There are multiple fatalities following a serious crash on State Highway 1 south of Levin.Emergency services were called to the scene of the crash, involving a truck and a van, just after 3pm. Police confirmed in a statement this…

Is it a bird? It's a plane! No, it's Forza Horizon 5.

Xbox just dropped a car from a helicopter 1.3 kilometres (that's 4500 feet) above Mildura in a stunt that would have shocked eagle-eyed locals on the Victorian border.  

Mimicking the opening sequence from the game, the Polaris vehicle and a driver parachuted through the sky down to a rolling field, landing with a soft thud before driving off to celebrate the launch of the open world racing game. 

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"As one of the most anticipated releases of 2021, we knew we had to reach for the sky for Forza Horizon 5 to create our most exciting stunt yet," Tania Chee of Xbox ANZ said.

The team behind the green machine is no stranger to an eye-catching PR stunt. 

Eight years ago they rolled armoured trucks through New York full of – and branded with – Xbox Ones.

Most recently, they happily leaned into the internet memes and created fridges in the shape and style of the Xbox Series X. 

This time around, fans in Australia and New Zealand have the chance to win the one-of-a-kind helmet worn by the driver who parachuted from the helicopter.

"We know Australian and New Zealand fans have a deep love for car culture and have supported the Forza franchise for years, and we've celebrated them through initiatives like our Forza Horizon 4 drive-in experience, or by bringing the iconic Panorama Bathurst track in-game for Forza Motorsport 5," Ms Chee said. 

The entirety of Forza Horizon 3's open world was set in a fictional Australia.

Two iterations later, Forza Horizon 5 is set in a gloriously reimagined Mexico. 

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You can read 9news.com.au's review of the game here. 

At launch, Forza Horizon 5 is rated 91/100 on Metacritic, based on 81 critic reviews, sitting among the best in the franchise to date. 

It kicks off a massive holiday season for gamers with the much-anticipated launch of Halo Infinite just weeks away. 

Forza Horizon 5 is available today on Xbox consoles, PC on Windows and Steam, and Xbox Game Pass including console, PC and Cloud Gaming (Beta).

Qantas' first mammoth Airbus A380 aircraft has returned to Australia after being grounded by the pandemic in another step forward for the return of international travel.

One of the biggest passenger craft in the world the plane, named Hudson Fysh, has spent almost two years in storage after the airline stopped flying in March 2020.

Most planes were sent to desert storage in California.

READ MORE: EXPLAINER: Everything you need to know about international travel

After 4500 hours of maintenance, including getting new landing gear in Dresden, Germany, the plane flew home to Australia, which took more than 19 hours.

It landed at Sydney Airport just after 3pm.

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Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said it a "really special day" and "really emotional seeing the plane land."

"This is the flagship aircraft of Qantas landing back in Australia after almost 600 days," he said.

"It's an amazing occasions for staff in particular.

"Only six months ago we were planning these aircraft would be in the desert until 2023."

While only Aussies are allowed into the county now, Mr Joyce reiterated his desire for the borders to open for more, once the thousands of stranded Australians get home.

"We should open up to tourists, we should open up to other workers," he said.

The aircraft registration is VH-OQB and it was flown by Captain Paul Grant on flight number QF6023.

Mr Grant worked as a housepainter and a courier during the pandemic, Mr Joyce said.

The plane will have more checks before it is used for crew training.

Pilots will have to train in simulators and in the classroom to be allowed back in the air again.

https://twitter.com/Qantas/status/1457637373152428035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The A380-Airbus planes can carry almost 500 passengers on two levels.

A message from the crew shared by Qantas on Twitter said: "Hi honey, I'm home! QF6023 in Australian airspace and tracking well. Can't wait to overfly the harbour on our approach. Look to the skies and give us a wave around 3pm, from Flying Fysh crew."

Qantas is bringing back five A380s ahead of schedule, with two to operate flights to Los Angeles from April 2022 and three to fly to London from November 2022.

https://twitter.com/Qantas/status/1457891942465867790?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

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Qantas says bookings are booming, with half a million trips booked in the past two weeks, compared with around 20,000 in a two-week period in August.

It said Jetstar's recent international sale saw 75,000 seats sold in 72 hours.

International travel is now allowed from anywhere in Australia- but people in places other than NSW, Victoria and the ACT are limited on being able to return.

READ MORE: How to get your international travel vaccine passport

Perth has seen around double the amount of rain it would get in a month fall in just one day.

The city has been hit by more than 40mm of rainfall today so far- twice the monthly average of 24mm, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said.

