Qantas jumps on growing travel trend, beach cabana debate goes global, new LA fire threatens Hollywood

Well the beach cabana debate has gone global.

The UK's public broadcaster the BBC featured a story about their meteoric rise on its homepage on Thursday afternoon (AEDT).

"How Australia's beach cabana drama sparked a turf war," the headline read.

"Hordes of shade covers have taken over Australian beaches - stoking debate over the country's culture", it continued below.

From Albo to the UK's biggest news site, it's fair to say the divisive shade coverings are the talk of the town.

It's evening time in Los Angeles now as crews continue to desperately battle seven major wildfires. The latest blaze is the Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills which erupted Wednesday afternoon (local time). In the above photo a helicopter can be seen pouring water on a hillside where the fire rages.

Here's a recap of the day's developments.

• Five of seven major wildfires burning across the region had 0 per cent containment as of Wednesday evening (local time).

• At least five people were reported killed in the Eaton Fire with the death toll from the fires expected to rise.

• More than 1,000 structures were destroyed, although that could be a conservative estimate.

• More than 130,000 were forced to evacuate their homes and businesses.

• All public schools have been closed for Thursday.

• Fire crews from neighbouring states began arriving to help exhausted local firefighters.

• Power outages topped 1.5 million in the state of California.

The bushwalker lost in rugged terrain in NSW for 13 days has spoken out, thanking authorities for their efforts to find him.

"I would like to thank all of the emergency services personnel for their tireless work searching for 13 days in tough conditions, to locate me," Hadi Nazari, 23, said.

"I would also like to thank members of the public, family and friends for their well wishes and prayers."

Nazari had last been seen by his friends at about 2.30pm on December 26 while on a hike, with his disappearance sparking a mammoth search effort across Kosciuszko National Park.

The Melbourne student was finally found by another group of hikers near Blue Lake, about 10km from where he was last seen on the Hannels Spur Trail in Geehi, on Wednesday afternoon.

Police shared a selfie of Nazari smiling with crew on the rescue helicopter.

A new fire has broken out in the devastating LA wildfires, triggering an evacuation notice for the iconic Hollywood area.

It left major roads gridlocked as thousands of residents tried to flee the area. A photo of the fire in the Hollywood Hills was shared by ABC7 reporter Chris Cristi who said the fire was heading towards Hollywood Boulevard, which has been evacuated.

We're just over a month away from Valentine's Day and a card shop in the UK is ruffling a few feathers with a new style of card on offer.

A photo of a card reading 'For my work husband on Valentine's Day, I've finally found someone just as inappropriate as me!' was shared on Reddit, prompting a wave of comments in disbelief over the idea.

"It comes in a two-pack with 'Sorry to Hear About Your Divorce,'" one person said.

"It's just a cutesy way of saying 'person from the office who I want to have an affair with'," another wrote.

So is the card just a bit of fun? Or is it seriously problematic if your partner received one of these? Have your say below.

The partner of the pilot who died in the seaplane crash off Rottnest Island has spoken about the tragedy.

James Wong, 34, died alongside two others when the seaplane is believed to have struck a rock on take-off, before plunging into the water.

His partner Angela described him as someone "known for his love for adventure, exceptional knowledge on every topic and his passion for seaplanes".

"[He was] a self proclaimed 'seaplane tragic'. His trademark skinny jeans and peace signs will never be forgotten. The loss of James was sudden, unexpected and devastating."

Angela is raising funds to support his family as they "navigate this treacherous time".

California's governor Gavin Newsom says he expects the death toll from LA's devastating wildfires to climb well beyond five where it currently stands.

"[There has been] just complete and utter devastation," he told CNN.

Newsom said the fires appeared as devastating as 2018's Camp Fire in the town of Paradise, which was the state's deadliest on record at 85 fatalities.

"And I’ve been to a lot of these fires, a lot, going back to Paradise. This approximates Paradise."

The following video gives you a haunting insight into the devastation that's happening in LA. Flight passenger Mark Viniello recorded the following clip as his flight came in to land in LA, showing a huge blaze engulfing a large area of the city.

