A tame koala has given an Adelaide family a "treat", accepting pats and drinking water from a hand-held saucepan after it cuddled up to a koala ornament in their backyard.

The family were enjoying a swim in a Salisbury East backyard on Tuesday when they spotted the "thirsty visitor" sitting at the bottom of a tree.

"Once the whole family gathered around to have a look she climbed up a bit, obviously being very tired," Rainer Harman told 9News.com.au.

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The furry friend climbed up and sat right behind a koala ornament affixed to the tree before it accepted water from a saucepan held by Harman.

The koala then allowed him to gently pat it.

"After she satisfied her thirst – she drank a lot – she climbed up a bit higher, found a comfy spot and went to sleep," he said.

His family were delighted by the "treat" of getting so close to nature.

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A passenger on the Qantas flight that had to make an emergency landing after losing an engine said he had no idea what was happening until the plane touched down.

The flight from Auckland landed safely at Sydney Airport yesterday after issuing a "mayday" call.

Passenger Nigel Morris told Today there was a "major jolt" and that the plane's performance noticeably changed.

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"We dropped from about 36,000 feet to 20,000 feet over the course of about 40 minutes and the air speed slowed noticeably, so it was evident there was something wrong, but none of us were sure what," he said.

"There were no announcements mid flight. The first we were alerted to it was about 10 minutes out when they made the announcements about preparing the cabin for landing."

At that point, he said, the pilot announced the plane had "lost some functions" with one of the engines.

READ MORE: What is a mayday signal, who uses it, and how was it invented?

"I think I feel sorry for the people on the ground who knew about it because my wife was one of them, so when we landed and the cabin crew said, 'You can turn on your phones', I turned mine on and there were lots of messages and calls from Kath saying, 'Oh, my God, what's happening?'" Morris said.

It was when he checked the news websites that Morris realised the plane had resorted to sending out a mayday call.

"Personally, I would have liked a little bit of knowledge," he said.

"I'm not sure I wanted to know there was a mayday call because for the general public I think mayday means something pretty dramatic but a little bit of information probably would have been helpful."

Morris praised the pilots and crew for doing a "great job" and making sure the passengers landed safely.

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Microsoft is cutting 10,000 workers, almost 5 per cent of its workforce, joining other technology companies that have scaled back their pandemic-era expansions.

The company said in a US regulatory filing on Wednesday that the layoffs were a response to "macroeconomic conditions and changing customer priorities."

The Washington-based software giant said it will also be making changes to its hardware portfolio and consolidating its leased office locations.

READ MORE: Mass tech layoffs: Has Silicon Valley bubble burst or is this business as usual?

Microsoft is cutting far fewer jobs than it had added during the COVID-19 pandemic as it responded to a boom in demand for its workplace software and cloud computing services with so many people working and studying from home.

"A big part of this is just overexuberance in hiring," said Joshua White, a finance professor at Vanderbilt University.

Microsoft's workforce expanded by about 36 per cent in the two fiscal years following the emergence of the pandemic, growing from 163,000 workers at the end of June 2020, to 221,000 in June 2022.

The layoffs represent "less than 5 percent of our total employee base, with some notifications happening today," CEO Satya Nadella said in an email to employees.

"While we are eliminating roles in some areas, we will continue to hire in key strategic areas," Nadella said. He emphasised the importance of building a "new computer platform" using advances in artificial intelligence.

READ MORE: Best gadgets at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show 2023

He said customers that were accelerating their spending on digital technology during the pandemic are now trying to "optimise their digital spend to do more with less."

"We're also seeing organisations in every industry and geography exercise caution as some parts of the world are in a recession and other parts are anticipating one," Nadella wrote.

Other tech companies have also been trimming jobs amid concerns about an economic slowdown.

Amazon said earlier this month that it will be cutting about 18,000 positions. It's the largest set of layoffs in the Seattle company's history, although just a fraction of its 1.5 million global workforce.

Facebook parent Meta is laying off 11,000 people, about 13 per cent of its workforce. And Elon Musk, the new Twitter CEO, has slashed the company's workforce.

A helicopter flying in the fog crashed Wednesday into a kindergarten in a residential suburb of the capital, Kyiv, killing Ukraine's interior minister and about a dozen other people, including a child on the ground, authorities said.

Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, who oversaw Ukraine's police and emergency services, is the most senior official to die since Russia invaded nearly 11 months ago.

His death, along with two others from his ministry, was the second calamity in four days to clobber Ukraine, after a Russian missile strike on an apartment building killed dozens of civilians.

READ MORE: Aussie troops departing for mission to train Ukrainian fighters

There was no immediate word on whether the helicopter crash, which occurred on a foggy morning in Kyiv's eastern suburb of Brovary, was an accident or related to the war, but Ukrainian authorities immediately opened an investigation.

