'Racial vilification can escalate into violence'

Kim Arlington Australia's Race Discrimination Commissioner has condemned an attack on members of Sydney's Jewish community, saying it was a reminder that racial vilification could "escalate into racial violence".

Weekend warriors sweat for charity

AMY CORDEROY Two last-minute entrants have taken out the top spots in the inaugural Run Sydney half marathon at Sydney Olympic Park.

History for sale at South Head

NICOLE HASHAM It has long been a tonic for the city-weary: a crooked finger of land where one can enjoy wild scenery and the ''best air in the colony''.

6000 go for fun, glory and charity

ESTHER HAN More than 6000 pairs of feet will pound the streets, bike paths and running tracks around Sydney Olympic Park for the Rebel Sydney fun run on Sunday.

Residents fume over changed relief payments

Alexandra Smith Blue Mountains residents who fled their homes and returned to find they had no gas, electricity or hot water have slammed government changes to disaster relief payments.

Towns emerge from flames to count cost

Damien Murphy As firefighters rest in the Blue Mountains, disaster workers take their place on a new front line.

Law on foetal rights 'will put women at risk'

KIRSTY NEEDHAM The medical care of more than 100 women a year in NSW could be put at risk if a controversial law giving personhood status to a foetus of 20 weeks is passed through Parliament.

Sex abuse of children on rise, say police

CATHERINE ARMITAGE The NSW Police child sex abuse squad's caseload continues to increase, its commander, Superintendent Maria Rustja, has told the child sex abuse royal commission.

School funding cuts 'worse without Gonski'

KIRSTY NEEDHAM Funding cuts to disadvantaged NSW schools would have been worse if the Gillard government had not tipped in $100 million in Gonski cash.

Gypsy myths span the globe

Natalie O'Brien Sarah Bedak and her partner Nenad Radic Rroma may look like just a couple of fun-loving musicians who happen to use a Gypsy caravan as a stage.

Public housing no bar to property gains

Julie Power Fears that affordable housing for low-income earners will turn neighbourhoods into ghettos or slums are unfounded in 80 per cent of cases, and have little or no impact on property prices.

Air freshener used to conceal mother's death

NICK RALSTON A woman allegedly left her mother dead in bed in their Sydney home for up to six months, changing sheets and using air freshener to mask the smell while using her money to stay at luxury hotels.

Rule change allows for council bypass

NICOLE HASHAM The O'Farrell government will allow developers to leapfrog councils to get large projects approved under measures that will lead to unwanted development, community and environment groups say.

Princess Mary visits Five Dock school

DAISY DUMAS From the Opera House to Government House ... to Five Dock Public School.

Unlikely board fellows

DAISY DUMAS Business, media and politicians all want a job at Sydney University.

Thomas Kelly's mother decries 'senseless act'

PAUL BIBBY Sydney teenager Thomas Kelly lost his life in a "senseless act of violence and cowardice" that has left those who loved him with "a life sentence", members of his family have told a Sydney court.

Minister will open state forests to hunters

SEAN NICHOLLS Hundreds of state forests are set to be reopened to amateur hunters as early as mid-November after Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson began the redeclaration process.

Reservoir gives up secrets of our colonial past

Kim Arlington Beneath the surface of Prospect Reservoir the remains of an early colonial settlement lay hidden for more than a century. Wooden posts traced phantom fencelines under the water. Handmade bricks marked the remnants of wells, fireplaces, stables.

Teacher got harsh treatment: filmmaker

GARRY MADDOX The director of Mrs Carey's Concert has revealed the film's star music teacher was devastated after being repeatedly criticised and threatened with dismissal before her shock resignation from MLC School.

Still no return to full light rail service

JACOB SAULWICK Part of Sydney's light rail line will remain out of action until early next month amid growing frustration with the failure of the operator and government to explain the lengthy suspension of services.

Nuns argue fracking is a habit we can't afford

NICOLE HASHAM Theirs is a cloistered, holy life far from the whirl of Sydney, where the only sound some mornings is the flap of habits and the squawk of cockatoos.

Manufacturing

Electrolux to shut last local fridge plant

Anna Patty More than 500 staff will lose their jobs after Electrolux decided to shut down Australia's last refrigerator plant in Orange, NSW.

Defence apologises for starting State Mine fire

DAVID WROE The military demolition specialists who sparked a massive fire during an exercise last week are suspected of having used too much explosive.

ICAC chief David Ipp to retire

Sean Nicholls, Michaela Whitbourn The man who oversaw the sensational inquiries into Eddie Obeid and Ian Macdonald will retire from the ICAC in January.

'We feel like we've helped'

Ashleigh Gleeson A photo from the NSW bushfires has had millions of people across the world using just one this week - heroes.

'Deranged screaming' before balcony fall

PAUL BIBBY It was the sound of ''deranged'' screaming that allegedly made the young man look up as he walked through Hyde Park on the way to work.

Foley outlines his vision for the west

SEAN NICHOLLS Labor's planning spokesman Luke Foley has called for a high-powered commission of ''eminent persons'' to oversee Sydney's growth.

Man killed in fire at Botany home

MEGAN LEVY Firefighters have found a body after a fierce blaze tore through a home in Sydney's south-east.

Bushfire strategies: Aggressive and high-risk

Nick Ralston and Sarah Whyte and Peter Hannam A high-risk gamble by firefighters has paid off, with NSW escaping from one of its most threatening bushfire days on record mostly unscathed.

Median

Sydney beats $700,000 price barrier

TOBY JOHNSTONE Sydney house prices have smashed through the $700,000 barrier for the first time, taking the market into ‘‘uncharted territory’’.

Bubble turns head at Sculpture by the Sea

ANDREW TAYLOR A child chewing gum would hardly turn heads among the show-offs of Sydney's eastern suburbs. But Qian Sihua's two-metre-high blood red sculpture of a head blowing bubble gum is a scene stealer.

Opponents fear threats from new bill

Michaela Whitbourn Legal experts are alarmed by a bill giving the O'Farrell government sweeping powers to approve commercial activities on public land such as parks and beaches.

Chaka Khan to open Sydney Festival for free

STEVE DOW US singer Chaka Khan will headline a free concert in The Domain on the opening weekend of the 2014 Sydney Festival, as organisers bat away criticism that the festival lacks an opening day of free entertainment.

Trains halted but tourists still come

NICOLE HASHAM Destructive bushfires halted train services and closed a major motorway on Wednesday, but the emergency was not enough to deter curious tourists from visiting the Blue Mountains.

Three emergency warnings issued

MEGAN LEVY Strong wind gusts of up to 100km/h are fanning large bushfires already burning across parts of NSW, while new blazes are breaking out in the afternoon's deteriorating conditions.