http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/sydney/ en-us Wed, 23 Dec 2009 08:45:04 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413601/posts A WOMAN has been charged with leaving her toddler locked inside a car in scorching temperatures while she went shopping, forcing passers by to rescue him. Shopkeepers used a hammer to smash their way into a four-wheel drive and rescue the screaming youngster in the car park of a shopping centre at McGraths Hill in northwest Sydney on Tuesday. The temperature inside the car was estimated to be more than 60 degrees Celsius. The boy's 34-year-old mother was interviewed at Windsor Police Station this afternoon and charged with leaving a child unsupervised in a motor vehicle. The Daily Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413601/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 08:45:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406481/posts NSW Police have expressed disgust after tallying more than 300 arrests on the second night of a massive crackdown on alcohol-fuelled violence. The police were confronted with brawls, assaults and robberies across the state on Saturday during their high-profile campaign against anti-social behaviour. Operation Unite, launched on Friday, nabbed another 307 people on Saturday night, with 509 charges laid. A statement issued by the force on Sunday said officers were "disgusted" at the level of alcohol-related violence and anti-social behaviour. One officer was even headbutted. The Daily Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406481/posts#comment Sun, 13 Dec 2009 06:55:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400791/posts SNIPPET: "AUSTRALIA'S most notorious terrorist Willie Brigitte will be free from jail next year having served less than half his sentence for conspiring to blow up the nation's only nuclear reactor and the power grid. The Caribbean-born Muslim convert made headlines in 2007 when he was sentenced in France to a maximum nine years, following his arrest in Sydney, for joining an al-Qaida-backed Pakistani terror cell out to bomb Lucas Heights nuclear plant, the national electricity grid or a military base. The French Justice Ministry is considering releasing the 41-year-old, on an early-release good-behaviour plan." HERALD SUN.com.au http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400791/posts#comment Sat, 5 Dec 2009 06:37:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2395321/posts After 18 days on the run, Antony Waterlow has been charged with the murder of his father and sister following a dramatic standoff with police in Sydney bushland. The 42-year-old had been the subject of a massive police manhunt after the stabbing deaths. The search ended with a siege in bushland near Colo Heights in Sydney's northwest on Friday afternoon, when he threatened to harm himself with a knife as police approached. "After negotiations with local police the male placed the weapon down and surrendered to police," head of the investigation Acting Superintendent Dennis Bray told reporters. Without naming Waterlow,... Nine News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2395321/posts#comment Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:08:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2363653/posts This was a case like no other. Not only was it the longest criminal trial in Australian legal history, it was conducted under the tightest security and was almost derailed by one young woman. Each morning, the prison van would arrive at the court in a convoy under police escort. A busy Parramatta street was closed for a few minutes while the prison van sped down a steep driveway flanked by Extreme High Security Corrective Services Officers wearing flak jackets and armed with semi-automatic weapons. Inside, there was the usual baggage screening in the foyer, but up on Level Three... Australian Broadcasting Corporation http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2363653/posts#comment Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:27:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2344571/posts My Op-ed in The Australian By Leah Farrall, Australia I have an op-ed piece out in today’s edition of The Australian called “Detentions come back to bite” It’s about Guantanamo blowback now having very real strategic consequences: the formation of a new strategy to kidnap civilians in Afghanistan in order to secure the release of prisoners taken by America. Sally Neighbour has a front page piece derived from my op-ed here “Afghan foreigner kidnap order by al Qaeda leader Mustafa Hamid”. I haven’t seen the broadsheet yet, so I’m not sure if the photos I provided of Hamid are on... ALL THINGS COUNTERTERRORISM http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2344571/posts#comment Mon, 21 Sep 2009 06:28:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2338884/posts MILITARY bases and navy ships will be turned into virtual fortresses under plans to beef-up security in the wake of a major terrorist plot. Taxi drivers and other members of the public will be banned from entering military bases without getting high-level clearance after an urgent review found Australia's frontline defence facilities were among the least protected in the world. The top-secret review also found Australia's top defence brass would be vulnerable to a terrorist strike and recommended their leafy military showpiece, at Duntroon in Canberra, be turned into a secure compound. Among sweeping reforms, the review calls for bases... The Daily Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2338884/posts#comment Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:35:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2335013/posts A series of raids and arrests in Western Sydney last night led to a stand-off between police and a crowd of locals throwing bottles. The Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad carried out three raids on the same street at Auburn. It is investigating who shot a 23-year-old, who turned up at Auburn Hospital on Sunday night with a gunshot wound to the chest. During one of the raids, a 25-year-old man punched an officer in the face and was arrested. Police inspector Mick Reynolds says the man's arrest triggered an angry response from about 150 residents. "There was a lot... Australian Broadcasting Corporation http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2335013/posts#comment Wed, 9 Sep 2009 00:28:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2309350/posts Anti-nuclear