No fighting has been reported recently in the capital region.

Ukraine's State Emergency Service said at least 14 people were killed, including nine aboard the helicopter, and a child on the ground.

It said 25 people were injured, including 11 children. Early official reports gave differing numbers of casualties.

Kyiv regional Gov. Oleksii Kuleba told Ukrainian television that emergency services were still identifying remains and that the death toll could rise.

The Ukraine National Police said the crash killed five Interior Ministry officials, one national police official and three crew members on the helicopter.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the crash as "a terrible tragedy" on a "black morning."

"The pain is unspeakable," he wrote on Telegram.

British Home Secretary Suella Braverman called the 42-year-old Monastyrskyi "a leading light in supporting the Ukrainian people during (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's illegal invasion." She said she was "struck by his determination, optimism and patriotism."

Monastyrskyi was in charge of police and emergency services that dealt with the consequences of Russian strikes and de-mining, political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko told The Associated Press.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Ihor Klymenko, the national police chief, has been appointed acting interior minister.

Monastyrskyi's deputy Yevhen Yenin and State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yurii Lubkovych were among those killed, according to the National Police.

Senior Ukrainian officials routinely travel by helicopter at low altitudes and high speed during the conflict, increasing the inherent dangers associated with the flights.

The tragedy may prompt Kyiv to institute a rule many countries and companies follow stating that top officials shouldn't fly on the same aircraft, Fesenko said.

The officials on the helicopter were due to visit Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, local police chief Volodymyr Tymoshko said, adding on Facebook that they were "not just leaders," but "friends who I respected."

At the crash scene, at least four bodies were covered by reflective sheets. Officials cleared charred, mangled wreckage lying against an apartment building and in a playground. Some walls were partly demolished and blackened.

A spokesperson for Ukraine's air force, Yurii Ihnat, told a television channel the helicopter was a French-manufactured Super Puma.

A French defense official said the helicopter was sold to Ukraine in 2019, before the war that began February 24. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to be identified, according to ministry policy.

The Security Service of Ukraine is investigating, prosecutor general Andriy Kostin said. "For now, we are considering all possible versions of the helicopter crash accident," he said on Telegram.

The crash came at a particularly dark period in the war for Ukraine, just days after the Russian strike on the apartment building in southeastern Ukraine killed 45 people, including six children — the deadliest attack on civilians since the spring.

"Another very sad day today — new losses," said Ukraine's first lady, Olena Zelenska, dabbing teary eyes and pinching her nose as she responded to the news while at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The forum held 15 seconds of silence after opening the session to honor the Ukrainian officials killed.

"Haven't had time to recover from one tragedy, there is already another one," said the deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office Kyrylo Tymoshenko.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted his condolences, adding that Ukrainians will continue to die as long as Putin "continues his needless war."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is facing pressure to send tanks to Ukraine, tweeted that the crash "shows once again the huge price that Ukraine is having to pay in this war."

The woman had sat down to a meal when a car came crashing into her home.

Significant surge for tickets ahead of tonight’s massive Powerball draw.

A gunman is believed to be on the run and some residents have been evacuated after shots were fired in the Queensland town of Tara, near where two police officers were killed just months ago.

It's understood the shots may have been fired at a police patrol car.

No one has been physically injured in the incident.

READ MORE: Passengers heard 'large bang' before Qantas mayday call

Police made an emergency declaration under the Public Safety Preservation Act about 5.30pm (6.30pm AEDT), two hours after being called to reports of shots.

The exclusion zone includes Surat Development Road, Day Street, Benn Street, Fry Street and Milne Street.

"Several residents have been evacuated," police said.

https://twitter.com/QldPolice/status/1615616521463820288

"Others within the exclusion zone are asked to remain indoors.

"No further information is available at this stage."

Tara is about 15km south of Wieambilla, where two officers were killed in an ambush at a property last year.

More to come…

The NSW Liberal Party is promising to waive minor traffic fines for drivers with a clean three-year record if it retains government at this year's state election.

Under the plan, drivers would be able to apply to have a fine for "low-level offences", which includes speeding offences under 10km/h and driving in a bus lane, waived from April 3.

It comes as NSW Labor promised to remove a demerit point from drivers who remain infringement free for 12 months yesterday.

READ MORE: Qantas flight lands safely in Sydney after mayday call

School zone, heavy vehicle, red light, mobile phone and speeding offences above 10km/h will not be eligible under the government's scheme, given the serious safety risks involved.

Premier Dominic Perrottet said the initiative struck the right balance.

"For those motorists who have a history of safe driving, this initiative will save them potentially hundreds of dollars if they commit a minor road offence," Perrottet said.

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Roads Minister Natalie Ward said enhancing road safety was at the core of the policy.

"Our expectation is that safe drivers should be rewarded, but it shouldn't just be a demerit point for everybody no matter what they do," Ward said.

