Police update number of those dead in stabbing attack at Australian shopping center to 5

At least five people have been killed in a stabbing attack at a shopping center in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on Saturday, a New South Wales police spokesman told local television.

Death toll from Australia floods rises to 20

The death toll from floods battering Australia’s east coast has risen to 20 as bodies of a man and a woman were discovered in floodwaters in Sydney on Tuesday.

Australia: Police raid properties, airport security increased after terror plot foiled

Australian police said officers launched raids on at least five properties in Sydney on Monday, after four men were arrested over the weekend for a terrorist plot to bomb a commercial airliner.

Iran condemns Sydney hostage siege

Iran has condemned Monday's hostage siege at a cafe in Sydney that ended after 16-hours and with three people, including the gunman, reported dead in Australia's largest city.

Australian Police storm Sydney cafe ending 16-hour hostage crisis; 2 reportedly killed

Australian security forces on Tuesday stormed the Sydney cafe where several hostages were being held at gunpoint, in what police confirmed was the end of a standoff that had dragged on for more than 16 hours.

Armed man holding an undisclosed number of hostages in a siege in Sydney's Central Business District

An undisclosed number of people have been taken hostage by an armed man at a cafe in the centre of Sydney.

Hundreds of armed police have sealed off the busy Martin Place in the city's central business district.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said it was unclear if the siege at a Sydney cafe, where hostages are being held, was politically motivated.

Sydney kicks off New Year celebrations with fireworks (3 Full video, Auckland/New Zealand, Sydney 2014, Dubai)

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SYDNEY: Sydney kicked off New Year celebrations with a dazzling fireworks spectacular, the first in a wave of pyrotechnics to usher in 2014 from Hong Kong to world record-chasing Dubai.
Seven tonnes of explosives lit up Australia's biggest city, with fireworks shooting off the Opera House for the first time in more than 10 years as part of the December 31 extravaganza, focused on the Harbour Bridge.

The legacy of Alexander the Great ...

Penni Pappas (neoskosmos com) 

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Brilliant tactician, drunken barbarian, commanding general, compassionate man - all these have been used to describe Alexander the Great. The enigma that surrounds Alexander is as great as his epithet. The intrigue associated with him, his influence and his status, is evident even today.

Although he died at the tender age of 32, the impact he had on spreading Hellenism throughout the world was astounding. All of this and more is about to be explored in the latest exhibition for the Australian Museum in Sydney.