A tight-knit western Sydney volunteer firefighting brigade has been devastated after two firefighters were killed in the battle to contain a blaze that ripped through villages southwest of the city. Geoffrey Keaton, 32, and Andrew O’Dwyer, 36, from the Horsley Park brigade, were in a truck convoy near the town of Buxton late on Thursday when a tree fell into …

Donald Trump has become the third US president in history to be impeached by the House of Representatives, setting up a trial in the Senate that will decide whether he remains in office. The House voted on two charges – that the president abused his power and that he had obstructed Congress. Both votes fell along party lines with nearly …

Indigenous leaders have filed an unprecedented compensation claim against the West Australian Government that could become one of the world’s biggest legal payouts. Noongar people of south-west WA are pursuing more than $290 billion for “spiritual damage” caused by loss of their traditional land. The figure would be almost a quarter of Australia’s gross domestic product of $1.4 trillion and …

A heavily pregnant Muslim woman who was repeatedly punched and stomped on during a suspected racially motivated attack in a western Sydney cafe says she “fears for the world our children will grow up in”. NSW Police said Rana Elasmar, 31, who was 38 weeks pregnant, was with her friends at a Parramatta cafe on Wednesday night when a 43-year-old …

An American mum is facing serious time behind bars after she was accused of allowing a paedophile friend to abuse her young daughters for years. Ohio woman Sarena C Hall, 27, and her 64-year-old friend Marion Stang Jr were arrested late last week. Local TV station WBTV reports Stang has been charged with two counts each of rape and gross sexual …

The 38-year-old mother of two young sisters found dead in their Perth home on Friday has been charged with two counts of murder. The woman, who police have not named, was being treated for self-inflicted wounds after she was found at Mullaloo Beach on Friday night. She will face Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court on Monday. The sisters, 10-year-old Mia and six-year-old …

Mothers accused of being part of a $4 million ‘fake daycare centre’ fraud shielded their faces – and one claimed her innocence – as they fronted court for the first time. Thirty-five people faced a south-west Sydney court on Monday over allegations they participated in a fraud by saying their kids attended the Red Roses Daycare Centre. But police claim …

The NSW Government has accused residents of Mascot Towers of attempting to force its hand to pay for urgent remediation work on the beleaguered apartment complex. The 132-unit Mascot Towers block was evacuated in June after cracks were found in the building’s car park. At an extraordinary general meeting in August, owners voted to raise $7 million in special levies for remediation …

Abandoned shopping trolleys are problematic in all council areas, including Canterbury-Bankstown.  Not only an eyesore, they also create hazards for cars and pedestrians and, unfortunately, end up in our parks, bushlands and creeks. Unfortunately, while some large retailers employ strategies where they pick-up trolleys around their stores, they are not totally effective. Shopping trolleys are owned by and are the …

Iranian authorities have now confirmed the nation is detaining three Australians, with one of them accused of spying for a third country. The details are contained in a brief report from the semi-official Fars news agency, which contains the first information from within Iran about the detention of three Australians. It quotes an Iranian judiciary official saying two Australian travel bloggers …