A religious leader accused of illegal land clearing on a rural property used for religious prayer has claimed a Western Sydney council is infringing on his group’s religious freedoms by pursuing him over the allegations. Hawkesbury City Council has launched civil action against Dr Mustapha Kara-Ali and Diaa Kara-Ali in the Land and Environment Court, alleging they carried out illegal …

Three men have been charged over their alleged involvement in the execution-style murder of former bikie boss Mahmoud “Mick” Hawi in Sydney’s south. On Friday, two members of the criminal gang Lone Wolf, aged 37 and 38, were arrested while leaving a barber shop in Bexley and charged with the former Comanchero boss’s murder. A 36-year-old Brighton Le Sands man …

The 20-year-old accused of attacking and killing his 69-year-old grandmother in Bega appeared briefly in the Batemans Bay courthouse today, charged with one count of murder and two counts of wounding with intent to murder. With cuts on his face and wearing a hospital robe and shorts, Murray Deakin was led into the courtroom for the brief appearance following Friday …

A gunman and three female hostages have been found dead after a stand-off at a veterans home in California. The gunman was a former United States serviceman who had undergone treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder at the facility, and was asked to leave the Pathway Home program two weeks ago. On Friday morning (local time) Albert Wong, 36, calmly walked …

TERRIFIED passengers were forced to evacuate a plane after a passenger’s bag in the overhead compartment suddenly burst into flames. Passengers were boarding Sunday’s China Southern Airlines flight from Guangzhou to Shanghai when smoke began to fill the cabin. A video taken on board showed a bag on fire in the overhead compartment. Passengers and cabin crew could be seen …

A 4-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy wounded in the same attack were among at least six people who have been wounded in Chicago shootings since early Sunday afternoon, authorities said. In the most recent shooting, the girl and the teenage boy were both in good condition after being shot about 9 p.m. in the 4700 block of West North …

The Centre Daily Times is reporting that EMS calls in the State College area were delayed Saturday because of incidents related to State Patty’s Day. State Patty’s Day is the student-created holiday that falls each year between Thon and St. Patrick’s Day. The day, which started in 2007, is marked by heavy drinking. As of 4 p.m. Saturday, ambulances were delayed by …

ANN ARBOR, MI – Over 6,000 gallons of raw sewage is estimated to have spilled into the Huron River last week, Ann Arbor officials report. Between Feb. 20 and Feb. 22, the city reported two incidents in which raw sewage overflowed into the river. On Tuesday, Feb. 20, the city reports there was an overflow at a pipe between the north …

Three people were injured, two seriously, in a two-vehicle crash on State Highway 2 at Whakamarama yesterday. The crash was the latest in a series of serious incidents in the Western Bay over the weekend which saw one person dead and four hospitalised. Police were called to the Whakamarama crash involving a car and a van at 3.30pm. Two people …

HUNDREDS of serious incidents which could have caused significant harm to patients have been revealed following an extensive Freedom of Information investigation. The probe asked public health providers, including Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust, the East of England Ambulance Trust and North Essex University They are deemed so significant a heightened level of response and investigation is justified. There …