A COVID-positive teenage girl with other health conditions has become the youngest Victorian to die during the current outbreak.Victoria's COVID-19 commander Jeroen Weimar on Saturday confirmed a 15-year-old girl had died while infected with the virus.She was among seven deaths reported over the past 24 hours, with the others involving three men and two women aged in their 50s to 80s.Their deaths takes the toll from the current COVID-19 outbreak to 138."That is a sad and tragic case, we won't be making more comments on her. But we will send our best wishes to her family and the family of all...

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/national-news/2021/10/16/5432031/victoria-records-1993-cases-seven-deaths

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Welcome back to another edition of Payney’s Punt.It’s been a tough Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival to date for yours truly.Not only are we light in the pockets but our stomach feels empty from the packets of two-minute noodles we have been left to indulge on.We limp into the final day of the carnival with Stakes Day and there are multiple sure things running around on Saturday to fill the coffers.As a wise man once told me, ‘it’s multi season brother, load up’.The track should be a Soft 5 or Good 4.When the rail was out 5m on Thursday, they steered clear of the inside lines but that...

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/sport/2021/11/05/5600352/payneys-punt-stakes-day-preview-1

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As COVID-19 creeps out of Auckland around New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern's government has given the go-ahead for booster shots from later this month.Any Kiwi who completed their two-dose vaccine treatment more than six months ago will be eligible for a third shot from November 29.Booster shots will be Pfizer, the sole vaccine used in New Zealand to date, and funded by the government.Every Kiwi will be eligible for the top-up, though COVID-19 Minister Chris Hipkins said health and border workers would be prioritised "because they're on the front line".About 455,000 New Zealanders will in line for a...

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/world/2021/11/15/5679275/new-zealand-records-173-new-covid-19-cases

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The Reserve Bank of Australia is keeping a close eye on assets and investments on financial markets to ensure they are being correctly priced after the shock of the coronavirus pandemic.RBA head of domestic markets Marion Kohler said concerns around the economic effects of COVID-19 and the associated rise in uncertainty caused a sharp adjustment in securities prices."(But) the period of volatility was brief," she told an online conference on Tuesday."Risk premiums have increased in the initial phase by much less than during the global financial crisis, and were elevated for a shorter period."...

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/national-news/2021/11/23/5740516/rba-has-eye-on-market-pricing-post-covid

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Australia have vowed to take a more ruthless approach into the first Ashes Test starting on Wednesday, after taking their lessons from last summer's capitulation to India.The 2-1 series defeat to India marked the first time Australia had lost a home series after leading 1-0 since 1992-93.They were also on top in the final two Tests in Sydney and Brisbane, before India held on for a draw and then chased down 329 to win on day five at the Gabba.And players know that if they get on top of England this summer, they have to keep the advantage.Australia will enter as favourites at the Gabba, where...

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/other-sport/2021/12/06/5764079/australia-vow-a-ruthless-ashes-approach

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James Tedesco claims he's sick of the Sydney Roosters being victims of foul play, with Parramatta five-eighth Dylan Brown facing up to a four-game ban for appearing to thrust his knees into Drew Hutchison.The fallout from the Roosters' controversial 31-18 loss to the Eels continued on Saturday, after coach Trent Robinson called on the NRL to practise what they preach.Bunker official Steve Chiddy was dropped for the rest of the weekend, with head of football Graham Annesley "extremely unhappy".The bunker somehow missed Brown sliding knees-first into opposite number Hutchison, leaving him with...

http://www.sheppnews.com.au/rugby/2021/05/08/4233109/nrl-failed-to-back-up-crackdown-robinson

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Making the COVID-19 jab compulsory for all nursing home workers could tip an already strained sector over the edge, union leaders fear.But families want urgent action to protect their loved ones.Health Minister Greg Hunt told parliament on Tuesday that 57.5 per cent of Australia's aged care workforce have received a first dose.Daughter of COVID-positive aged care residents in the NSW suburb of Baulkham Hills, Kathie Melocco, says unvaccinated workers should not be caring for the elderly."They can issue those orders pretty damn quickly to keep us locked in our houses but they can't do this to...

