High-profile Sydney man to face retrial on two rape charges after jury failed to reach a verdict

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, will return to court in October and hear evidence from two women on rape allegations

A high-profile Sydney man charged with raping two women will face a retrial after a jury could not reach a verdict on the charges earlier this year.

Guardian Australia cannot name the man due to a suppression order. However, the court will hear a joint challenge by the media to review that order on 10 December.

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Thunderstorms, hail and possible flash flooding forecast for Sydney after days of intense heat

New South Wales to see wild weather and heavy rainfall after ‘unseasonably hot’ temperatures

Severe thunderstorms are forecast to bring lightning, damaging winds and hail to New South Wales on Thursday, following days of intense heat earlier this week.

Sydney, Wollongong, Goulburn, Orange and Gosford are anticipating severe thunderstorm activity, with thunderstorms also forecast for inland Queensland on Thursday.

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Sydney woman charged after alleged attempt to drown her children

Two girls, aged seven and eight, rescued from Georges River by passerby in September 2023

A woman from Sydney’s south west has been charged following an alleged attempt to drown her children last year.

She was charged with two counts of attempt to drown person with intent to murder.

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Eastern Australia heatwave to make way for ‘volatile’ stormy weather

Risk of blackouts has receded in Sydney, while a WA bushfire has prompted emergency evacuation in parts of Shire of Dandaragan

The heatwave baking much of eastern Australia will rapidly make way for conditions offering the “perfect ingredients” for thunderstorms later this week, raising risks of heavy rainfall and even flash floods.

Temperatures reached the high 30s across much of western Sydney on Tuesday with Penrith’s 39.7C the hottest – about 12C above the November average. Similar readings were forecast for Wednesday, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

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Anti-Israel vandalism in Sydney’s eastern suburbs ‘disturbing’, Anthony Albanese says

Vehicle set on fire in Woollahra and 10 cars vandalised with slogans ‘fuck Israel’ and ‘PKK coming’

A vehicle has been set on fire and 10 cars have been vandalised with anti-Israel graffiti in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, sparking outrage and condemnation from politicians including the prime minister.

New South Wales police said they had discovered the graffiti on the cars and the door of an apartment complex in Woollahra after they were alerted to the blaze about 12.30am on Thursday.

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Uber to limit surge pricing and commuters urged to work from home amid Sydney train shut down

Government to meet union officials again on Thursday after a Wednesday meeting didn’t resolve the industrial dispute

Sydney’s trains are set to shut down this weekend after an emergency meeting between rail unions and the New South Wales premier on Wednesday produced no solutions.

The government will meet leaders from the Rail, Tram and Bus Union again on Thursday in a final bid to avert industrial action from train staff, which would see trains stop running across the city on Friday, Saturday and into Sunday.

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Alan Jones charged with 24 indecent assault and sexual touching offences against eight victims

Former Sydney radio host – who has previously denied all allegations against him – charged over incidents that allegedly occurred between 2001 and 2019

The former Sydney radio host Alan Jones has been charged over alleged historic indecent assault and sexual touching offences spanning two decades.

Jones was arrested by New South Wales police after a “long, thorough, protracted” investigation at about 7.45am on Monday morning at a unit in Sydney’s Circular Quay.

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Hobart, Darwin and Canberra ranked among top 10 global cities with lowest air pollution

Sydney the worst-ranked Australian city at 150th, receiving a poorer score than London

Three Australian cities are among the top 10 global cities with the lowest levels of air pollution, according to analysis of nearly 400 cities worldwide.

Hobart (third), Darwin (fourth) and Canberra (10th) topped the list, based on air pollution data analysed by Auto Trader, an online vehicle trading site.

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Man arrested following discovery of teenager’s body in bushland in Sydney’s south-west

The 15-year-old’s body was found in bushland in Wilton early Saturday morning

A man is in police custody as detectives continue their inquiries into the death of a teenage boy in Sydney’s south-west.

The 15-year-old’s body was found in bushland in Wilton at about 7.25am on Saturday.

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NSW regulator chose to reveal content of Sydney’s mystery beach balls on day of US election

After debris balls were widely reported to be tar, testing coordinated with EPA revealed they were consistent with human-generated waste, or ‘likely lumps of fatberg’

The NSW environment watchdog allegedly knew for more than a week that thousands of mystery balls that washed up on Sydney beaches last month were probably consistent with human-generated waste before it made the news public as US election results dominated headlines.

A statement from the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) on Wednesday revealed the balls comprised fatty acids, petroleum hydrocarbons and other organic and inorganic materials – including traces of drugs, hair, motor oil, food waste, animal matter and human faeces.

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‘It was just coming through the window’: wave of water rushes into Sydney homes after pipe bursts

Resident in the suburb of Como says water was ‘literally spraying all around’ after pipeline to Woronora Dam burst

A quiet Sydney street was thrown into chaos on Friday as residents described a wave of water rushing through their windows from a burst pipe.

