Tom Flanagan
Coles and Woolworths in spotlight over another supermarket 'trick', police warn drivers with 'scary' photo: Australia news live
Plus Tony Armstrong has had his last day on the ABC News Breakfast couch after three years.
Tom Flanagan
·Homepage and Live Editor
Updated
Yahoo's live news blog for Friday. October 4 has concluded. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is ramping up his crackdown on Coles and Woolworths as he targets another supermarket 'trick' – shrinkflation. Read more about the "psychological phenomenon" below.
The suspect in the Brisbane coffee attack on a baby in August has been identified as a Chinese national, with the child's parents pleading for information from Chinese authorities.
NSW Police have issued a striking reminder to parents over car safety with a powerful image. See the picture below.
Tony Armstrong has farewelled the ABC News Breakfast studio after three years on the show.
See the rest of the day's posts below.
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER15 updates
Remarkable detail in horrific crash photo
If there was ever a photo to remind you of the importance of child safety inside your vehicle, then this is it.
A child has miraculously survived with just minor cuts after a collision left the car they were travelling in a total wreck. When you take a closer look at the picture, you can see the child's car seat unscathed in the back.
"The collision highlighted the significant importance of child car seats being secured and the child appropriately fastened, which was thankfully the case in this instance," NSW Police said of the crash near Wagga Wagga on Tuesday.
"During this collision, a young child was seated in an appropriate child car seat which was secured using both the anchor strap and ISOFIX, with the inbuilt harness fastened correctly over the child's shoulders and across the hips."
The picture prompted a strong response from users on social media, with one person calling the incident "super scary". "Wow, it's so hard to believe they they survived this crash," another wrote.
NSW Police said if drivers are unsure of whether their child seats are fitted appropriately, they can check with any authorised installation providers or even with your local police station.
- Tom Flanagan
Why remote town has rent to rival Bondi
This remote suburb in WA's northwest may look like a pretty average housing development, but it actually costs the same to rent here as it does in some of Australia's most exclusive suburbs.
Baynton in the Pilbara costs roughly the same as somewhere like Bondi and it's all due to supply and demand, Wendi Pobje of Pilbara Real Estate tells Domain.
Due to the amount of lucrative mining work in the area, there's plenty of competition for the limited quality housing in the area.
“There’s lots of work here which attracts people, and Baynton is a newer area of Karratha with a lot of executive homes," she said.
- Tom Flanagan
Senator's warning to Australians in Lebanon
Thousands of Australians trying to leave Lebanon amid escalating Middle Eastern conflict have been told not to expect taxpayers to fund their flights home.
The Opposition's foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said the situation Australians find themselves in was "concerning" but said the 15,000 Australians in Lebanon had ample warning to leave.
“Now, people have chosen to ignore that. The government is doing the right thing in terms of trying to still urge people to go and to create some extra seats for them to go," he told Sky News.
“But I think many Australians would rightly think, if you’ve chosen to stay, there have to be limits on what the government can do, on what risk other Australians are put in to try to rescue people, and that certainly people should be expected to pay their own way to get back and not to think that other Australian taxpayers are just going to foot the bill for those who have ignored countless warnings to get out and to get out weeks and months ago, not just days or hours ago.”
The Albanese government has secured 500 seats out of Beirut however the airport could be shut down at any time.
- Tom Flanagan
Dozens of tigers die after 'contracting bird flu'
Bird flu is believed to have killed 47 tigers in Vietnam zoos, state media has reported.
Two separate locations have reported the deaths, which also includes three lions and a panther.
The animals showed signs of illness and fatigue before their deaths and testing from authorities revealed the animals had H5N1 bird flu, state media said.
Read more here.
- Tom Flanagan
Israel ramps up operations in Lebanon
Lebanon's capital Beirut has been targeted by missiles which caused huge explosions near the city's airport.
It comes as Israeli forces continue their advancements in Lebanon's south, ordering further villages to evacuate in its fight against Hezbollah.
Witness accounts say the situation in Beirut is "horrific" with the city overcrowded with residents fleeing from the south.
Read in-depth coverage of the latest from the here.
- Tom Flanagan
Police shoot dead man after fatal stabbing at suburban home
Police have shot a man armed with a knife after he allegedly confronted officers at the scene of a fatal stabbing.
Officers were called to a home on Chris Court at Hillside, in Melbourne's northwest, over reports a man had been stabbed at 6.50am on Friday, police said.
The man, who is yet to be identified, was found with critical injuries on the front lawn and given CPR, but died at the scene.
Victoria Police allege a man armed with a weapon then approached officers.
"Police attempted to negotiate with the man before he advanced toward them," police said.
"Officers discharged a firearm and the male was struck to the lower body."
He is now in a critical but stable condition in hospital under police guard.
- AAP
- Tom Flanagan
$12 million Powerball winner identified
A NSW man is the winner of last night's Powerball jackpot, taking home a cool $12 million.
