THE Sydney Film Festival has closed with box office takings up 15 per cent on last year, and session attendances up by 20 per cent, according to chief executive Leigh Small.

Of the 230 sessions, she said 66 were sold out. Canadian film Heartbeats won the $60,000 Sydney Film Prize.

For the second year running, Sydney is celebrating the approach of winter with Vivid Sydney, a festival of light, music, and ideas. Brian Eno organized last year’s Vivid Live program and this year husband and wife team Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed have taken the curatorial helm. Anderson’s performance Music for Dogs and Reed’s noise band Metal Machine Trio are among the highlights, but the project that has wowed the crowd is Anderson’s lighting of the sails of the Sydney Opera House.

A PROTEST at Sydney Town Hall last night closed down a central city block during peak hour, with thousands marching to condemn the Israeli attacks on the Gaza flotilla.

The protest, organised by Australians for Palestine, had been timed for the planned arrival of the humanitarian flotilla in Gaza, but became a rallying point for people angry about Israeli actions. The organisers estimated more than 4000 attended.

A court in Australia has sentenced a 21-year-old man to 19 years in prison for his part in attacking Corkman David Keohane in Sydney in August 2008.

Thomas Issako from Bankstown, Sydney, pleaded guilty to charges of robbery and causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Keohane in the assault in the Coogee area of the city. He was told he will serve at least 14 years in prison.

A German exchange student was saved from a vicious attack in Sydney by a group of ninjas dressed in black.

Three men initially approached the 27-year-old medical student while he was on a train and demanded he hand over his wallet, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Thousands of people have paid tribute on Facebook to an Australian teenager allegedly lured to her death by a man she met on the social networking site.

The body of Nona Belomesoff was found two days after she went on a trip with the man, who told her they were going to rescue injured animals, police say.

Sydney’s creative flair is on show this week during Australia’s premier fashion industry event – Rosemount Australian Fashion Week Spring Summer Collections 2010/11 – Minister for State and Regional Development Ian Macdonald said.

Mr Macdonald said the 15th annual Rosemount Australian Fashion Week, from Monday to Friday (3-7 May), features leading Asia Pacific fashion designers, buyers, models, stylists, industry executives, media and influencers showcasing and selling next season’s top fashions.

Police have scotched claims that a Sydney nurse may have been murdered by one of her mentally ill outpatients.

Michelle Beets was brutally killed on her verandah as she arrived home from a shift on Tuesday night in the suburb of Chatswood on Sydney’s North Shore.

Qantas flights to Europe will remain cancelled until at least Friday following further volcanic activity in Iceland.

The airline says over 15,000 customers have been affected by the delays.

British authorities say the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull glacier volcano is intensifying and a new ash cloud is drifting south-east across the Atlantic towards the UK and northern Europe.