Overnight news: 

Police will today continue searching for missing man Henry Wright, from Castlemaine. Mr Wright, 64, failed to return to his home in Chewton after attending the Bendigo swap meet on Sunday.

Last night Sergeant Rob Rankin said there were two confirmed sightings of Mr Wright on Monday about an hour a part.

Anyone with information should call Triple Zero (000) immediately. Full story HERE. 

The Bendigo region has had more than its fair share of tragedy this year, according to the latest road toll figures. Twenty-four people have been killed and 200 seriously injured so far this year in the Bendigo region, which includes Campaspe, Central Goldfields and Macedon Ranges. Full story HERE. 

Rick Ladson has been reappointed Bendigo Football Netball League coach for next year's Worksafe AFL Victoria Country Championships clash with Ballarat. The 2013 Golden Square premiership coach returns to the inter-league role after leading the Workforce XS BFNL squad to victory against Gippsland in this year's clash at the QEO. More HERE. 

The towns of Wedderburn and Charlton have soil conditions similar to the lead-up to Black Saturday, says emergency management commissioner Craig Lapsley. Mr Lapsley was speaking at a Rural Press Club event to launch a new fire app for the hearing impaired and to discuss the upcoming fire season on Monday. More HERE. 

Good morning. Need a national news snapshot first thing - well, we have you covered.

► To check out the front pages of Fairfax publications for today, click here

► Well ... Super celebrity Kim Kardashian might have worked out in Sydney on Monday, but she also made the most of the glorious beaches on the NSW south coast. Part of  Bristol Point, Jervis Bay, was closed as photographers snapped away.

►And she wasn't the only big name in Australia as Angelina Jolie premiered her new movie Unbroken, filmed across large slices of regional Australia, in Sydney.

► Accommodation booking website Airbnb has condemned the actions of a Tasmanian couple who posted a homophobic message to deter gay tenants. The Hobart couple who use the site stated in their property ad that gays and lesbians were "not welcome".

► Health professionals have cleared a man held in quarantine at Goulburn Base Hospital of ebola. The man was held in isolation in the accident and emergency section after he presented with a temperature. 

► South-west Victorian primary industries stand to gain tens of millions of dollars in exports and strong jobs growth from the Free Trade Agreement between Australia and China that was finalised yesterday, Member for Wannon Dan Tehan says.

► Glencore's three-week pause on its Australian coal mine production could set a precedent on company decisions involving Mount Isa mining operations. The Swiss-based company’s Mount Isa Mines copper and zinc operations are not affected by the closure brought on by the oversupply of coal. But Kennedy MP Bob Katter fears the worst.

► Tamworth and the region is well-represented in the 2015 Country Music Awards of Australia finalist list revealed on Monday. Kasey Chambers and Luke O’Shea have starred - with six finalist placings each.

► A man so severely sleep deprived, paranoid and high on ice, did not hesitate to stab a mate in the chest after learning the man told a mutual friend not to lend him $50. He beat him with the butt of a shotgun before puncturing his chest with a small knife.

► China's 6 per cent tariff on Hunter thermal coal will remain for another two years in a blow to an industry already suffering from job cuts and mine shutdowns.

NATIONAL: Ten recordings are added to the Sounds of Australia archive each year.  This year's cohort includes the usual eclectic selection - including Icehouse, Cold Chise,l the Divinyls and The Go-Betweens.

► SOUTH AUSTRALIA: Seven of South Australia’s magnificent tourism experiences have been inducted into the State’s Tourism Hall of Fame at the 2014 South Australian Tourism Awards, winning their category three years in a row. 

► VICTORIA: The marginal seat of Buninyong has been thrown into turmoil over a Coalition split on abortion views. Nationals candidate Sonia Smith will not preference Liberal candidate Ben Taylor on how to vote cards, which could be the difference in winning one of the closest election battle seats in the state.

►TASMANIA: The NBN Co's latest corporate plan shows how far behind schedule the rollout has been, but is light on details about when Tasmania will be fully connected.

► NEW SOUTH WALES: Councils across the Murray River stretching to the South Australian border want the state and federal governments to review daylight saving time. At the Riverina and Murray Regional Organisation of Councils' annual general meeting, a resolution was passed to provide in-principle support to a proposal to do away with daylight saving time and instead move clocks forward permanently by 30 minutes in the eastern states.

► QUEENSLAND: Demand for commodities could skyrocket after the signing of Australia’s Free Trade Agreement with China. National resource employer group Australian Mines and Metals Association  chief executive Steve Knott said the agreement was sure to benefit resources hubs such as Mount Isa.

► VICTORIA: Labor has promised $8 million to completely revamp Sovereign Hill's Blood on the Southern Cross sound and light show. The show has not a had a technology overhaul in almost 10 years, according to Sovereign Hill chief executive Jeremy Johnson. 

► Describing his aid work as "the selfless acts of an individual who cared deeply about the plight of the Syrian people," the White House has confirmed the death of Abdul-Rahman "Peter" Kassig after authenticating another brutal execution video released by the Islamic State.

► China's President Xi Jinping has encouraged Australia towards greater strategic independence in the Asia-Pacific, facilitating closer relations with Beijing and by extension, an increased distancing from the US.

► Sophisticated Russian weapons including surveillance radar, rocket launchers and tanks have been spotted in the hands of separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine, a new expert report has found.

Lisa Fox's half shaved, half dread-locked head of rainbow hair tells the tale of an ordinary woman willing to go extraordinary lengths for love. Six months ago Gleneagle woman Ms Fox, 45, was living the quiet life of a family day care mum going about her days with conservative shoulder length brown hair.

The passionate shine in her pale blue eyes was the only thing that gave away the ache in her heart to protect her children from the debilitating effects of motor neurone disease (MND). Since Ms Fox lost her mother in law to MND 18 years ago she has feared the risk of her two eldest children inheriting the disease.