WEATHER
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For anyone travelling to Buninyong today for the 2015 Cycling Australia Road Nationals Elite Men 183.6km race, ensure you pack an umbrella.
Despite the chance of a shower this morning, temperatures are set to top a maximum of 23 degrees.
It looks like the rain is here to stay with an 80 per cent chance of rain on Monday evening.
Thunderstorms are a possibility for Tuesday.
POLICE
Police are still currently searching for the driver of a stolen car that crashed into a pole in Ballarat East early on Saturday leaving a passenger behind in a critical condition.
Police have found a hat in the wreckage of a stolen car and believe it may belong to the driver who fled the scene.
See the full story here | Police searching for "low" driver who left his mate for dead after horrific accident
FIRE
It was a very quiet night for Ballarat fire crews with nothing to report this morning.
2015 Cycling Australia Road Nationals
Today is the day. The 2015 Cycling Australia Road Nationals Elite Men 183.6km race is set to kick off at 10.50am. With 18 laps ahead, it's going to be a spectacular race - but who will take out the win?
Our photographers are on their way to the course which is already filling with spectators.
Keep updated on all the action and colour at today's big race through our rolling coverage online.
See all the top stories from the event so far.
State of the nation
Keen to know the latest weather updates or regional news? We have you covered.
Overseas, hundreds of bodies remain strewn in the bush in Nigeria from an Islamic extremist attack that Amnesty International says may have claimed 2000 lives in the "deadliest massacre" in the history of Boko Haram and Hayat Boumeddiene, the fourth Paris terror suspect, is still on the run. In sport, India has held on for a draw against the fast-finishing Australians.
As for what's happening around regional Australia right now, check it out ...
► NEWCASTLE: All Newcastle Beaches were closed yesterday, with the shark alarm sounding at Newcastle Beach around 4.30pm on Saturday.
Initially Newcastle was the only beach remaining open, with beaches from Bar Beach-Merewether closed due to a shark sighting in the area.
Lifeguards spotted a five-metre Great White around 1pm and promptly pulled swimmers from the water.
Beaches will remain closed if the shark remains in the region. Read more here.
► ORANGE: Bowan Park resident Stephen King is disappointed that rural landholders are missing out on national broadband network services despite towers becoming operational at Cudal and Nashdale late last year.
Mr King had been looking forward to getting the NBN and applied for it as soon as the Cudal tower was operational only to find there were too many hills blocking the signal to his property. More here.
► REGIONAL AUSTRALIA: Click through for a collection of the best photographs taken by Fairfax Media photographers around the nation last week.
► BENDIGO: A 46-year-old man is expected to face "serious charges" relating to firearms, explosives and endangering life following a siege in Eaglehawk on Saturday.
Police alleged the man fired seven shots and threatened to blow up his property.
Bendigo police Acting Sergeant Peter Dyer said members were called to a home in Redhill Court about 2pm following a report shots had been fired. More here, including video.
► BALLARAT: A teenager severely injured in a horrific car smash in Ballarat East early on Saturday has undergone brain surgery and police fear he could die.
News of his deteriorating condition came as police labelled the actions of the driver of the stolen car, who fled on foot after the crash, as "disgusting".
Major Collision Investigation Unit Acting Inspector Brad McArthur said the driver had committed several criminal offences and one of life's "lowest acts", leaving his unconscious mate for dead and fleeing the scene of the accident in Scott Parade about 2.40am. Read on.
► BROULEE: Rare footage captured of a shark feeding off a dead whale, just metres from a popular South Coast holiday beach, has left a bad taste in some people’s mouths.
The shark was sighted in the shallow waters of Broulee Beach where those daring few stood nearby to get a better view.
Local Matthew Stephens captured footage of one shark tearing into the whale by attaching his waterproof Go-Pro camera to an old fishing rod and submerging it next to a bobbing shark tail when it was closer to shore. But he's copped abuse for his actions. Read his story here and see the video.
► MALLACOOTA: Some amazing photos on Instagram from people holidaying on the NSW South Coast, including this one from Mallacoota.
► PARKES: Long-time supporters of the annual Parkes Elvis Festival street parade claim Saturday’s crowd was the biggest yet, with estimates of more than 5000 attending.
Elvis artist, John Collins has been coming to Parkes for the festival for a decade - and has always participated in the parade, no doubt the highlight of the program.
“That was the biggest crowd I have ever seen,” he said. Check out the photos and video here.
► WOLLONGONG: "Go kill yourself" was Imogen Todd's regular wake-up directive when she was 13.
In the confines of her bedroom, the Cordeaux Heights teen would receive an influx of hate-filled messages from fellow students via social media every morning.
Unable to switch off, the situation escalated to dangerous heights and almost drove Imogen to suicide. Read her story here.