The Kangy Angy resident said he'd had a bunch of missed calls but didn't think much of it until he saw an email from lottery officials.
“I called The Lott straight away, and here we are. It’s so surreal," he said.
I’ve always been too lazy to pick my own lottery numbers, so I always go for a QuickPick. I guess these are my lucky numbers now that I’ll cherish for a long time!
"This will help me retire earlier than expected, and I can start to wind down."
- Tom Flanagan
Aussie points out UK chocolate difference
Now this is something we've never really thought about.
In the UK, chocolate is sold in 'landscape', as this Aussie TikToker points out, which means our chocolate bars are 'portrait'.
"Wait - how do they fit the entire brand name on a PORTRAIT chocolate bar?" one confused user asked in the now-viral clip.
Well quite easily is the answer to that but what do you think looks better? Have your say in the poll below.
- Tom Flanagan
Qantas cabin crew worker taken to hospital after flight
A cabin crew member has been taken to hospital after a Qantas flight was forced to be turned around following an “unusual smell”.
The QF163 took off from Sydney Airport about 6.45pm on Wednesday bound for New Zealand’s Wellington International Airport.
However a Qantas spokesperson confirmed the plane was turned around about an hour into the flight due to an “unusual smell” in the cabin.
“A flight from Sydney to Wellington returned to Sydney after reports of an unusual smell in the cabin,” the spokesperson said.
Read more here.
- Lachlan Guertin
Beloved TV host announces her own death on social media
Beloved Australian TV presenter Fiona MacDonald has passed away at the age of 67 following a three-year battle with motor neurone disease (MND). Best known for hosting the 1980s children’s afternoon show Wombat alongside a puppet called Agro and the game show It’s A Knockout, the mother-of-two was diagnosed with the rapidly progressing neurological disease in November 2021.
Fiona announced the news of her death on her own social media with an emotional post shared by her sister Kylie on Thursday. The gallery included a photo of Fiona with her two sons and Fiona and Kylie enjoying the sunset alongside a lengthy caption detailing her final moments.
“Farewell my friends. My sister Kylie is posting this because I have left the building - Hopefully I’m looking down from a cloud,” she wrote. “Last night brought an end to a very tough few months. Was very peaceful the boys and Kylie stayed with me to say goodbye. While I’ve never wanted to die, the thought of leaving my tortured body was a relief.”
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle here.
- Tom Flanagan
At least two Oasis gigs in Australia, sources say
Ok so after the false alarm earlier this week, there are now reports two Oasis tour dates for Australia are locked in for next year.
The British icons confirmed dates earlier this week for North America, and there had been hope Australia's dates were to be shared then.
A well-placed source has told Rolling Stone Oasis will play Melbourne's Marvel Stadium on October 31, 2025 and Sydney's Accor Stadium on November 7 a week later, which obviously gives room for further dates in and around those.
- Tom Flanagan
Mum's plea after ID of coffee attack suspect revealed
The parents of the baby who had hot coffee poured over him in a Brisbane park are again pleading for more information from authorities after the main suspect was identified as a Chinese national.
Police in Australia had previously declined to confirm his identity and nationality after he fled overseas following the August attack, with the information even withheld from the child's parents.
“Where is he? Is he in jail now that the media knows who he is over there? Is he just walking the streets?” Luka’s mother asked.
Read more here.
- Tom Flanagan
Coles and Woolworths targeted over 'trick' rife in our supermarkets
While Coles and Woolworths are under fire over alleged pricing deception, Anthony Albanese says the "trick' of shrinkflation needs tackling as well.
In a bid to crack down on the tactic, Albanese said Labor will implement a stronger unit pricing code, which will allow customers to compare the cost of goods by weight or volume.
Nitika Garg, professor of marketing at the UNSW Business School, said shrinkflation was happening everywhere.
"It's a psychological phenomenon, where if the change in a product is below a certain threshold, people don't recognise that a change has happened," she said.
"People don't realise they are getting less or paying more for less. That's what is happening in our marketplace right now.
"Everyone is doing it. The producers are doing it and the supermarkets as producers of packaged goods are also doing it."
Read more here.
You're not imagining it. Companies really are shrinking products to charge you more for less.
So here's what we'll do. pic.twitter.com/nd4W5PJn2z— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) October 2, 2024
- Tom Flanagan
Tony Armstrong addresses 'funny old week'
Tony Armstrong has waved goodbye to the ABC News Breakfast studio after three years on the show.
There were plenty of tributes for Armstrong and even celebrity appearances with friend Dylan Alcott coming onto the show.
Alcott even claimed Armstrong "flipped the bird" at him on his arrival to the studio, while the sports host also addressed criticism from the ABC's Media Watch over his commercial engagements outside of the public broadcaster.
"It's been a funny old week. But yeah, people have been really, really nice to me," he said.
Speaking of his exit, he said the show had "given me everything" and thanked viewers for watching and the "nice things" they'd said about him.
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