1. Mother of Queensland woman killed in Bali scooter accident writes plea to authorities to release daughter’s boyfriend.
They'd been celebrating a friend's wedding, as so many Australians do, in Kuta, Bali.
It was Monday morning and Sophia Martini, 27, from Townsville, Queensland boarded the scooter her boyfriend, Steele Nugent was driving. They were likely smiling, laughing, hot in the tropical humidity. They both put on helmets.
As they were driving through the town, Martini fell off the back of the scooter and suffered head injuries and heavy blood loss, Nine News reports. She was rushed to hospital where she later died.
Martini's heartbroken mother wrote to the Indonesian authorities pleading them not to charge her daughter's partner, who was initially detained for questioning.
"Ms Martini’s mother said that Steele and her daughter have a special relationship and she hopes that we would not process the case. She also asked to be allowed to take her daughter’s body to Australia," Denpasar Traffic Chief, Commissioiner Rahmawaty Ismail told Seven West Media.
Ismail said her request will be considered as the investigation continues. Authorities want to determine if alcohol played a part in the incident, which didn't involve any other vehicles.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is also providing consular assitance to the Martini's family and to Nugent who, it's reported, cannot leave the island until the investigation is complete.
Meanwhile tributes for the 27-year-old are flowing in on social media.
"We will all miss Soph terribly, a shining light of fun and always smiling. She particularly liked the most challenging of work outs, pushing herself and encouraging others along with her with that determined gentle spirit," one post read.
"We love you Soph and will never forget you. Rest in Peace."
2. Miracle as rescuers find school girl alive amongst Mexico's earthquake rubble.
Rescuers are working frantically to dig a young girl out from under the rubble of a partially collapsed school amid devastation from a major earthquake that has killed at least 225 people across central Mexico.
Television network Televisa broadcast the rescue attempt live on Wednesday after crews at the school in southern Mexico City reported finding the girl, seeing her move her hand and threading a hose through debris to get her water, AAP reports.
The effort to rescue the girl is part of a search for dozens of victims feared buried beneath the Enrique Rebsamen school, where local officials reported 21 children and four adults dead after Tuesday's quake. The school is one of hundreds of buildings destroyed by the country's deadliest earthquake in a generation.
The magnitude 7.1 quake, which killed at least 94 people in the capital alone, struck 32 years to the day after a 1985 earthquake that killed thousands.
As rescue efforts continued at the school, emergency crews, volunteers and bystanders toiled elsewhere using dogs, cameras and heat-seeking equipment to detect survivors.
3. Victoria's assisted dying bill to hit Parliament.
More details of Victoria's assisted dying laws are expected to be revealed, with the bill to be read in parliament.
Health Minister Jill Hennessy introduced the bill on Wednesday and is expected to give her speech pushing the changes on Thursday.
The government says it will create the most "conservative", self-administered assisted dying scheme in the world.
Only adult Victorians suffering a terminal illness and with less than 12 months to live will be able to access the scheme, which will also have penalties including life jail terms for anyone caught breaking the rules.
After the second reading of the bill, it will go to debate in October, with a vote expected by the end of 2017.
4. Kate Middleton to make first public appearance since her pregnancy announcement.
The Duchess of Cambridge is hoping to make her first public appearance since news broke of her third pregnancy by attending a Buckingham Palace reception next month.
Kate has been forced to miss a number of events, including her son Prince George's first day at school, after suffering severe morning sickness, hyperemesis gravidarum, an illness she experienced during her first two pregnancies.
But the Duchess has been named by Kensington Palace, alongside husband William and Prince Harry, as the royal hosts of the October 10 reception, celebrating the contribution of those working in the mental health sector across the UK.
The Buckingham Palace engagement is just under three weeks away and it appears Kate is anticipating being well enough to attend.
5. Australian man who "married" 14-year-old girl to be sentenced in first case in Australia.
A man who married a 14-year-old girl in Melbourne is due to be sentenced in what is the first such prosecution in Australia.
Mohammad Shakir, 35, wed the schoolgirl in an Islamic ceremony at a suburban Noble Park mosque in September 2016, giving her gold valued at $1480 as a dowry.
He has pleaded guilty to marrying an underage person, a charge carrying a maximum five years in jail.
The County Court has been told authorities warned Shakir the day before the ceremony that it was illegal for the girl to wed. Judge Lisa Hannan is scheduled to sentence Shakir at midday.
6. Healthy diet prevents birth of big babies, even in cases of gestational diabetes.
A healthy diet alone can control gestational diabetes and doesn't put the mother at greater risk of having a big baby, an Australian study has found.
Dr Fatima Vally led the study at the Royal Women's Hospital and says the "exciting" findings - published in the Journal of Pregnancy - should provide reassurance to the one in 10 pregnant women who will develop diabetes during their pregnancy.
"For women who control their diabetes with diet, we found that they didn't have bigger babies compared to women without the condition," Dr Vally told AAP.
Women with gestational diabetes can face an up to 50 per cent increased risk of having a large baby, which can cause serious complications such as injury to the baby and mother during delivery.
"We know big babies may have a greater tendency to get stuck in labour which can cause injury to both the baby and mother, so it's a really important outcome to look at," Dr Vally said.
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Top Comments
To clarify the gestational diabetes line "a healthy diet alone can control gestational diabetes" - yes healthy diet may control/prevent excessive growth of the baby however diet alone does not always 'control' gestational diabetes. I've had it twice and even though I stuck to the prescribed healthy diet, stress levels were an equally big factor in effecting my insulin levels.
So for all the pregnant ladies who need insulin injections to manage your diabetes because diet alone is not controlling your sugar levels, don't feel disheartened - you're not doing anything wrong if diet alone doesn't control your diabetes.