BEN Dean’s carer was left relieved when she discovered he had been found safe and well.  Read more.

THE mother of a Beechworth boy missing in wet and cold conditions for about 18 hours has thanked those who joined the search for him. Read more.

WATER will continue to rush downstream of Lake Hume after another flood gate was opened at the dam wall. Read more.

THE former Corowa Council made a “commercial in confidence” decision before being shut down to allow Cleanaway to investigate the Howlong tip as a suitable location for a compost plant. Read more.

BRANT Dickson doesn’t care if he plays back, forward or on the ball on Sunday. Read more.

It looks like there's more rain on the way tomorrow.

Need a national news snapshot first thing - well, we have you covered. 

►ILLAWARRA: Police have charged a Blackbutt teen with dangerous driving following a crash at Windang on Wednesday that killed 18-year-old Jesse Brown. Read more

►BORDER: Six-year-old Ben Dean is now safe after police, SES and locals spent 18 hours searching near Beechworth when he disappeared from his family’s Wooragee property about 5pm Wednesday. Read more

►VICTORIA: The Avoca River was expected to peak at Charlton Charlton on Thursday morning. Picture Noni Hyettovernight as the flooding crisis across Victoria continues to unfold. Updates, photos, video

►TAMWORTH: A Tamworth man faces up to life in prison after he was charged with allegedly dealing more than $350,000 worth of ice exposed in an undercover police sting. Read more

► WAGGA: A political bun fight – of sorts – has broken out over where the iconic Aussie snack the Chiko Roll calls home. Wagga’s claim to be the home of the Chiko Roll is now being challenged by Nationals federal MP Andrew Gee, who used his maiden speech to parliament this week to pounce on the fact the deep-fried delight has been manufactured at Bathurst in his electorate since 1995. Read more

► STAWELL: When Adrian and Tanya Seeary took their 12-year-old son Caleb to the Stawell Medical Centre over complaints of fatigue, stomach and chest pain they never expected to hear the words, "open heart surgery". Read more 

►TUNCURRY: A badly decomposed body has been found in bushes behind sand dunes on Nine Mile Beach. Read more 

►Salaries for Australian teachers peak far quicker than in most other developed countries because our pay system offers little monetary reward for highly skilled or highly experienced teachers. Read more

►Three people were taken to hospital after a bus full of peak hour commuters caught fire at Milsons Point, temporarily closing all lanes of the Sydney Harbour Bridge last night. Read more

►The NSW government has been accused of sneaking through plans to privatise the operation of a further five hospitals across the state. Read more

► The RAAF wants to close bases at Richmond in western Sydney and Laverton outside Melbourne in a move that could shift hundreds of defence personnel to other states but free up large tracts of land for development. Read more

►BALI: Bali police have confirmed a second woman has died after an explosion on an Australian-made ferry travelling between East Bali and the Gili islands on Thursday. Read more

►UK: Psychological tricks used by governments to "nudge" how citizens behave may soon be applied to the contentious area of living wills and end-of-life decisions. Read more

►PHILIPPINES: A confessed death squad member has testified that controversial Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the killings of criminals and political opponents and Muslims when he was mayor of the southern city of Davao. Read more

1770: Captain Cook becomes the first European to note the appearance of the Aurora Australis.

1908: General Motors Corporation (GM) is founded in the USA. 

1956: Australia's first television broadcast is made by TCN Channel 9 in Sydney. 

1975: Papua New Guinea is granted full independence from Australia. 

1982: Over 1000 Palestinian refugees are massacred by Lebanese Maronite Christians.

You don’t leave a mate behind.

They were the only words racing through the mind of Shane Roche as he paddled furiously toward his mate Dale Carr who had just been savaged by a three metre white pointer shark off Lighthouse Beach.

The incident occurred last year, but for both men, the trauma of that day travels with them every time they step back into the water.

The pair are raising awareness about the impacts of post traumatic stress disorder, encouraging anyone who is struggling to seek out a mate and talk. Read more