campaigners have marked the 64th anniversary of the world's first atomic attack with a plea for Australia to reconsider its uranium exports. A single nuclear bomb dropped by the Americans on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, killed some 140,000 people. They died instantly or in the days and weeks that followed as radiation and horrific burns took their toll. Three days later, the US dropped a second nuclear bomb on Nagasaki, which killed another 70,000 people. Japan surrendered on August 15, ending World War II. American scientist Steve Starr and the Sydney-based People for Nuclear... Nine News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2309350/posts#comment Thu, 6 Aug 2009 04:04:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2307450/posts POLICE this morning arrested suspected Islamic extremists who they believe were plotting a suicide bomb attack on an army base in Sydney's west. Police swooped about 4.30am, executing 19 warrants on homes in the Melbourne suburbs of Glenroy, Carlton, Meadow Heights, Roxburgh Park, Broadmeadows, Westmeadows, Preston, Epping and Colac. The raids came after a suicide bomb plot by suspected Islamic extremists in Melbourne was uncovered.The group is thought to be linked to extremists in Somalia. Police believe the group was planning to launch an attack on Sydney's Holsworthy Barracks. The mass counter-terrorism operation, the second-largest ever in Australia, involved the... The Daily Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2307450/posts#comment Mon, 3 Aug 2009 22:25:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2297548/posts A man whose relatives say had been sniffing gasoline burst into flames after a police officer Tasered him as he ran at officials carrying a container of fuel, police said Tuesday. The man, identified by his family as 36-year-old Ronald Mitchell, was in critical condition at a Perth hospital in Western Australia state following Monday's incident in Warburton, an Aboriginal community 950 miles (1,540 kilometers) northeast of Perth. The Washington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2297548/posts#comment Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:29:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2296450/posts THE killer or killers of a Sydney family walked in through the front door and bludgeoned three adults and two boys as they slept in their beds, police believe. The scene of violence in three upstairs bedrooms of the Lin household in North Epping was so great police blood spatter experts were last night trying to map out exactly how the attacks occurred. With no suspects and with no obvious motive, police said they were appalled at the worst crime they had seen for many years. All the victims were bludgeoned repeatedly to the head and upper body with a... The Daily Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2296450/posts#comment Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:16:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2224693/posts CRUCIFIXES, Bibles and all other Christian symbols have been banned from a hospital's chapel when it is not being used for a church service. The Mosman Daily has learnt that Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney has bes been ordered to remove Christian content by New South Wales bureaucrats to avoid offending Muslims, Hindus or other non-Christian believers who may want to pray in the chapel. Hospital staff say that while the chapel was built for Christians, they now want the chapel to be completely non-denominational. An inspection of the chapel last week by the Daily found no trace of... news.com.au http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2224693/posts#comment Wed, 8 Apr 2009 08:32:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2217287/posts The blame for the weekend violence at Sydney Airport lies entirely with the men who perpetrated it. However, responsibility for not suppressing the violence lies with the relevant authorities. Outlaw bikers are crazy. Jihadi crazy, but some are crazy in their own very special way. Look at the bottom line of what just happened in Sydney. A pack of bikers, allegedly Commanchero, deliberately stormed into an airport terminal patrolled by heavily armed agents of the state, a public space covered by dozens of security cameras, and populated by hundreds of witnesses, and there they beat a man to death with... WA Today http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2217287/posts#comment Sun, 29 Mar 2009 08:49:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2212118/posts SYDNEY – Warring bikers brawled through Australia's largest airport Sunday, beating one suspected gang member to death and brandishing metal poles "like swords" as they rampaged through the main domestic terminal in front of terrified travelers. Police said a group of suspected gang members was ambushed as they disembarked from an airplane. "A fight ensued, the fight moved through various parts of the terminal," said Police Detective Inspector Peter Williams. He said 15 men were involved in the violence, which rampaged from the ground floor up one level to the departures hall before most of the men fled. Yahoo/AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2212118/posts#comment Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:13:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2212026/posts A man has been bludgeoned to death by a group of Australian motorcycle gang members in full view of dozens of people at Sydney airport. Witnesses described bikers swinging poles "like swords" at each other's heads as the brawl spilled over two floors of Sydney's domestic terminal. Four suspects have been arrested and the others are said to have fled. bbc http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2212026/posts#comment Sun, 22 Mar 2009 15:22:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2131064/posts PROFESSIONAL socialite Paris Hilton has confirmed she and rocker boyfriend Benji Madden will host a New Year's eve party at a secret Sydney location. "I can't wait to be partying with the Aussies and Benji DJ-ing by my side," Hilton said from Los Angeles. The billionaire hotel heiress is paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to attend parties around the globe, and was last down under when advertising magnate John Singleton reportedly paid her $5 million for a six-day promotional visit almost two years ago. This year's party will be streamed live over The Bongo Virus - a platform