Sydney Sun
SydneySun.com Thursday 20th November 2008 Volume 5/47
Front Page Sydney News
Sydney receives a soaking


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Extra pollen behind lengthy hayfever season
Hayfever season in Canberra is expected to last several more weeks due to increased grass growth around the capital this year. Chemists have reported a rush of customers suffering hayfever symptoms...


Rescuers reveal last moments that tore family apart
SHANE O'NEILL was a fisherman, a footballer, and a butcher. But, above all, he was a father. He rarely went drinking with his football team, preferring a night at home with his fiancee and young...


Socceroos in late, late show
Australia maintained its 100% record in the final Asian World Cup qualifying group when it stole a last gasp 1-0 win over a Bahrain side that dominated for much of the game but could not convert...


The same but different
AUSTRALIA has a new mammal. Scientists have discovered a previously unknown dolphin swimming in the nation's southern waters. Until now it had been thought the world had just two species of ...


Man, elderly mother bashed at home
A 40-year-old man was inside his home on Birdwood Road, Georges Hall, at about 11.30pm (AEDT) on Wednesday when he heard a knock at the front door. He opened the door and was confronted by three...


Man extradited over hammer attack
A MAN has been extradited to NSW to face charges over a brutal hammer attack and attempted strangulation in Sydney's inner-west, following his arrest in...


Odds stacked against dad, sons
THE odds were stacked against a father and his two sons who drowned in cold water after the children fell from a wharf on the NSW south coast, lifesavers...


Flooding, death across NSW
at least two smashes in which one person died. Read more here . Emergency services responded to flooding across Sydney with roads affected at Moorebank, Chipping Norton, Haberfield, Smithfield,...


Socceroos scrape home against Bahrain
THE Socceroos escaped with a barely deserved 1-0 win this morning in Bahrain after a World Cup qualifying display to embarrass all concerned. Against an apparently weakened and vulnerable Bahrain,...


Police silent on Taser death
A MAN died of a heart attack after being repeatedly shot with a Taser in one of the first uses of the weapon in NSW, but police omitted it from official records, including on the man's death...


Vaccine hope in MS link to virus
THE debilitating disease multiple sclerosis, which affects more than 18,000 Australians, could be prevented with a vaccine being trialled in Europe.Researchers from the University of Queensland...


Travel fee start date unclear
THE Rees Government has yet to finalise how parents will pay new fees for children to travel to school on public transport, or when the charge will begin.As outlined in last week's mini-Budget, the...


Tate out, Williams gets call
MANLY winger David Williams will today be officially called into Australia's World Cup team to play the Kiwis in Saturday night's final at Suncorp Stadium in...


Police silence on man
A MAN died of a heart attack after being repeatedly shot with a Taser in one of the first uses of the weapon in NSW, but police omitted it from official records, including on the man's death...


High hopes for cannabis
GROWING cannabis becomes legal in NSW today - provided you are a licensed farmer who will harvest hemp for industrial use.After years of debate, the State Government has approved large-scale hemp...


Frank to shed his incredible bulk
Roosters prop Frank Paul Nuuausala this week lost a staggering 5kg - and the bad news is he still has another 10kg to go. The giant prop, along with four other Roosters players, has been forced to...


Einfeld finally says sorry
The disgraced former Federal Court judge was given seven days by state Attorney-General John Hatzistergos to argue why he should not be stripped of his rank of Queens Counsel. Einfeld said he had...


Mulesing vote could change face of Aust wool industry
A national vote by wool producers is shaping up to be one of the most important elections in the history of the wool industry. At stake is the industry's commitment to phase-out surgical mulesing,...


4 Australians in Papuan court over visa breach
Four Australians have appeared in court in Papua on charges that they violated Indonesia's immigration laws when they landed in the country without visas in September. Vera Scott-Bloxam, Keith...


Dreams died in cold, dark water
Dusk was the best time for fishing at the popular wharf. It was about 8pm and Riley was looking after his little brother, who was in the pram up against a small safety ledge along the wharf....


Ecstasy offer to grieving mum
The Central Coast doctor shocked the host of a New Year's Eve party with his offer even though he had just warned other guests to treat her with special care, she told the NSW Medical Tribunal. The...


Legends plot to axe Fitzgerald
The Daily Telegraph can reveal that former front-row bookend Leabeater has joined the ticket that aims to overthrow the Parramatta football club board and veteran CEO Denis Fitzgerald. The Eels...


Trent Barrett aiming for rep return
The same goes for tortuous NRL pre-seasons. And so it was for prodigal pivot Trent Barrett this week as he returned to rugby league's most dreaded arena following a three-year absence. Fresh from...


Jury sees rifles, pistols
HIGH-POWERED rifles and pistols were handled individually by jury members yesterday at the trial of five men accused of conspiring to carry out a terrorist attack in...