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/national-news/2021/08/10/4864206/debate-rages-over-aged-care-vaccination

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A former Shepparton man who attacked his housemate with a coffee table leg has been placed on a community corrections order. Michael James Hogg pleaded guilty in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court to intentionally causing injury, intentionally...

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/police--court/2021/02/25/3312765/coffee-table-leg-used-in-attack-on-housemate

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NASA has scored a 21st-century Wright Brothers moment as it sent its miniature robot helicopter Ingenuity buzzing above the surface of Mars for nearly 40 seconds, marking the first powered controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet.Officials at the US space agency hailed the brief flight of the 1.8-kilogram rotorcraft as an achievement that would help pave the way for a new mode of aerial exploration on Mars and other destinations in the solar system, such as Venus and Saturn's moon Titan.The debut flight of Ingenuity, resembling a large metallic tissue box with four legs and a twin-...

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/world/2021/04/20/4148298/nasa-helicopter-takes-first-flight-on-mars

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When Sydney Roosters superstar James Tedesco was a high school student, he liked nothing better than watching Preston Campbell steer expansion club Gold Coast in the NRL.Tedesco admits the inaugural Titans team of 2007 featuring Campbell, Mat Rogers and Scott Prince was a favourite of his growing up.On Saturday it will be a new Campbell - Preston's son Jayden - featuring for the Titans against Tedesco's Roosters in an elimination final in Townsville.The Roosters No.1 didn't play when the Tricolours claimed a one-point win over a Titans team featuring Campbell at CBUS Super Stadium in June....

http://www.sheppnews.com.au/rugby/2021/09/08/5112496/tedesco-a-fan-of-young-titan-tyro-campbell

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Another $50 million will be spent trying to convince the 20 per cent of Australians who are reluctant to get a COVID-19 vaccination to change their minds.The federal government on Sunday launched a new campaign promoting an expanding network of vaccination sites, targeting a "younger" age group.Health Minister Greg Hunt said research showed a growing number of people were willing to be jabbed, as the nation looks to a 70-80 per cent fully vaccinated rate before easing lockdown and travel restrictions."Eighty-one per cent of people say they will be or intend to be vaccinated," Mr Hunt said."This...

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/national-news/2021/09/12/5143286/new-campaign-to-convince-jab-shy-aussies

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Residents who do not leave early on high-risk fire days are risking their lives, says the CFA. The fire authority's 2020 Bushfire Community Survey found only eight per cent of respondents planned to leave the area on days of high fire risk, with...

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/2021/01/05/2508091/cfa-urges-victorians-to-leave-early

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Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW) is reminding visitors to its lakes and water storages that the summer will, like many things, look a little different this year. COVID-19 guidelines require Victorians to maintain physical distancing of 1.5 metres...

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/2021/01/05/2507074/how-to-stay-covid-safe-in-goulburn-murray-waterways

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Murchison residents fear dangerous campfires and rubbish littered across River Rd campsites is a continuing trend despite public messaging to camp safely and responsibly this summer. One resident said he had seen “several campers do the wrong...

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/2021/01/05/2508256/murchison-residents-concerned-over-smouldering-campfires-rubbish

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A man who contacted the protected party of a family violence intervention order more than 8000 times in a two-month span has been sentenced to eight months imprisonment. At the Shepparton Magistrates’ Court, he pleaded guilty to a spate of...

http://www.sheppnews.com.au/police--court/2021/01/10/2565685/shepparton-man-sentenced-for-string-of-family-violence-order-breaches

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Agriculture Victoria is urging Shepparton residents to look after their canine workmates on utes, with scorching weather this summer posing a risk to our furry friends. District veterinary officer Jeff Cave said working dogs were a valuable asset to...

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/2021/01/11/2579156/sweltering-summer-a-risk-for-dogs-in-vehicles

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Tasked with leading the Australian men's rugby Sevens side to gold at the Tokyo Olympics, head coach Tim Walsh says the plan is simple.His side needs to prepare without regret.Walsh's team will contest an Olympics warm-up event this weekend against Fiji and New Zealand in the Oceania Sevens, and while they wont show their full hand the coach is buoyed at the prospect of preparing against the world's elite.Fiji are the reigning Olympic champions and New Zealand have dominated the international men's Sevens circuit, winning 13 titles.Information on global competition is scarce, and a heavy...

