live, you see people walking on the streets, at the Haitian markets and restaurants,” Salmon said. “For the past few days, I have seen far fewer people.”

    Read more here.

  • Man wins $1 million three years after another big win

    We bring you another lottery update now, as a Brisbane man has won big for the second time in three years.

    In 2021, he claimed $150,000 on an Instant Scratch-Its ticket, and he's not won $1 million in Monday night's Weekday Windfall draw.

    He said his latest win was "next level". It sure is buddy.

  • Adelaide records coldest September morning ever

    It was Canberra yesterday and now it's Adelaide today. The South Australian capital has set its coldest September morning ever.

    The West Terrace weather station plunged to 1.3C. And it was even colder in other parts of the state, with Cummins airport, north of Port Lincoln, dropping to -1.8C.

  • Qantas flight's urgent landing after 'unsettling' problem onboard

    A Qantas flight has been forced to divert course and make a sudden landing following a “depressurisation issue”.

    QF1871 from Townsville to Brisbane diverted and landed safely in the Central Queensland town of Rockhampton on Tuesday morning, with pilots bringing the plane down after making a squawk 7700 – or a general emergency – call.

    FlightRadar data, posted to Central Queensland Plane Spotting page, shows a rapid decrease in altitude within minutes.

    The flight left Townsville at 6am and was scheduled to land in Brisbane at 7.50am but touched down in Rockhampton about 7.15am.

    A Qantas spokeswoman told NewsWire the flight was safely diverted to Rockhampton after experiencing a depressurisation issue.

    “The flight landed normally and we’ll get passengers on their way to Brisbane on other flights this morning,” the spokeswoman said. “We understand this would have been an unsettling experience for our customers and want to thank them for their patience and understanding.”

    - NCA NewsWire

  • Wife's $660k wedding anniversary gift

    Well this is a pretty special wedding anniversary gift. A TattsLotto ticket bought by a wife for her husband on their special day has won them an impressive $660,000 in Saturday's draw.

    “We’re actually on holiday at the moment. We’re having a nice time, but this is the icing on the cake," the Warrnambool woman told lottery officials.

  • Aussies not happy with TimTam prices

    It's no surprise that everything in our day-to-day lives is now suffering as a result of the cost-of-living crisis. But it really hurts when an Aussie staple is impacted.

    That's why there was plenty of fury when the price of TimTams in our supermarkets were flagged online this week.

    The price for the Aussie treat on the shelves of Coles and Woolworths is now $6.

    "A disgrace," one person said, summing up the sentiment of hundreds of other disgruntled customers.

    One person even suggested we could soon see a $10 packet. Let's hope not.

    Well this hasn't gone down too well with Australians. Source: Coles
    Well this hasn't gone down too well with Australians. Source: Coles
  • Aussie licence plate sells for $2.3 million

    Well we now bring you the results from a story we brought you yesterday where the number 8 plate in South Australia was set to sell for more than $1.3 million.

    The auction closed last night at 7pm and the final sale price ended up being well beyond where the bidding was earlier in the day. The plate sold for a huge new record of $2.3 million, eclipsing the previous record of $593,000. Wow.

    But it's not a record for the country, with NSW's number 1 plate going for over $10 million earlier in the year.

  • Royal Family crop Meghan Markle from photo

    The Royal Family looked like it was providing an olive branch to Harry after they wished him a happy 40th birthday on their socials, the first such post in three years. However eagle-eyed Royals followers have picked up on the fact it was no coincidence Meghan was missing from the post.

    That's because she was cropped out of the picture they used from 2018 when the pair were visiting Dublin in an official royal capacity. See the post and actual picture below.

    The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visit DogPatch Labs, a co-working space for technology start-ups located in Dublin's 'Digital Docklands' during their visit to the Ireland. (Photo by Jimmy Rainford/PA Images via Getty Images)
    The couple pictured in 2018. Source: Getty

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