The NRMA has supported both the Labor and Liberal schemes.

A budding Olympian created 18 fake businesses in an attempt to steal $180,000 from a COVID-19 business grant program.

Jackson Stern, 27, faced Melbourne's County Court on Wednesday, where he was sentenced to community work for rorting a scheme to support businesses struggling through the pandemic.

He pleaded guilty to six charges, including obtaining financial advantage by deception and furnishing false information.

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Stern developed a passion for equestrian riding while at high school and went on to compete internationally at the age of 19.

By 2019, he was training two mares to compete in the Olympics.

However, his regional Victorian equestrian training and competition business took a hit when the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Stern lodged dozens of applications to the government's business support fund between March and April 2020, the court was told.

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The fund provided small businesses will one-off payments of $10,000 to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

After his first two applications to the scheme were rejected, he registered 18 fake businesses and made another 25 applications for the grant using false information.

Stern provided fake business activity statements and other documents to support the applications, which included false information on employees, wages, payroll and turnover.

He also gave false answers when asked on the applications to specify how COVID-19 impacted the businesses.

One of the businesses, the Stern Family Trust, was once operated by his father but had been dormant since July 2017.

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Stern claimed the company, which he declared was an indoor sports and coaching business, had made $600 in sales but had been "forced to go into temporary hibernation" due to restrictions.

Overall, he successfully obtained $20,000 in grants. He had attempted to get up to $180,000 from the fake applications, but most were rejected.

Stern said his offending was a panicked response to protect his horses' livelihood.

But Judge John Kelly was critical of Stern's multiple attempts to deplete a "finite pool of resources" set up to help struggling businesses.

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"You deliberately rorted a benevolent scheme established by the state government during a time of crisis and that makes your offending generally serious," he said.

"This fund was created to alleviate hardship… Dishonest depletion of its finite reserve hurts everyone who hoped to make an honest claim during a time of great stress."

Kelly said Stern felt shame and embarrassment over the offending and found he had good rehabilitation prospects.

He handed Stern a two-year community correction order.

A Qantas flight has landed safely at Sydney Airport after engine trouble led to a mayday call being made while the plane was travelling over the Pacific Ocean.

Qantas has confirmed the Boeing 737-838 "experienced an issue with one of its engines" about an hour before it was due to land at Sydney Airport after departing from Auckland.

Flight QF144 was due to land at 3.10pm and made a delayed but safe landing at 3.25pm.

READ MORE: What is a mayday signal, who uses it, and how was it invented?

Qantas said the plane was met by emergency services in line with standard procedure.

The airline also said the mayday call was later downgraded to a PAN (possible assistance needed).

Qantas head of fleet operations Ben Holland said QF144 experienced an issue approximately halfway from Auckland to Sydney.

"The 737 is designed to fly on one engine and although it is not a normal operation, our flight crew are very well experienced in managing such scenarios," Holland said.

"In accordance with their procedures, they continued the flight to Sydney where the aircraft landed safely this afternoon.

"The passengers have now disembarked the terminal and the engineers will start their inspection."

Passengers James Fearon and Fiona Dunn both thought they felt an engine stop working.

"I definitely felt something during the flight that felt a bit weird, I was trying to stay calm and not panic," Fearon said.

Dunn admitted she was worried.

"I was just trying to work out the logistics of if it could run on one engine," Dunn said.

"I know there is a short enough timeframe for how long you can spend in the air with one engine so I was just trying to work that out.

"The air-conditioning was gone so it was pretty hot on the plane but besides that, the captain stayed pretty cool and collected so it was fine from that regard."

She said passengers were told just before landing that an engine had blown and emergency services would check when they landed.

"I don't think (those on) the plane, in general, were that panicked, I don't think people understood the significance probably of it so (it's a feeling of being) relieved for me because I am a nervous flyer," Dunn said.

READ MORE: Queensland declares fourth COVID-19 wave 'officially over'

Vonnie Wavish, who was on the flight, said airline staff did a great job of getting everyone to the ground.

"About halfway across we heard a large bang but nobody seemed to be worried," Wavish said.

Another passenger, Leslie Spring, said the flight was bumpy but felt similar to regular turbulence.

"(The staff were) brilliant, if they hadn't told us we wouldn't have known," Spring said.

"(Staff) just said there would be a fire crew just in case, reassuring to know they were on the ball."

No dangerous goods were on board the flight.

What is a mayday call?

According to Airservices Australia, a government-owned organisation responsible for the management of Australia's skies, a mayday call is an indication "an aircraft is in grave and imminent danger and requires immediate assistance".

Controllers will then alert local emergency services with details of the incident.

A possible assistance needed or PAN call is a less urgent situation but still needs a response from controllers, as well as assistance to pilots.

Examples of PAN situations include a medical emergency or faulty instrument.

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