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170921_flights_header.jpg

You could be jetting off to the UK, US or Asia as soon as this December!

We've waited on the return of international travel with bated breath, with our ears kept close to the ground for even just a slither of good news.

Up until now, the best news we had was that Alan Joyce speculated Qantas might have international flights from Australia back up-and-running from mid-december, but now we have some official dates!

Mark the third week of December in your calendars! Qantas have confirmed flights to Los Angeles, London, Vancouver and Singapore will commence from December 18, meanwhile routes to Tokyo, Hawaii and Fiji will kickstart from December 19.

via GIPHY

Yahoo Finance confirmed the planned flight schedule:

Saturday 18 December, 2021

  • Sydney to London
  • Melbourne to London
  • Sydney to Los Angeles
  • Sydney to Vancouver
  • Melbourne to Singapore

Sunday 19 December, 2021

  • Melbourne to Los Angeles
  • Brisbane to Los Angeles
  • Sydney to Honolulu
  • Brisbane to Singapore
  • Sydney to Tokyo
  • Sydney to Fiji

The news from the Australian airline follows announcements from Air Canada about resuming it's Sydney-Vancouver route from December 17 and Hawaiian Airlines about resuming flights to Sydney and Brisbane from December 15.

The only problem now is deciding where to go first! What do you think?

Image Credit: allen watkin from London, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 

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The finest-known copy of Amazing Fantasy No. 15 featuring the debut of Spider-man. (Heritage Auctions /Cover-Images)

The first Spider-man comic ever published has set a new record as the most expensive comic book in the world after selling for $4.9 million.

Marvel’s Amazing Fantasy No.15 issue came out in 1962 and features Peter Parker as the iconic webslinger for the first time, outlining his origin story of being bitten by a radioactive spider. It sold for 12 cents.

The previous record for most expensive comic book was the debut of Superman in a comic book published in 1938.

Seems like superhero debuts are big money in the comic book world, with the first appearances of Batman, Wonder Woman, The Joker, Catwoman and Iron Man all appearing in the top 10 list of most expensive comic books.

One thing's for sure, Spider-man sure has come a long way since that first comic book nearly 60 years ago. Check out the official teaser trailer for Spider-man: No Way Home.

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A NSW prison escapee has deliberately ended his time on the run after running out of money and becoming homeless.

A prisoner who allegedly escaped from a NSW jail in 1992 has turned himself in after almost 30 years on the run. 

Darko Desic was 35 when he allegedly used bolt cutters to break out of a jail in Grafton on the state's north coast during the night of July 31, 1992.

The next time police heard from him was on Sunday, when the now-64-year-old walked into Dee Why Police Station on Sydney's northern beaches.

The former fugitive had run out of work and become homeless, a police source said.

"(He) handed himself in to get a roof over his head," the source, who declined to be named, said.

Desic was jailed in 1990 for drug supply, serving 19 months of a 33-month minimum term until his escape, allegedly done with a hacksaw blade and bolt cutters.

Police have charged him with escaping from lawful custody and a magistrate remanded him in custody on Tuesday at Central Local Court.

Desic is due to enter a plea to the prison escape charge on September 28.

He's also to serve out the remainder of his original sentence. His earliest parole date is November 1 next year, with his full term running until September 30, 2023.

© AAP 2021

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You might have imagined that cheetahs communicate with mighty roars, but the sound they actually make is very unexpected (in fact, it's kind of cute).

They're as dangerous as their tiger, lion and jaguar cousins, however cheetahs are actually incapable of making the same almighty roar sound.

According to BBC's Discover Wildlife, the size of a cat doesn't equate to the sound of their roar, and cheetahs - while very large and strong - have the voice box anatomy similar to a house cat.

"The bones of the cheetah's voice box form a fixed structure, with divided vocal cords that vibrate with both in and out breaths. This structure is the same for all the 'small' cats. While this design enables these cats to purr continuously, it limits the range of other sounds and prevents them from being able to roar."

Instead, the fast feline communicates with a rather unexpected high-pitched chirp or a puss-in-boots-style meow. 

Researchers have also learnt that male cheetahs make a 'stuttering sound' during the mating season.

When a cheetah feels threatened, they'll hiss. If they feel really threatened, they'll growl and show their teeth.

If the spotted cat wants to signal a warning, it will let out an explosive yelp which can be heard from 2km away. 

Naturally, the news that this spectacular big cat can't roar is surprising to most, with one Twitter user posting, "I was today years old when I learned Cheetahs meow." Another user confessed, "it's the best thing I've seen all day."

Image Credit: Tambako The Jaguar / Flickr & Cloudtail the Snow Leopard / Flickr