Five hostages have fled a siege in a Sydney city centre cafe but more are still being held inside by an armed offender.

Terrorism raids in Sydney were sparked by security intelligence that the Islamic State (IS) movement was planning a public killing as a demonstration of its reach.

Australia’s most wanted man, who eluded officials for seven years by hiding out in dense forests, was captured yesterday and charged with murder, ending a frustrating and at times violent hunt, police said.

A scandal that threatened to bring down the Australian government eased today when police announced they would not charge a politician accused of misusing an official credit card to pay prostitutes.

An Australian MP has been accused of using an official credit card to pay for prostitutes, sparking a political scandal that could bring down the government.

POLICE have warned Australians to be vigilant after an online magazine, linked to al-Qaida, published a picture of Sydney Opera House, and expressed concern about the magazine’s influence on the local Islamic community.

AUSTRALIAN police said yesterday they had arrested four people after foiling a Somali-linked suicide plot to storm a military base in what would have been the country’s worst extremist attack.

A 69-YEAR-OLD Australian man suspected of hacking his two grandchildren and wife to death with an axe and badly wounding his daughter was arrested yesterday.

Detectives investigating race riots that rocked Sydney last week seized a pistol, ammunition, knives and smoke bombs in a series of raids today.

A heavy police presence at beaches in southern Sydney over the weekend prevented a repeat of racial violence that rocked the city a week ago and headed off potential tragedies, a senior officer said today.

Police formed a strike force today to track down the instigators of a day and night of racial riots that left more than 30 people injured in a string of Sydney beachside suburbs.