City News

Seven squatters who barricaded themselves inside an abandoned building at the University of Sydney have being dragged off the roof by riot squad officers and arrested.

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A passenger miraculously survived a light plane crash into the sea off Sydney after an onlooker plunged into the ocean in a rescue attempt, according to reports.

But the pilot was believed dead following the crash just off a northern Sydney beach, as passers-by were unable to free him from the wreckage.

The aircraft sent a mayday alert before coming down some 50 metres (164 feet) off Curl Curl beach. It could be seen on live television pictures lying on the ocean bed.

Journalist Paul Lockyer will be farewelled today with a memorial service in Sydney.

Lockyer and fellow ABC employees Gary Ticehurst and John Bean died after their helicopter crashed while filming a documentary at Lake Eyre a week ago.

The cause of the accident is still being investigated. Lockyer’s former colleague Gary Burns says he was a remarkable man.

Tiger Airways Australia resumed flying today, operating three return flights between Melbourne and Sydney.

Flight TT558 was Tiger’s first since its July 1 grounding by CASA, departing Melbourne for Sydney around midday with a host of invited dignitaries and Tiger CEO Tony Davis onboard.

“We have probably gone through the most vigorous safety analysis of any airline in Australia, so CASA are happy, we are happy,” Davis told ABC News.

Sydney has been blessed with an amazing run of winter warmth but unfortunately it is going to draw to a close this weekend.

Already a change is brewing in the south-west of NSW, with cloud and rain moving into this part of the state with a cold front, Alex Zadnik, chief meteorologist at Weatherzone, said.

Northerly winds reached gale force through the Snowy Mountains before this change with gusts to 130km/h recorded at Thredbo this morning.

The helicopter that crashed into bushland on Sydney’s north shore was serviced less than two weeks before a fatal accident killed two men.

The bodies of Bruce Campbell, the 65-year-old founder of a western Sydney cement mixer business, and freelance pilot Colin Greenwood, 35, were retrieved on Saturday afternoon.

They died on Friday morning when a seven-seater Bell 206 crashed near a 15-metre cliff at the edge of Lane Cove National Park in bad weather.

A QANTAS flight carrying the South African rugby team was forced to turn around two hours into its journey from Johannesburg to Sydney after one of its engines malfunctioned.

Australian passenger Mark Sowerby said he was glad to be back on the ground after the incident on Friday.

”It wasn’t much fun at all, it was a pretty ordinary experience,” the Brisbane business executive said. ”I was on the exit row so I could see the engine.

JAMES McDonald, the teenage riding sensation, showed why he is rated the best apprentice jockey to come out of New Zealand since Shane Dye with a brilliant winning double on Kiss ‘N Chase and Gybe at Randwick yesterday.

The champion apprentice had never ridden on the famous Sydney racetrack before but it didn’t stop him from finding the right run to guide Kiss ‘N Chase home a convincing winner of the Stacks Goudkamp Handicap (1400m) and then partner Gybe to her courageous win in the Rob Woodruff Handicap (1200m).

Sydney punters got their first opportunity to see McDonald’s talents – but it might not be the last.

COLLINGWOOD coach Mick Malthouse says he expects gun midfielders Dane Swan and Dale Thomas to be fit, firing and rejuvenated when they face Sydney at ANZ Stadium tonight.

Swan returned from a mid-season training camp in Arizona last weekend that saw him miss the Queen’s Birthday game, while Thomas watched the clash with Melbourne from the stands because of his one-match suspension for striking Saint Clint Jones.

Malthouse said his star midfielders were in need of the break and both had trained strongly this week as a result of the time off.

Sydney FC have signed vastly-experienced Dutchman Pascal Bosschaart to further bolster their A-League defence.

Bosschaart, a 31-year-old central defender with over 350 appearances in Holland’s top league to his name, has signed a one-year deal for the 2011-12 season.

He will join fellow recruits Michael Beauchamp (Melbourne Heart) and Jamie Coyne (Perth Glory) in a Sydney FC defensive unit which also features former Socceroo Scott Jamieson and Young Socceroo Sebastian Ryall.