Expect it to continue throughout the morning, with a severe weather warning in place. Bendigo has a max temperature of 19, Maryborough 19, Castlemaine 18, Redesdale 19, and Echuca 19.

Stay safe on the roads!

The federal government will fund a suite of new CCTV cameras in Bendigo, a move it says will crack down on crime inside the CBD. More here.

It is with a sense of irony that the roads surrounding Wireless Street, Kangaroo Flat, all have access to the National Broadband Network. Residents on the southern side of Wireless Street itself, however, do not even have access to landlines. More here.

It is believed an 82-year-old Ardeer man launched his boat from boat ramp 2, off Sunset Drive, sometime after 6.30am on Thursday. The man’s body was found in water, close to shore at the same boat ramp, by returning fishermen about 12.20pm. More here.

When the Bendigo Tech School opens in mid-2018 it will not only be the specialist STEM teachers providing the lessons, but the building itself. “Because it’s about science, technology, engineering and maths we wanted to use the building as what we call the third teacher,” project leader John Geary said. More here.

Richmond VFL coach Craig McRae has heaped praise on Kyneton youngster Max O'Sullivan following his Tigers debut last Sunday. More here.

MORE BENDIGO NEWS, CLICK HERE

► Wagga, NSW: A woman’s tireless quest to bring the Wagga Rural Referral Hospital back to “base-ics” has continued to gain traction. 

Catherine Pierce has now reached 1300 signatures on her petition to rename the city landmark the Wagga Base Hospital. 

Ms Pierce was motivated to pursue the change after she was trapped in a hospital elevator because the operator did not know what the Wagga Rural Referral Hospital was. 

► Nelson Bay, NSW: The Nelson Bay branch of the Commonwealth Bank will close its doors on May 5.

The bank will continue to service customers through its Salamander Bay branch and even maintain its CBD ATMs but the Nelson Bay branch ‘no longer adds up’.

“Commonwealth Bank regularly reviews its branch footprint, including opening new branches, installing new technology, refurbishing, relocating and, in some instances, closing branches,” a CBA spokesperson said. 

► Young, NSW: Sergeant Jim Prentice of Cootamundra LAC Highway Patrol said police were pleased the Local Area Command was fatality free over the Easter long weekend period.

Despite the number of driving offences and tickets issued in the Cootamundra LAC over the weekend, Sergeant Prentice said that other than a few minor accidents the local roads overall were fatality free.

► Wagga, NSW: One of Wagga’s leading criminal lawyers has backed Highway Patrol’s decision to reportedly cease mobile drug testing. 

David Barron believes current roadside testing is skewed against drug users – rather than drug drivers – and acts as a “bit of a revenue raiser”. 

“In relation to detecting whether a drug is simply present or not, it tends to be less about road safety and more about money,” he said.

► Tamworth, NSW: Darren Jones has been remembered as a devoted family man and an unrivalled horseman, as hundreds farewelled the jockey at the very place his 30-year career began.

Jones tragically died in a three-jockey fall at the Warialda Cup meeting on April 8. 

Family, friends, colleagues and members of the racing fraternity from all over the state converged on Tamworth Jockey Club to farewell the 50-year-old father-of-two on Thursday afternoon.

► Tasmania: The plan to use Tasmania as a “battery for the nation” was announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during a visit to the Trevallyn Power Station on Thursday.

Hydro Tasmania's chief executive Steve Davy welcomed the investigation into expanding Tasmania’s hydropower system and using the state’s expertise to ensure energy security.

What does it look like in your neck of the woods today?

► Jakarta: Jakarta's embattled Christian and ethnically Chinese governor could escape being jailed for blasphemy after prosecutors only requested he serve two years' probation for allegedly insulting Islam.

A day after Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama was decisively defeated in a bitterly sectarian gubernatorial election by former education minister Anies Baswedan, he was forced to front the blasphemy trial that derailed his electability.

► Cairo: Egypt has been locked in a battle to control Islamic State for several years and especially since President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 but the country has been unable to contain the terrorists' almost weekly attacks.

After killing 47 worshippers at churches in two cities in Egypt a little over a week ago, the terrorist group struck again on Tuesday, this time in the tourist hot spot of southern Sinai.

In a bid to bring mothers together and make a difference in the community, Mandurah mother of two, blogger and good Samaritan Melanie Edge has brought Babes + Picnics Australia to Mandurah.

The Babes + Picnics initiative was created in Brisbane in November 2016 by resident Lucia De Melo, who hoped to support and assist mothers in a non-judgmental environment while raising funds for local not-for-profit organisations.

Tired of having to go up to Perth for big mum gatherings, Ms Edge became WA’s fifth Babes + Picnics ambassador recently and decided to bring the initiative down to Mandurah.

► TWITTER:

► INSTAGRAM:

753 BC Romulus and Remus found Rome (traditional date).

1526 Battle at Panipat: Central Asian conqueror Babur defeats Sultan Ibrahim Lodi, establishing the Mughal Empire in India

1792 Brazilian revolutionary Tiradentes, is hanged, drawn and quartered in Rio de Janeiro

1863 Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith, enters gardens of Rivden, near Baghdad. Makes the declaration of aha'u'llah during 12 days spent there

1918 World War I: German fighter ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen "The Red Baron", shot down and killed over Vaux sur Somme in France, Canadian pilot Arthur Roy Brown credited with the kill

1989 Thousands of Chinese crowd into Beijing's Tiananmen Square cheering students demanding greater political freedom