Sydney Water said network technicians were assessing a leak on the main when it burst at Binya Place in Como, a suburb in the city’s south, on Friday afternoon.

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Victoria to cut more than 130 bushfire forest service jobs – As it happened

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Young man dies in multi-vehicle crash in Queensland’s Bundaberg Region

A fatal multi-vehicle traffic crash last night at Elliot in Queensland’s Bundaberg Region last night is being investigated by the police forensic crash Unit.

All travel has been appropriately declared and is a matter of public record.

The only people that need to look at the rules are [shadow transport minister] Bridget McKenzie and Peter Dutton. They’ve got some serious explaining to do.

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Belimbla Park plane crash: three people killed after mid-air collision in Sydney’s south-west

NSW police say two crime scenes secured after reports two light planes collided near Oakdale

Three people are dead after two light planes collided in mid-air before crashing in Sydney’s south-west.

NSW police confirmed the fatal crash occurred at about 11.50am on Saturday, at Belimbla Park, near Oakdale.

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Sydney man charged for alleged live online child sexual abuse of young boy in Philippines

The child’s mother and another woman, aged 22 and 37, were also arrested as part of joint investigation by police in Australia and Manila

A 33-year-old Sydney man has been charged with child sexual abuse offences against a boy living in the Philippines and is facing 10 years in prison.

Australian federal police officers were given information in September about a man in Australia who was allegedly engaging in the live online child sexual abuse of the boy, which was allegedly being facilitated by the child’s mother.

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Sydney restaurateur Alan Yazbek pleads guilty after displaying Nazi symbol at pro-Palestine rally

Co-owner of Nomad held sign mirroring Israeli flag but with swastika in place of Star of David and the words ‘Stop Nazi Israel’

The prominent Sydney restaurateur Alan Yazbek has pleaded guilty to displaying a Nazi swastika at a pro-Palestine rally.

Yazbek appeared at Downing Centre local court on Thursday where his lawyer said he was pleading guilty to the charge.

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Selfies, hugs and protests: King Charles’s new approach in spotlight during ‘fast and furious’ royal tour of Australia

Issue of Aboriginal sovereignty front and centre during head of state’s whirlwind first visit

King Charles and Queen Camilla have left Australia after more than 30 official engagements – and a fair share of controversy – packed into just four full days on the ground.

In the stage-managed whirlwind were churchgoers, bushfire scientists, a violinist, authors, dancers, architects, chefs, surf life savers, schoolchildren, republicans and monarchists – and unscripted discordance as activists took up Aboriginal sovereignty directly with the crown.

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Barbecue, kangaroo pies and Jimmy Barnes: Charles and Camilla go quintessentially Australian for final day of tour

The royals get on the tongs, banter with surf lifesavers and meet massive crowds at the Sydney Opera House

Just as King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived at a barbecue picnic in western Sydney, the strains of the Jimmy Barnes anthem, Working Class Man, wafted mysteriously and humorously above the crowd.

As Barnsey rasped out the opening lyrics of the Aussie classic, Charles and Camilla greeted hundreds of invited guests in the punishing Parramatta Park heat. Muster dogs waited patiently atop barrels and a windmill slowly twirled above a pile of hay.

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Cockatoo rescued after ‘living on brioche’ for four weeks inside Sydney supermarket

NSW environment minister hopes ‘Mickey will be flying free by tomorrow’ after successful capture by wildlife services

A sulphur-crested cockatoo called Mickey that had been “living on brioche” inside a Sydney supermarket for four weeks has been captured by wildlife services and is expected to be set free soon.

The New South Wales environment minister, Penny Sharpe, announced on Tuesday evening that the bird had “been safely captured by wildlife rescuers after spending way too long in Macarthur Square”.

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‘I believe I can win’: the immigrant hoping to upset Labor in western Sydney stronghold

Ahmed Ouf, a pharmacist from Egypt, says local election success means he can take Blaxland from Jason Clare

Brimming with confidence after barreling his way onto Cumberland council, Ahmed Ouf has his eyes on a bigger prize: the historically safe Labor seat of Blaxland.

“Labor didn’t believe I could get onto the council, but I proved them wrong. And we are confident we will to do it again. I’m not here to shake a narrative, or to swing a seat, I believe I can win,” he said.

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King Charles makes relaxed start to Australian tour but spends less than 10 minutes at lunch in his honour

After a day of rest, monarch appears at Sydney lunch in his honour and gives hosts an hourglass while joking about swift passage of time

King Charles III did not linger long at the luncheon put on in his honour, at the second scheduled event of his short Australian visit. And his gift to the gathering was a reminder of the fleeting passage of time.

There was a menu fit for a king, and very Sydney: chargrilled asparagus and olive dust; marinated octopus and squid ink wafer; barramundi and duck confit.

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