​►MAITLAND: An Abermain resident who nearly lost his property in this week’s blaze says anyone who intentionally starts a bushfire is “sick”.

Police say the fire, which burnt more than 800 hectares of land at Abermain as it headed towards Kurri Kurri, was deliberately lit. Investigators are looking for two men, about 183cm tall, and a juvenile who was seen leaving the area on a trike.

​►BENDIGO: Bendigo International Madison chief executive officer Rik William McCaig has fronted court charged with four counts of corruption.

McCaig, 47, appeared at the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Thursday following an investigation by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission.

►WOLLONGONG: Nicolas Saravanja may have won a Pacific island resort in a raffle earlier this year but he wasn’t going to miss his date to graduate from a commerce degree – with his proud family watching on.

►BALLARAT: Ballarat had one of the worst theft rates in regional Victoria, according to the latest official crime data. 

The statistics from the Crime Statistics Agency, which were collected from October 1, 2015, to September 30, 2016, showed a 12.7 per cent increase in the number of thefts in Ballarat.

►JIMBOOMBA: A south-east Queensland councillor has been charged and stood down after being accused of defrauding a Brisbane business of more than $180,000.

Police allege Logan City Division 6 councillor Stacey Lee McIntosh, 34, stole more than $180,000 from an engineering company in Coopers Plains.

►ORANGE: For the convenience of paying for a sandwich or a pie at Orange High School’s canteen with an EFTPOS card, it will cost you.

►CANBERRA: Two Liberal MPs who lost their seats at the federal election and a former Labor speaker are among those tapped for plum positions in George Brandis's latest round of appointments.

Former Liberal MPs Russell Matheson and Andrew Nikolic, who were voted out at the 2016 elections, former Labor Speaker Anna Burke and retired Labor Senator Linda Kirk were among the 17 appointees to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

►MELBOURNE: The concrete silos beneath the Nylex sign could be saved as the site's developer revises plans to placate the state's heritage authority.

Heritage Victoria is considering removing an exemption for the site that would have allowed the 1962 silos to be knocked over.

Check out what’s expected near you today.

►BANGKOK: The chairman of Australian gold miner Kingsgate says the forced shutdown of its mine in central Thailand has sent a "horrendous" message to potential foreign investors in the military-run nation. 

LONDON: Rolf Harris will be a 'virtual defendant' at his sex assault trial next year, in what a judge said may be a British legal first.

In a pre-trial hearing on Thursday at Southwark Crown court, judge Alistair McCreath ruled that given the age and health of Harris, who is 86, exceptional circumstances justified his attendance by video link.

2013 It was reported that Miley Cyrus had insured her infamous tongue for $1 million.

2001 Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens

1993 Schindler’s List opens, wins Spielberg his first Oscar

1969 Nixon announces additional U.S. troop withdrawals

1915 British begin evacuation of Gallipoli

For 26 years, Frances Jardine has helped the community organisation make life a little easier for the widows and children of deceased service personnel.

Now the administration officer is retiring to enjoy more time with her own family, which includes nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

“You’ve got to make a decision sometime, haven’t you?” she said. “And I would like to leave on a happy note. It’s just been so much fun.”