Five people have died so far while more than 1,000 structures have been destroyed in what authorities say is the most destructive fire in LA's history.

Actors Adam Brody and Leighton Meester are the latest celebrities confirmed to have lost their home in the devastating LA wildfires.

Their $6.5 million (A$10.4m) Pacific Palisades home was destroyed by the fire. The Daily Mail has obtained exclusive photos of the home, with the X post below showing the before and after.

Miles Teller has also lost his home as has Paris Hilton and Anthony Hopkins.

A hiker missing for two weeks in difficult bush terrain survived eating just two muesli bars he found.

While Hadi Nazari, 23, had a supply of water available in the Kosciuszko National Park, he was extremely limited for food.

Nazari said he found the two bars in a hut, with police saying his previous hiking experience had helped him survive.

Authorities had seen optimistic about their chances of finding Nazari and that reportedly came from a video he recorded on his camera that was found by police, the Daily Telegraph reported. In the video, Nazari stated he had been drinking water while lost and apologised for losing his way.

He was found on Wednesday by a group of hikers, who posed with a relieved Nazari in a series of selfies.

While Australia endures the worst of its bushfire season in summer, California is experiencing some of its most destructive fires in winter, leaving plenty wondering why.

Well a wet year followed by a dry, hot year has significantly played its part, scientists addressing reporters have said.

UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain laid out the scenario that has given rise to the intense wildfire activity sweeping the Los Angeles area.

"Lack of rain and the anomalous warmth leading up to the present and recent months in Southern California is what has precipitated this crisis," Swain said. "Had it rained a nice inch or two, even a below-average but above-zero amount in recent weeks, we would not be seeing these catastrophic fires in January.

"Because we had this sequence of extraordinarily wet conditions for the past two years that resulted in abundant growth of grass and brush throughout Southern California and then experienced this wet-to-dry whiplash event with a very wet season being followed by the driest season [this autumn] on record, being punctuated across inland areas by the hottest summer on record.

"We have vegetation that is extremely dry, unusually, historically so in some cases for the time of year, and that confluence of that extremely dry vegetation conditions plus an unusually strong Santa Ana wind event is why we are where we are right now."

The below bar chart shows just how little rain has fallen in the past few months.

While plenty welcomed the inflation data yesterday, with economists suggesting a rate cut could come at the RBA's next meeting, the big banks saying a first cut in May is most likely aren't to be swayed.

ANZ did say the latest Consumer Price Index numbers may give the RBA more confidence to cut interest rates soon, it did not shift its May prediction.

NAB and Westpac are sticking with May, while Commonwealth is the only bank to go with February.

Read more from Yahoo Finance here.

Qantas is taking significant strides into the cruise industry thanks to a recent acquisition.

Australia's flag carrier bought out the remaining stake in travel company TripADeal last year and has now significantly ramped up its cruise offerings, The Australian reported.

Its number of bookings has surged by 70 per cent, with customers offered the incentive of Qantas points with their purchases.

“We’re seeing a real surge in cruise bookings, particularly among younger Australians, so this expansion is about offering greater choice and tapping into that growing demand,” TripADeal chief executive Matt Wolfenden said.

US actor James Woods broke down live on CNN as he spoke about losing his home in the devastating wildfires that have rocked LA.

“One day you’re swimming in the pool and the next day it’s all gone,” Woods said as she struggled to hold off tears, putting his hands to his face.

Woods, who has starred in a host of hit films including Chaplin, Casino and Any Given Sunday, has documented the fire on his X account, saying losing everything has "tested" his soul.

For live coverage of the fires, visit Yahoo US here.

Truckies on our roads could soon be turning electric after Anthony Albanese's latest offer to the industry.

The PM is giving $50m in a push to get truck companies and farmers using EVs, with the money used to subsidise loans on vehicles.

“Australian motorists deserve more choices of cleaner, cheaper-to-run cars and that’s exactly what the Albanese government is delivering,” Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said in a statement.

The scheme would reduce the interest payments for those taking up the offer, with a $1,700 saving for a vehicle priced at $60,000.

Read more here.