similar... Herald Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2131064/posts#comment Wed, 12 Nov 2008 23:47:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2048176/posts With WYD's grand finale shortly to come -- the climactic closing liturgy at Randwick (vidstreams and Missal) begins at 10am local (2300GMT, 7pm ET Saturday) -- in one of the week's many nods to Australia's indigenous community, topping the stage at the major events has been a popular Aboriginal rendering of the Holy Spirit known as "Marjorie's Bird." Now, with the design about to take on an even bigger visibility as a key element of the specially-designed vestments for tomorrow's liturgy, Marjorie Liddy, the Tiwi islander behind the image (who never painted before seeing its outline in the sky... WITL http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2048176/posts#comment Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:01:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2048119/posts On Thursday 17 July 2008, the Holy Father was formally welcomed to Australia by the Governor General, the Prime Minister and other officials. He delivered the following address. Your Excellencies, Dear Australian Friends, It is with great joy that I greet you today. I would like to thank the Governor-General, Major-General Michael Jeffery and Prime Minister Rudd for honouring me by their presence at this ceremony and for welcoming me so graciously. As you know, I have been able to enjoy some quiet days since my arrival in Australia last Sunday. I am most grateful for the hospitality that has... EWTN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2048119/posts#comment Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:49:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2048116/posts Dear Young People,   What a delight it is to greet you here at Barangaroo, on the shores of the magnificent Sydney harbour, with its famous bridge and Opera House. Many of you are local, from the outback or the dynamic multicultural communities of Australian cities. Others of you have come from the scattered islands of Oceania, and others still from Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. Some of you, indeed, have come from as far as I have, Europe! Wherever we are from, we are here at last in Sydney. And together we stand in our world... EWTN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2048116/posts#comment Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:44:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2048115/posts On Friday 18 July 2008 the Holy Father met with representatives of the Christian churches and ecclesial communions present in Australia and gave the following address. Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,I give heartfelt thanks to God for this opportunity to meet and pray with all of you who have come here representing various Christian communities in Australia. Grateful for Bishop Forsyth’s and Cardinal Pell’s words of welcome, I joyfully greet you in the name of the Lord Jesus, the "cornerstone" of the "household of God" (Eph 2:19-20). I would like to offer a particular greeting to Cardinal Edward Cassidy,... EWTN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2048115/posts#comment Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:39:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2048109/posts On Friday 18 July 2008, Pope Benedict met with and addressed the representatives of the non-Christian  religions present in Australia. Dear Friends, I extend cordial greetings of peace and goodwill to all of you who are here representing various religious traditions in Australia. Grateful for this encounter, I thank Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence and Sheikh Shardy for the words of welcome which they expressed in their own name and on behalf of your respective communities.Australia is renowned for the congeniality of its people towards neighbour and visitor alike. It is a nation that holds freedom of religion in high regard. Your... EWTN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2048109/posts#comment Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:27:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047067/posts SYDNEY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict on Thursday told a huge gathering of young people that they were inheriting a planet whose resources had been scarred and squandered to fuel insatiable consumption. His latest appeal to save the planet for future generations came in a address to some 150,000 youths in Sydney after he rode through the city's harbor standing on the outdoor deck of a white ferry as dozens of boats blew their horns. "Reluctantly we come to acknowledge that there are also scars which mark the surface of our earth, erosion, deforestation, the squandering of the world's mineral and... Reuters on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047067/posts#comment Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:08:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2046508/posts Simply marvelous! Inhale the exuberant joy of this description of the impact of WYD pilgrims and you can see God is already mightily at work softening the hearts of Sydneysiders. "THE sun was just rising. It was around 6am and bloody cold on Sunday morning at the top of a hill in a suburban street in Sydney's Berowra Heights. That's when I first saw it. As I started off for a run, the chatter of two young women could be heard. Then, from the fog, they emerged. Bleary-eyed, no doubt from a rough night on the floor, and under-dressed... Intentional Disciples http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2046508/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:04:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2045452/posts p>SYDNEY, Australia, JULY 14, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Photos show Benedict XVI enjoying his days of rest Down Under -- praying, working and delighting in a classical music concert. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, told journalists that the Pope is "absolutely serene and resting." Some members of the Australian press had painted a bleak picture of the Pontiff's health, saying that the Holy Father was extremely exhausted after his flight of more than 20 hours. But the Vatican spokesman presented a video Monday afternoon, local time, showing the Pope praying and walking with his secretaries at the... ZNA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2045452/posts#comment Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:41:26 GMT