National news
► SYDNEY: Martin Place siege victim Katrina Dawson was struck by a police bullet when officers became involved in a shoot-out with gunman Man Haron Monis in the final stages of the Lindt Cafe stand-off, the police investigation has revealed.
The circumstances surrounding the 16-hour Martin Place siege, which began on December 15, is still the subject of a critical incident investigation being run by the homicide squad.
However, multiple police sources have told Fairfax Media that Ms Dawson, 38, was struck by police fire that was not a direct shot and possibly a ricochet, when they stormed the cafe just after 2am on December 16 after Monis executed another of the hostages, cafe manager Tori Johnson, at close range. Read on.
► QUEENSLAND: Mornington Shire Mayor Brad Wilson is leading ambitious plans to increase the quality of life for residents, while ensuring the environment is not affected.
Cr Wilson said economic and societal changes must be channelled towards a more sustainable relationship.
“Mornington Islanders have been sustaining their families from land and sea for millennia and this model has worked well because of the respect we have for the environment,” he said. Read more here.
► CANBERRA: A resourceful bushman, Tim O'Brien once used his four dogs to keep warm while injured on the ground on a remote Snowy Mountains cattle station after being thrown from his horse.
The fourth generation cattleman and shearer is riding high these days, about to join the National Museum of Australia's Spirited exhibition which honours horses, in Canberra from January 15. Read his story here.
► BALLARAT: Janice Prothero was rummaging through her belongings when she woke her roommates before dawn.
The night was freezing after a cold snap brought several consecutive nights of sub-zero temperatures to Ballarat.
Ms Prothero was seen leaving Hinstock House psychiatric home just after 5am and told curious inmates she was searching for cigarettes.
It is unknown if Ms Prothero found cigarettes, as she has never been seen again. Read her story here.
► WOLLONGONG: A man died in a crash between a car carrier and a ute on Appin Road near Bulli Tops on Saturday.
About 6.20am emergency services were called to a collision on Appin Road.
The male driver of a ute died. The male truck driver was assessed on site by Ambulance Paramedics before being taken to hospital for mandatory testing.
Crash investigators will continue inquiries into the events leading up to the crash. More here.
► BRISBANE: Thousands of mourners, loved ones, supporters and even strangers filed into the Cairns Convention Centre from 8am yesterday, some dressed in the island prints of their heritage, others in dark sombre colours.
They came to farewell eight little ones, Malili Warria, Vita Thaiday, whom they called Angelina, Shantae Warria, La'Torrence, known as Rayden, Warria, Azariah Willie, Daniel Willie, Rodney Willie and Patranella Willie, aged between two and 14, taken in the most tragic circumstances, and much, much too soon. Full story here.
► TASMANIA: The deadly animal mite, mange, will never be eradicated from Tasmania and finding a cure is unlikely, wildlife experts say.
This week, the University of Tasmania announced that more than half of Narawntapu National Park’s wombat population – north-west of Launceston – had been wiped out by the parasite.
Mange latches on to a host animal, wearing it down and killing it slowly. It has been known to affect dogs, wallabies and even humans. Watch video here.
► PERTH: Hundreds of firefighters spent yesterday battling a massive bushfire which was bearing down on homes in several suburbs north of Perth.
The fire started in bushland just south of RAAF Pearce in Bullsbrook on Saturday morning. It was quickly fanned by strong winds and began burning towards the north-west. Read more here.
International news
► PARIS: France is in shock. After three days of violence, fear and blood, the heart of the Republic resembled a war zone, its streets splashed with shattered glass.
The three men whose vicious purpose had shaken the pillars of the Republic, including the brothers behind the Charlie Hebdo massacre, lay dead, alongside four more innocent citizens.
But still, France cannot be sure this horror is over. The hunt continues for the accomplices of the three gunmen, including one implicated in the death of a policewoman on Thursday. More here.
► NIGERIA: Hundreds of bodies remain strewn in the bush in Nigeria from an Islamic extremist attack that Amnesty International says may have claimed 2000 lives in the "deadliest massacre" in the history of Boko Haram.
Mike Omeri, the government spokesman on the insurgency, said fighting continues for Baga, a town on the border with Chad where insurgents seized a key military base on January 3 and attacked again on Wednesday.
District head Baba Abba Hassan said most victims are children, women and elderly people who could not run fast enough when insurgents drove into Baga, firing rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles on town residents. Read on.
► AIR ASIA DISASTER: The tail section of the downed AirAsia flight QZ8501 has been recovered from the sea bottom and lifted onto a waiting ship, allowing crews to search it carefully for the crucial black box flight recorder.
The tail was pulled in on Saturday afternoon using a large crane on oil ship Crest Onyx.
Crews aboard the ship say the tail, which was upside down and stuck mud on the sea bed, was badly damaged. They were not immediately able to locate the black box.
The plane crashed on December 28, killing all 162 passengers and crew aboard. Full story here.