The deluge is a new daily record for November, and the most since records began in 1880.

https://twitter.com/BOM_WA/status/1457876284462206984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The record-breaking rain is part of wild weather which is hitting parts of Australia's west and north, with severe warnings in place across three states and territories.

Warnings remain in place for Perth and other parts of Western Australia for heavy rain and severe thunderstorms.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said a trough has slammed into a "unusually moist air mass".

READ MORE: Eastern states bracing for week-long drenching

https://twitter.com/BOM_WA/status/1457828788499275780

Overnight, south-western WA recorded more than 100,000 lightning strikes.

A severe weather warning for "unseasonal rainfall" has been issued for Western Australia's east.

The BoM has issued a severe weather warning for Gascoyne, Goldfields, Central West and Central Wheat Belt districts.

"Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce damaging winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding in the warning area over the next several hours," it said.

"Kalgoorlie in particular has storms developing to the north and west that may bring heavy rainfall and large hailstones as the storms move south."

Perth drivers are being urged to take care on the roads in the wet weather.

https://twitter.com/BOM_WA/status/1457841637997096968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

NT and SA also warned over weather

Severe weather warnings are also in effect for parts of Northern Territory and South Australia.

The states are being told to brace for heavy rain, flash flooding and the chance of hail.

The Lasseter district in the Northern Territory is at risk of damaging winds and large hailstones.

Locations which may be affected include Yulara, Kaltukatjara, Curtin Springs and Uluru.

Another weather warning issued for Borroloola in the Northern Territory has since been cancelled.

Damaging winds and large hail has also been forecast for the North West Pastoral district in South Australia, with Amata and parts of the Great Victoria Desert put on alert.

A weather warning in place for Rockhampton, Yeppoon, Dunbar and Byfield in Queensland has since been cancelled.

New South Wales

New South Wales residents can expect a mostly cloudy day, with the potential for a few scattered showers along the coast and adjacent ranges and over the northern inland border.

There is a chance of a thunderstorm further north, the BoM said.

Temperatures will hit a low of 17C and a high of 24C.

https://twitter.com/BOM_NSW/status/1457588712926220290

Victoria

Melburnians can expect a sunny morning, as temperatures climb from 8C to 20C.

Cloud cover will increase during the afternoon with a 20 per cent chance of a shower in the evening.

South Australia

Similar conditions will be experienced in Adelaide, which will be partly cloudy with a slight chance of a shower later tonight.

Light winds will become south-westerly 20 to 30km/h in the middle of the day then tending southerly in the evening.

Temperatures will hit a high of 22C.

Tasmania

Tasmanians will need to whip out the umbrella today with showers forecast for both Launceston and Hobart.

In Hobart there's a 90 per cent chance of showers, most likely in the afternoon and evening.

More Australians than ever before are forecast to take part in online shopping event Click Frenzy, so much so that Australia Post is preparing for an onslaught of parcel traffic.

The annual online sale starts at 7pm AEDT tonight (November 9) and will run for 53 hours, offering 4000 deals from more than 500 Australian retailers.

Brands signed on to take part in the online marathon include The Iconic, Adidas, Surfstitch, Vodafone, Rebel Sport, Telstra, Big W, Target and more.

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Australia Post's Executive General Manager of Business Gary Starr said that online shopping has become the new normal for the majority of households during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In recent months over half of all households across the country (5.8 million) have consistently been shopping online, driving national online purchase growth for the 12 months to the end of October to more than 18 per cent when compared to last year," Mr Starr said.

"From our latest customer research, we know this growth will continue with over two-in-five shoppers intending to buy their Christmas presents online this month, making November the most popular month for online Christmas shopping."

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Mr Starr said for Australia Post Click Frenzy represents the first big push of online-shopping derived parcels in the run up to Christmas.

"Click Frenzy is the start of the pre-Christmas sale period and we've been working hard to ready our network," Mr Starr said.

"We've got over 45 new and repurposed operational and retail sites up and running, additional planes in the air, over 4000 new team members coming on board, and we're delivering on weekends when and where we need to – all to ensure we can get parcels to our customers as quickly as possible."

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Mark Salzmann, Head of Content at Click Frenzy, said they anticipate this year's event to be larger than usual due the prolonged retail shutdowns as a result of COVID-19 restrictions.

"We've all collectively experienced a tough year and some retail therapy is in order! The calibre of retailers and deals across every category is a testament to how strong digital retail is in Australia," Mr Salzmann said.

"We're excited for shoppers to snap up a bargain, while supporting retailers that have experienced hardship during the pandemic." 

Click Frenzy will begin at 7pm and last for 53 hours.

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