Good morning. Here are your headlines from around regional Australia and beyond. Scroll down and refresh for weather, road reports and more.
BUNBURY: A Bunbury man serving a prison term for bashing a kangaroo to death with a crowbar faced the local magistrates court on Thursday on separate charges.
Craig Jamie House was jailed earlier this year for the shocking attack which happened near Bunbury. Read more.
SECRET HARBOUR: Mandurah detectives are continuing their investigation into a shooting incident in Secret Harbour on April 13.
According to police, around 7pm three cars, a red Nissan Pathfinder four-wheel-drive, a red ute and a black sedan, were in the surf beach carpark on Secret Harbour Boulevard when an altercation took place between the occupants of the vehicles. Read more.
BUSSELTON: Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said it would be counter-intuitive for Main Roads to trial closing an overtaking lane on Bussell Highway during peak periods and the proposal would not be supported by her agency. Read more.
GAS BAY: A shark sighting at Gas Bay, south of Margaret River townsite on Thursday morning had all surfers in the area leaving the water with onlookers fearful of a repeat of the fatal shark attack in Esperance just a few days prior. Read more.
SOUTH WEST: Joondalup Martial Arts (JMA) co-founder Colin Luthwood will have his mental strength and physical endurance put to the test when he runs from Perth to Margaret River to raise awareness for suicide prevention. Read more.
LAKE CLIFTON: The City of Mandurah, Peel Harvey Catchment Council and Lake Clifton locals have moved to protect one of the country’s most important biodiversity hotspots, as its future remains under question. Read more.
State of the nation
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.
“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.
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.
Eye on the weather
What does it look like in your neck of the woods today?
World news:
► 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.
Faces of Australia
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.
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On this day …
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