1. Passengers on board a cruise ship that docked in Port Melbourne have been told to look for signs of a rare form of hepatitis with symptoms that include vomiting, chills and abdominal pain.
Passengers on two Golden Princess cruises have been warned to look for signs of hepatitis E after a crew member was diagnosed with the disease. Only passengers on the ship between between February 8 and 15 are at any risk of infection.
2. Failures in both the engine and 'feathering' system, that pilots are not trained to deal with, may be behind Tuesday's fatal plane crash, experts say.
Investigators remain at Essendon Airport, sifting through pieces of wreckage from Tuesday's light plane crash that killed five, as they try to determine what went so fatally wrong.
But experts say several crucial clues may point to a failure of the feathering system on the Beechcraft King Air.
3. Seven "habitable" planets with size and mass similar to Earth's have been discovered orbiting the same nearby star, prompting astronomers to dub the finding our "seven sisters".
"This is the first time we have found so many Earth-like planets orbiting the same star," said lead author of the study, Michael Gillon from the University of Liege in Belgium.
The planets are orbiting a dwarf star just 12 parsecs, or 39 light years, from Earth.
4. In almost half a century, Australia has won only one Test series in India, back in 2004. Only England has won there since.
In a long, long home season dating back to before last year's AFL grand final, India has played nine Tests against New Zealand, England and Bangladesh for eight wins and a draw. Now it is Australia's turn. The auguries are not good. Even Ricky Ponting is hoping for no more than a respectable defeat.
Australia's enthusiasm, far from dampened, appears to have been whetted, oddly enough. The scale of the challenge appeals to something in the nation's psyche.
5. Malaysia is to blame for the death of a mystery North Korean citizen at Kuala Lumpur airport last week, according to North Korea, which has accused the Malaysian government of demonstrating an "unfriendly attitude".
South Korean and US officials believe the dead man was Kim Jong-nam - estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un - and that he was killed by agents of North Korea.
But North Korea denies the person who died of apparent poisoning by two women was Kim Jong-nam.
6. As you take your seat in the grandstand, or on the couch at home, there's that inevitable excitement of watching your team's latest draft picks or star recruits. Then there's the nervous anticipation of watching a gun player make their return from injury.
But what about the players that are quietly going about their returns to senior football? The ones that have managed to stay somewhat under the radar. Or the ones you haven't heard about in a while? Without further ado, the forgotten few.
7. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has come out against the government's current $4 billion omnibus savings bill, pointing to paid parental leave measures that she says risk abuse by parents who will have children purely to get the payments.
The omnibus bill already appeared terminal with opposition to some of its elements from Labor, the Greens and the Nick Xenophon Team. Senator Hanson's decision that she cannot support parts of it – which feed a "welfare handout mentality" – makes clear that the package will need to be changed to pass the Senate.
8. Australians are more pessimistic about the future of housing affordability and living costs than any other lifestyle factor in the next 10 years, a new report shows. And experts warn the growing cost of housing in capital cities is having a knock-on effect onto business confidence.
After surveying 2300 people and 50 businesses, 88 per cent of respondents agreed Australia was a "great place to live" in 2017 – but the outlook for in a decade's time was far more grim.
Telecommunications, entertainment and public transport were the only lifestyle areas expected to improve in the next decade out of 26 measured when asked which factors they expected would deteriorate the most by 2027.
9. Two government-sponsored performances by Sir Elton John in regional Queensland have been likened to Ancient Rome's use of the Colosseum to entertain - and distract - the public.
The state government has maintained its silence on whether it is paying money for the concerts, citing commercial in confidence, after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced Sir Elton would bypass Queensland's capital and perform in Mackay and Cairns instead.
But one has been getting plenty of heat lately - pineapple - and even the Icelandic President has weighed in, saying he would ban the tropical fruit from pizza.
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