Good morning! Here are your headlines from around regional Australia and beyond. Scroll down and refresh for weather, road reports and more.
MANDURAH: Coodanup resident Shad Bridger spent the last nine years he’s been living with his furry friend waiting for a vicious dog attack to happen, and hoping he would be able to step in and save Shark’s life. On Tuesday last week, when it finally happened, Mr Bridger ended up spending the night in Fiona Stanley, and Shark in Greenfields vet. Read more.
ESPERANCE: Strong wind and rain have damaged properties around Esperance. See the photos here.
COLLIE: Collie’s aged care was in the spotlight as Federal Assistant Health and Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt and Member for O’Connor Rick Wilson met at ValleyView to discuss developments at the facility. Read more.
BUNBURY: Artists’ impressions showing the final design for the $12.3 million redevelopment of Bunbury’s Dolphin Discovery Centre have been released. Read more.
BUSSELTON: Shark patrols in the South West will take place daily throughout the school holidays with the Busselton based Surf Life Saving WA’s Westpac Lifesaver Rescue helicopter. Read more.
Need a national news snapshot first thing - well, we have you covered.
Regional
BLYTH: Amid Wednesday’s wild weather in South Australia, the Mid North town of Blyth has been devastated by what some locals are calling a ‘mini tornado’. Read more
BENDIGO: A once in 50-years storm lashing South Australia's coastline will skip Victoria and head straight for NSW. The wild weather is forcing South Australians to batten down the hatches, but while rain and wind is beginning to hit Victoria's west, the worst of the storm will move north. Read on
BURNIE: And parts of Tasmania are on alert, too. Winds averaging 60 to 70 km/h with peak gusts in excess of 80 to 90 km/h are expected to develop about King Island this morning, extending to the north coast around midday. Read on
FORBES: In the words of one resident: "Time's up, it needs to be fixed." The people of Forbes are furious that their town could once again be cut off for up to six weeks, its tourism decimated as the school holidays kick in, while trade with nearby towns turns into a trickle. Read on
COWRA: man shot in the buttock by police in Cowra was allegedly chased through the streets of the central western NSW town after threatening police and residents with weapons over 40 minutes. Read more
WOLLONGONG: For the past year, Koonawarra’s Martin Schmidt couldn't figure out why his six-year-old daughter Chloe stopped being a normal and happy girl. "She became extremely irrational, irate, moody .. it was like there was some imbalance in her brain, just setting off this little monster that we knew wasn't our daughter," Mr Schmidt, a Wollongong teacher, said. Read on
MANDURAH: Charges laid against a 27-year-old man in relation to a 'coward-punch' attack at a Mandurah pub last week may be upgraded after the victim died in hospital. Jason Goodwin, 27, had been in an induced coma at Royal Perth Hospital with a fractured skull and brain hemorrhaging since the incident on September 20. Read on
National news
CANBERRA: The federal energy minister and other MPs have raised questions about South Australia's increasing use of renewable energy in the wake of a state-wide blackout on Wednesday, despite assurances from the premier the switch to cleaner energy sources was not to blame. Read on
CANBERRA: The Turnbull government has rejected a call from pilots to overturn a relaxation of regulations on unmanned drones, despite warnings they risk catastrophic collisions with commercial aircraft and helicopters. Read on
CANBERRA: Some of Australia's most elite high-fee private schools are receiving taxpayer funding almost three times greater than their entitlements while others schools remain grossly underfunded, official Education Department data reveals. Read on
National weather radar
International news
NETHERLANDS: Flight MH17 was shot down from pro-Russian rebel controlled territory, with a missile that had recently been transported from Russia, a criminal investigation has found. The investigation used photos, video and phone intercepts to draw their conclusions. Read more
On this day
1829 - The first public appearance by London's re-organized police force was met with jeers from political opponents. The force became known as Scotland Yard.
1977 - Eva Shain became the first woman to officiate a heavyweight title boxing match. About 70 million people watched Muhammad Ali defeat Ernie Shavers on NBC-TV.
1988 - The space shuttle Discovery took off from Cape Canaveral in Florida. It was the first manned space flight since the Challenger disaster.
2008 - The Dow Industrial Average lost 777 points. It was the largest one-day decline to date. The drop came after the U.S. House of Representatives had voted down a $700 billion bank bailout plan.
The faces of Australia: Angie Polglaze
When Angie Polglaze first decided to take up chainsaw sculpting 20 years ago, her art school teachers told her it was impossible.
So she did it anyway. Read on