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Threats to police earn man two months in jail
A Ballarat man who threatened to get a friend to "blow" a police officer's head off will be released after spending 62 days behind bars. Read more.
The Doctor Blake Mysteries exhibits unveiled
A carefully prepared exhibit at Ballarat’s Gold Museum give fans of the region’s biggest show a close look at its sets, costumes and 1950s’ car. Read more.
Two former Ballarat boys to debut for Brisbane Lions
North Ballarat Rebels draftees Hugh McCluggage and Jarrod Berry will make their AFL debuts for the Brisbane Lions against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium on Sunday. Read more.
Council tight lipped over AFL transport
A plan to transport the expected 11,000 football fans to and from the Western Bulldogs’ inaugural AFL home-and-away clash at Eureka Stadium remains uncertain. Read more.
Daylesford house sells for $2 million
Lifestyle buyers are flocking to Victoria's spa country with a number of trophy homes changing hands at very strong prices in the past few months. Read more.
Weather
It might almost feel like summer but that's not going to last long.
Need a national news snapshot first thing - well, we have you covered.
SYDNEY ROYAL EASTER SHOW: Heading for the Sydney Royal Easter Show? Here’s some tips to help you $ave money.
Regional news
► ILLAWARRA: It’s perhaps the only issue that has the Greens calling for more shooting, and shooters preferring the existing restrictions.
The problem of a feral deer population which has “exploded” across New South Wales could be dealt with by a simple change in the law, environmentalists told MPs yesterday. Full story.
► RAYMOND TERRACE: Police say a significant drug supply network, which allegedly included making its own ecstasy and “blue scissor” pills, has been dismantled following a six-month investigation by crack Newcastle City drug squad detectives. Full story.
► MURRAY BRIDGE: The victim of a home invasion in Murray Bridge this week fought back at two men who have since been arrested over the break-in. Full story.
►TASMANIA: Almost 2000 men drowned in the past decade and one in four of those victims had been drinking. That is the message being spread through a confronting new campaign, launched by the Royal Life Saving Society. Full story.
►DALTON: Energy company AGL walked into a world of hostility when it hosted a public information night at Dalton on Wednesday. Full story.
►BALLARAT: Ballarat tourism campaigns have been named among the best through a national award for the Marketing Team of the Year. Full story.
National news
►SYDNEY ROYAL EASTER SHOW: Stockman Murray Wilkinson has developed his own secret language of whistles that he uses to direct as many as nine working cattle dogs at the same time.
"One dog can do the work of six to eight men," he said. "And I have never had a dog call in sick on Monday. They are available rain, hail and shine, and they work for a bit of kibble, a few pats and affection." Full story.
►ANZAC DAY: Travellers making the annual trek to Gallipoli for Anzac Day are being warned that authorities have "received information" to indicate terrorists want to launch an attack on the commemoration. Full story.
►CANBERRA: Liberal Party campaign operatives are dismayed that Tony Abbott has taken little part in the defence of two state seats located inside his federal electorate of Warringah, both of which are up for byelections on Saturday. Full story.
►SYDNEY: On Thursday, the cameras were flipped on A Current Affair's Ben McCormack, when the 42-year-old became the highest profile arrest yet of a NSW police taskforce that uses undercover stings to catch alleged online predators. Full story.
National weather radar
World news
►WASHINGTON: He has the economic power and the military might of the US behind him, but as Donald Trump receives Chinese leader Xi Jinping at his Florida resort Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, worries persist that the US president hasn't done his homework. Full story.
►BANGKOK: Myanmar de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has denied the ethnic cleansing of her country's Rohingya Muslims, contradicting the findings of United Nations investigators who have cited evidence of atrocities by security forces. Full story.
►PHILIPPINES: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered troops to live on up to 10 unoccupied islands and reefs in the South China Sea in a dramatic reversal of policy on the flashpoint waters. Full story.
On this day
1994 - Civil war erupted in Rwanda between the Patriotic Front rebel group and government soldiers. Hundreds of thousands were slaughtered in the months that followed.
1985 - Wham! became the first Western act to play in China.
1997 - An Amsterdam university began offering a course entitled "Madonna 101."
1998 - Mary Bono, the widow of Sonny Bono, won a special election to serve out the remainder of her husband's congressional term.
1998 - George Michael was arrested in a public restroom in Beverly Hills for lewd conduct. He was sentenced to community service for the incident.
2000 - U.S. President Clinton signed the Senior Citizens Freedom to Work Act of 2000. The bill reversed a Depression-era law and allows senior citizens to earn money without losing Social Security retirement benefits.
2006 - The Boeing X-37 conducted its first flight as a test drop at Edwards Air Force Base, CA.
Faces of Australia: Kelvin Madden
A 50-year career with an ‘average of 120’ would be considered amazing stats in any sport or profession. But when it comes to something as taxing on the human body as shearing, it’s almost unbelievable.
Kelvin Madden started shearing sheep at age 16. Now 65, he’s going to retire ‘fit’ after bringing up his half century, having shorn tens of thousands of rams, ewes and wethers on farms and stations across the east coast of Australia. Full story and video.