South Coast drowning tragedy
Superintendant Mick Willing, Far South Coast Local Area Commander, NSW Police, speaks to ABC radio. (Audio Duration -...


Petrol lowest in two years
But rural motorists continued to pay up to $135.8 a litre for unleaded petrol. And while the Service Station Association predicts Sydney will see average prices fall to below $1 a litre next week,...


Sick day swap proposal
THE State Government has launched a battle to strip back teachers' generous sick pay entitlement - up to half a term off - triple that of nurses and ambulance...


Sydney Airport sacks 25 workers
THE Macquarie Airports-controlled Sydney Airport has taken the axe to its workforce, handing out redundancy slips to 25 full-time staff early this week.Just as this year's Christmas decorations were...


Call for help to find missing man
The family of a northern Tasmanian man who's been missing for two nights hold fears for his safety. 69-year old Nicola Sallese from Sheffield has not been seen since Monday morning. His family...


Latrobe University extends redundancy deadline
Victoria's Latrobe University has extended its deadline for voluntary redundancies because of a lack of interest. Last month the university announced it plans to cut enough jobs to save $23 million...


Timber bail out package rejected
The Tasmanian Government has rejected calls for a multi-million dollar bail out package for struggling timber workers. The Greens have proposed a plan to bail out struggling forest workers after...


New plant to recycle electronic trash
November 18, 2008, 9:20 pm The country's first recycling plant for electronic waste has been opened in western Sydney. But the operators say Australia's e-waste policy is lagging way behind...


Greer lets loose on Michelle Obama
Feminist Germaine Greer says the dress Michelle Obama wore to her husband's US election declaration was a "butcher's apron" and looked like a "geometrical haemorrhage". In her regular column for...


Teenagers in murder plot - police
The trio tried to kill the unnamed 17-year-old and planned to dump his body outside Canberra, police told the ACT Magistrates Court today.Police said the accused had lined a car boot with a curtain...


Toilet art highlights world
Today is World Toilet Day and a public art exhibition is being held in Brisbane's Queen Street Mall to raise awareness for the 2.6 billion people who do not have access to a hygienic toilet. About...


New grocery centre aims to lower food prices in remote communities
Job opportunities in the Arnhem Land grocery industry are forecast to double in the next decade. The Arnhem Land Progress Association has opened the Northern Territory's largest grocery storage...


Man fined for penis in pasta jar
A MAN caught by police with his penis submerged in a pasta sauce jar was still pleasuring himself while resisting arrest, a court has been...


St Vinnies says more help needed
November 18, 2008, 7:42 pm The St Vincent de Paul Society says it is receiving more calls for help as job losses increase in the wake of the economic downturn. Launching its Christmas appeal,...


Gillard opens new centre at Batchelor Institute
The federal Education Minister, Julia Gillard has officially opened a new high tech learning centre at the Batchelor Institute of Tertiary Indigenous Education, south of Darwin. The e-Learning and...


Cousins vows to play
Troubled football star Ben Cousins has vowed to play next year despite stringent drug-testing conditions imposed on his comeback by the AFL. "I am pleased that the AFL commission yesterday decided...


Alice Springs records wettest November in 135 yrs
November 18, 2008, 9:26 pm Alice Springs has officially had its wettest November in 135 years of records. Several storms swept through the region today, mostly to the south of the town. The...


NT Govt adopts CLP Palmerston hospital plan
The Northern Territory's Health Minister says a hospital at Palmerston could be part of the NT Government's plan for 2030. The Government has been struggling to find doctors to staff a super clinic...


Murder charge for 2005
John Doyle, known to his friends as Skip, was seriously injured in his unit on Maloney Street, Eastlakes, on July 6, 2005, after two men allegedly broke into his home. He sustained severe head...


Doctor had sex with suicidal patient
Dr Sulieman Hamid, 53, allegedly touched the cognitively-impaired patient on her breasts and lips while he treated her for a slashed wrist in a cubicle at the Sunshine Hospital emergency department...


Going upÂ….Martin Place Christmas Tree
19 November 2008 The installation of Sydney's most celebrated Christmas tree is underway in Martin Place. The tree has been a Sydney icon for 72 years. Each year thousands of children flock to the...


Nursing home facing closure
An aged care home on Tasmania's north-west coast is to be shut down, with the company blaming financial losses. Residents at the 34- bed Levenbank home at Ulverstone have been told they have two...


Top cop oblivious to Tasered man
NEW South Wales Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione says he was only made aware of the death of a person after use of a Taser when a report by the NSW Ombudsman was...


Terror trial jury shown weapons
A jury has examined rifles, pistols, a shotgun and ammunition found in the home of one of five men facing charges of conspiring to prepare a terrorist act. Evidence officially began today at the...


Nestle to cut sugar content in foods
Nestle is planning to cut the sugar content in some of its best known products. The move by the international food manufacturer is part of plan to improve the nutritional reputation of its foods. ...