News from Tasmania
Launceston weather forecast: The heavy rain that woke the city this morning is expected to ease later in the day. The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting between 15 and 35mm of rain, with northwesterly winds at 45 to 55km/h, dropping to 25 to 40km/h. The temperature is expected to hit 17 degrees.
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The Examiner’s top stories
The search for closure Just tell us where Lucille’s remains are, please. Those were the words of John Fitzgerald outside the Hobart Magistrates Court on Monday after a coroner named his former neighbour and childhood playmate as the killer of his beloved girlfriend.
Police probe hotel armed hold-up, hit A woman was punched in the head during a violent armed hold-up at the TRC Hotel in Launceston on Sunday morning.
New app supports ballroom dancing Tasmania’s only ballroom dancing competition has secured a new naming rights sponsor in What’s On In.
Storage levels hit 13% Tasmania’s energy storages have increased for the first time since September last year, with rain helping levels increase to 13 per cent.
Newcomer steps back to take a leap forward When Brady Squires first landed at North Launceston to embark on his first harsh preseason, the George Town recruit wondered had he made the right decision to cross clubs and leagues.
State of the nation
Need a national news snapshot first thing - well, we have you covered.
► HOBART: Coroner Simon Cooper has named convicted rapist and murderer Geoffrey Charles Hunt as the killer of Lucille Butterworth. In handing down his findings, Coroner Cooper said he found Hunt offered Ms Butterworth a ride home to New Norfolk on August 25, 1969. More here.
► WODONGA: Drug drivers are increasingly putting lives at risk as police reveal the number of motorists caught in Wodonga last year nearly doubled. Highway patrol members detected 256 people in the city on either methamphetamine or cannabis, or both, in 2015. More here.
► WIMMERA: An early autumn break has made Wimmera farmers optimistic about the season ahead. But with cropping now in full swing across the region, other growers largely missed out on the downpour and will continue to dry sow. More here.
► MORUYA: The daughter of a US woman found safe in rugged bushland west of Moruya has thanked the rescue party. “I cannot say thank-you enough to everyone who got involved; My heart feels full of love and I'm so happy my little family is reunited. Love to everyone.” More here.
► KIAMA DOWNS: A large fundraising push is underway in support of shark attack survivor Brett Connellan. The Kiama Downs surfer has spent a month recuperating in St George Hospital after suffering serious injuries to his hand and thigh in an encounter with a great white shark at Bombo Beach, March 30. More here.
► MANDURAH: Commerce minister Michael Mishcin has revealed legal proceedings have been initiated against parties involved in an accident in which two Mandurah school children received massive electric shocks from a fallen powerline in 2015, but has not said who would be facing charges. More here.
► BUNBURY: A Bunbury soldier who features in one of the most iconic images from the First World War has been formally identified by family members during a talk at the Bunbury Museum and Heritage Centre. More here.
► WHYALLA: A local dog groomer is aiming to bring back the Million Paws Walk in Whyalla after a 10-year hiatus. Fiona Slaven is organising the event to be held next month, with support from the Whyalla RSPCA and the Whyalla City Council. More here.
► PORT MACQUARIE: The countdown to the closure of the historic Hastings River Fisherman's Co-operative Ltd is underway. The iconic site will close its doors on May 31 and the building will be demolished. More here.
National news
► A former federal government adviser has escaped conviction after he pleaded guilty to offensive behaviour and drug possession following a "bizarre" incident at Canberra Airport last year. Stephen John Ellis, 48, a former journalist and senior NBN adviser, resigned from the office of then-communications minister Malcolm Turnbull after his arrest in May last year. More here.
► The world would "do very well to have" Kevin Rudd as United Nations Secretary General (UNSG) and "Australia ought to be proud to have him as a candidate," one of the world's leading economists says. Lord Nicholas Stern has given the former prime minister a glowing endorsement ahead of Mr Rudd's expected official nomination for the job in coming months. More here.
► The writer-producer of an upcoming Port Arthur massacre movie says Australia's gun laws should be relaxed, backing the Shooters and Fishers push to stifle calls for tighter regulation. Paul Moder announced his plans to shoot a film about the convicted mass murderer Martin Bryant in the lead up to the 20th anniversary of the horrific event that triggered Australia's radical reforms to gun ownership. More here.
► For generations of Aussie children, your chocolate milk could define you. Milo was standard. Quick was wild and carefree. And then there was Akta-Vite: the ridgy-didge, 100 per cent Aussie health-food choc-milk. Now, more than three decades after it was sold to American frozen-food empire Sara Lee, Akta-Vite is coming back to the family. More here.
National weather radar
International news
► DENPASAR: An Australian man accused the media of lying after he was jailed for 16 months over an assault at Bali's most notorious nightclub. Scott Dobson, 53, had consistently denied stomping on Canadian Kenneth James Wickes, a business development advisor at Sky Garden, who approached him after a dispute over his drinks bill. More here.
► BEIJING: The national peak body representing the legal profession in Australia has urged the federal government not to ratify an extradition treaty with China, citing concerns the mainland's criminal justice system lacked procedural fairness and was "steadily marching in the wrong direction". More here.
► WASHINGTON: Did you hear the one about the President taking the mickey out of would-be Republican president Donald Trump? At the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington on Saturday evening, Barack Obama had this to say about the man behind the Miss Universe pageant: "The Republican establishment is incredulous that he's their most likely nominee – they say he lacks foreign policy experience. In fairness, [Trump] has spent years meeting with leaders from around the world: Miss Sweden, Miss Argentina, Miss Azerbaijan ... " More here.
On this day
The faces of Australia: Isobel McEwan
Bentleys Aged Care resident Isobel McEwan and her daughter shared a moment as the candles on the giant sponge cake before them flickered out.
They were surrounded by friends and well-wishers on Thursday to mark Mrs McEwan’s 100th birthday.
As the centre’s staff cut up the cake, people passed around a signed letter from the Queen.
How did Mrs McEwan feel to have lived for more than a century?
“Stunned,” she said with a chuckle.