Good morning central Victoria!
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We’re in for a cloudy, rainy day - Bendigo 21, Maryborough 20, Castlemaine 19, Kyneton 17, Redesdale 21, Echuca 23.
Catch up on news here:
Woman killed in Phuket jet-ski collision
A 20-year-old Kyabram woman has been killed when jet-skis collided in waters off the Thai tourist island of Phuket. Our thoughts are with her family and all involved. Read more here.
Skating on thin ice
Council inaction may force one of the state’s premier skateboarding facilities to be closed down for good, users of Eaglehawk’s McKern Skate Park fear. Read more here.
Bendigo woman injured in Goornong crash
A woman has been flown to a Melbourne hospital following a crash at Goornong on Sunday. Read more here.
Illegal firework reports spike in Bendigo
Police in Bendigo are warning of the dangers of illegal fireworks as a spike in reports of the activity coincides with the peak of the summer fire danger period. Read more here.
Spirit falls short
The Bendigo Bank Spirit have lost control of their WNBL play-off destiny following an 83-77 loss to arch-rival Townsville at the Bendigo Stadium on Sunday. Read more here.
State of the nation
Need a national news snapshot first thing - well, we have you covered.
► RIVERINA: A government decision to keep a revolutionary drug out of the hands of desperate parents has been slammed by a frustrated Riverina mother. Temora nurse Renae Golder has two children with Cystic Fibrosis, a debilitating disease that requires extensive treatment and greatly reduces lifespan.
Until recently, doctors could only manage the symptoms, but a drug called Orkambi targets the underlying genetic condition in some sufferers, reducing the severity of the condition. The only problem is that the drug costs between $260,000 and $300,000 per year. More here.
► TASMANIA: A high-powered probe into why just 12 of the 183 senior executives funded by the state government are based outside the South is likely to be established. More here.
► NEWCASTLE: Holding a Supercar race in Newcastle’s East End is likely to increase “stress, depressive symptoms and even suicidal ideation”, the Hunter’s mental health experts say. More here.
► ILLAWARRA: Al and Meg Donnell had their doubts about Isla for some time. Nothing specific, just the odd queasy moment. At age two-and-a-half, their daughter seemed physically normal: she was funny and full of energy; she loved singing and dancing and dress-ups. But there was something not quite right about her language. More here.
► MOWBRAY: Tributes are pouring in for Bradley Breward who was allegedly murdered on New Year’s Day. Friends and family took to social media at the weekend to remember the “cheeky” father-of-one. News of Mr Breward’s death broke on Friday when two men were charged with his murder. More here.
► BALLARAT: A man who had his car rummaged through by thieves over the weekend is urging others to lock-up. The two thieves were caught on CCTV searching through Matthew Kaess’ car in the early hours of Saturday. “They were just wondering up the street, one of them had a glove on,” Mr Kaess said. More here.
► BENDIGO: Council inaction may force one of Victoria’s premier skateboarding facilities to be closed down for good, users of Eaglehawk’s McKern Skate Park fear. More here.
National news
► Malcolm Turnbull has dismissed suggestions Australia will be indebted to US President Donald Trump if he proceeds with the refugee resettlement deal, insisting there is no quid pro quo for future military support. More here.
► The divide between rich and poor is growing in Australia, according to a new national survey which found more than a quarter of households have experienced a drop in income. More here.
► One in four drivers admit to having driven through floodwater, while nearly as many admit they speed up to avoid storms. NRMA Insurance says the results of a survey of driver behaviour during bad weather are alarming, with driver fear of being caught in slippery conditions causing behaviours that pose a greater risk. More here.
► What do Donald Trump, Nick Xenophon, Pauline Hanson and 83 per cent of Australians have in common? They want to make more stuff locally. In a survey of dozens of hot-button issues, a desire for more goods to be made in Australia stood out as the statement on which most people agreed. More here.
National weather radar
International news
► MYANMAR: Soldiers dragged a pregnant woman who was in labour out of her house in Myanmar's western Rakhine state and smashed her stomach with a stick. More here.
► WASHINGTON: Damn it – he thought he was king. In discovering late Friday that as President he's one of three intermeshed branches of government, Donald Trump belittled the jurist who had pulled him up as a "so-called judge" and his ruling that iced Trump's immigration crackdown as "ridiculous". But much to their amazement, Trump and the Bannon bunch keep running into this brick wall – it's called American democracy. More here.
► US: After White House press secretary Sean Spicer repeatedly mispronounced the Australian Prime Minister's name as "Trunbull" - or was it "Trumbull?" - it seems he decided it easier to drop the moniker altogether. More here.
On this day
The faces of Australia: Hailey Eeles
When Hailey Eeles was undergoing cancer treatment, wearing a chemotherapy canister in a mesh bag around her neck proved irksome.
But her Swim and Survival Academy colleague Eliza de Kort had the solution all sewn up.
Ms de Kort, 19, started hand making fashionable little handbags to unobtrusively carry the canisters instead, eventually enlisting the crafty aid of the centre’s water aerobics ladies to help her out. Read more here.