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/rugby/2021/06/22/4493943/crucial-test-for-rugby-sevens-olympic-team

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One long layoff was no problem for Ash Barty. She's got this year's Wimbledon championship to prove it.She's hoping to respond as well to another delay.The top-ranked Barty's second-round match in at the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati on Tuesday was postponed after two lengthy rain delays pushed back the schedule in the second full day of play.The Australian's match against qualifier Heather Watson would have been her first singles action in more than three weeks, since she lost in the first round at the Olympics.Barty started her run at Wimbledon after being sidelined for five weeks with a hip...

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/tennis/2021/08/18/4936995/well-rested-barty-delayed-by-ohio-rain

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COVID-safe Christmas Day celebrations have been held across Australia as the NSW government continues to grapple with a coronavirus outbreak in Sydney.No new locally transmitted coronavirus cases were reported in any state but NSW, where the government added another seven infections.More than 100 COVID-19 cases are linked to the cluster on Sydney's northern beaches.While the rest of country enjoyed Christmas gatherings with few restrictions, residents of the Sydney virus hotspot were only allowed to get together in limited numbers.NSW Health also issued a new alert on Friday afternoon flagging that 10 Sydney locations, four buses and a flight to Griffith had been visited by people infected with COVID-19.Authorities are most concerned about anyone who was at Chicago Jones Coffee & Chocolate Maison in Auburn on Sunday and passengers on the 2.10pm Regional Express flight from Sydney to Griffith on Monday.There's also growing concern about a potential cluster in the Sydney CBD centred on the Paragon Hotel near Circular Quay, with Santa photos at the QVB one of the locations flagged in the alert.Premier Gladys Berejikilian warned people to avoid the CBD if they could on Boxing Day, and if not to wear a mask."We'd prefer people did not go to the CBD because then you have people from all over Sydney coming to one location, and it only takes one or two cases for it to then spread everywhere else," Ms Berejiklian said."We know this is not the easiest message to give to those retailers."The NSW government gave northern beaches residents a three-day rules reprieve from lockdown over Christmas Eve, Christmas and Boxing Day.Residents north of the Narrabeen Bridge were able to welcome five people from the same area, while those in the south were allowed to have 10 visitors from anywhere.Victorians starved of family time for much of the year were able to host up to 30 visitors over the course of a single day since December 14.The state again recorded zero new locally acquired cases on Christmas Day, for the 56th day in a row.The other states and territories also reported no new locally transmitted cases on Friday, however a second crew member on a superyacht near Cairns tested positive for COVID-19.Queensland's only other cases were in hotel quarantine as it passed 101 days without a locally acquired case.Queenslanders and South Australians were allowed to gather in groups of up to 50 for Christmas, while Tasmanians could gather in double that amount.Western Australia, the ACT and Northern Territory have no visitor caps, but 1.5-metre social distancing was to be maintained in house settings.While many tucked into meals or shared gifts, thousands of Australians spent Christmas in hotel quarantine or isolating at home across the country.

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/national-news/2020/12/26/2430215/aussies-gather-for-covid-safe-christmas

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If you feel a pang of fear whenever you misplace your phone, you’re not the only one. Recently released Monash University research found 99.2 per cent of Australians have some level of anxiety towards being without their devices, and the...

http://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/2021/01/10/2539414/rising-phone-addiction-could-pose-risk

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Another fast food outlet is planned for the north end of Shepparton. A planning application has been lodged with Greater Shepparton City Council to build a Hungry Jacks outlet on vacant land at 203 Numurkah Rd. The site is on the south-bound side of...

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/2021/11/24/5742619/more-fast-food-set-for-sheppartons-north-end

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Clayton Oliver is a premiership player. The Mooroopna Football Club export — who grew up alongside the Murray River in Echuca — was a key cog in Saturday's grand final triumph for Melbourne. A flag 57 years in the making was the reward...

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/sport/2021/09/26/5267101/dee-lightful-day-for-demons

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One more round in the 60s at the Founders Cup is all Jin Young Ko needs to join Annika Sorenstam in the LPGA Tour record book.That might be all it takes to win the Founders Cup, too.Ko picked up her fourth birdie on the par-5 16th and closed with two pars for a 2-under 69, giving her a four-shot lead at Mountain Ridge as she tries to win for the third time this year.Major winners Minjee Lee (2-over 73) and Hannah Green (1-under 70) are best of the Australian contingent at 3-under with Su Oh (73, even) and Katherine Kirk (72, 1-over) further back.Saturday was another great day for Ko, who since...

http://www.sheppnews.com.au/golf/2021/10/10/5383047/big-lpga-tour-event-lead-for-jin-young-ko

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His putter finally cooperating, Adam Scott has surged into contention for a 15th US PGA Tour victory with a scintillating second round at the CJ Cup in Las Vegas.With two back-nine eagles and seven birdies, Scott carded a nine-under-par 63 to soar to 13 under for the championship to be in a four-way tie for second.The former world No.1 is level with Americans Jordan Spieth (65) and Harry Higgs (67), and South Korea's Seonghyeon (63).The quartet trail runaway halfway leader Keith Mitchell by five shots after the American backed up his opening 62 with a 64 on Friday to move to 18 under.But Scott...

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/golf/2021/10/16/5434753/scott-sizzles-to-surge-into-pga-tour-mix

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The Future Fund posted an annual return of 22.2 per cent in the year to June, the strongest result in its history.The fund - set up in 2006 to cover future superannuation liabilities of public servants - now stands at $196.8 billion, having earned $35.7 billion in 2020/21.Chair and architect of the fund Peter Costello said this was an "exceptional result" having posted a negative 0.9 per cent return a year earlier and at the height of the impact from COVID-19 on financial markets."It's been a wild year," Mr Costello told a media briefing on Thursday.The fund's 10-year return of 10.1 per cent...

http://www.sheppnews.com.au/national-news/2021/08/26/5008395/future-fund-edging-towards-200-billion

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Sudan's deposed prime minister has signed a deal with the military that will see him reinstated, almost a month after a military coup put him under house arrest.A key pro-democracy group that mobilised dozens of protests dismissed the deal as "a form of betrayal".The deal, announced on Sunday in a ceremony broadcast live on state TV, envisages an independent technocratic Cabinet to be led by Abdalla Hamdok until elections can be held.It remains unclear how much power the government would hold. It would still remain under military oversight.It also remains unclear whether any political parties...

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/world/2021/11/22/5735654/sudan-military-reinstates-deposed-pm

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New Zealand's fight against the COVID-19 Delta variant could be morphing from an Auckland-centric outbreak into a series of smaller clusters around the country.Case numbers appear to be holding steady, with 205 community cases on Monday, and the death of a man in his 40s at Auckland's Manukau Hospital.The rolling seven-day daily case average is 187, down from 197 last week."Things are looking like they're stabilising in Auckland," Dr Shaun Hendy, a COVID-19 modeller at cross-university research group Te Punaha Matatini, told Radio NZ."The R number, the effective reproductive number of the virus...

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/world/2021/11/22/5738434/auckland-covid-19-may-be-stabilising

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Italy have capped a dramatic rise under manager Roberto Mancini by winning the European championship as penalties came back to haunt England at Wembley.Italy's hero, giant goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, saved twice as the Azzurri won a penalty shootout 3-2 after Sunday's game finished 1-1 following extra time.Donnarumma saved from Jadon Sancho and, decisively, from Bukayo Saka after Marcus Rashford hit the post, as Federico Bernardeschi, Leonardo Bonucci and Domenico Berardi all scored for the Italians in the shootout.Luke Shaw had given England a dream start with a superb goal after two...

http://www.sheppnews.com.au/soccer/2021/07/12/4664727/italy-beat-england-in-euro-final-shootout

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Labor is planning a fresh move in parliament to maintain the renewable energy focus of Australia's green bank.The federal government has survived several attempts to strike out regulations allowing the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to invest in low emissions technologies including carbon capture and storage and hydrogen made with the use of fossil-fuel generated energy.ARENA can still make its own investment decisions based on merit.Labor energy and climate change spokesman Chris Bowen told a business audience on Tuesday that the "doubtful legality" of the regulations will be part of the...

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/national-news/2021/08/10/4869709/labor-plans-fresh-tilt-at-green-bank-rules

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