Captain Cook statue disfigured and painted red in Sydney ahead of Australia Day - Police say they are investigating incident which saw statue’s hand and nose knocked off

An off-duty police officer who was bashed in Sydney's inner west remains in a serious condition as two men allegedly involved in the attack have been charged.

The discovery of the marble-sized balls comes after a similar incident in October closed Sydney's Bondi Beach, among other tourist hotspots.

Authorities in Australia on Wednesday announced the arrest of a 33-year-old man accused of vandalizing and attempting to set fire to a Sydney synagogue earlier this month.

Barely hours before the Newtown incident, a house in Sydney's east, a hub of the city's Jewish community, has been daubed with antisemitic graffiti, police said on Saturday, adding that they were also investigating offensive comments on a street poster in the suburb of Marrickville.

The building, adjacent to a synagogue and Jewish school, was set on fire and antisemitic slogans were graffitied in is the second antisemitic incident in four days

Multiple waterside Sydney suburbs have been inundated with mounds of rubbish and plastic waste following severe storms and strong winds that battered the city last week.

Tens of thousands of people in Australia's New South Wales state were without power on Saturday after a low pressure system brought damaging winds and heavy rains, sparking flood warnings.

Newtown synagogue, which was covered in swastikas, was also target of attempted arson, says New South Wales premier, blasting 'escalation' in antisemitism

Police say they are stepping up investigations after building was graffitied with anti-Jewish slogans and then burnt, causing massive damage but no injuries

Sydney Trains employees have been offered a 13 per cent pay rise over four years as part of the NSW government's attempt to resolve a long-running industrial dispute with the state's rail union.

Captain Cook statue damaged and painted red in Sydney ahead of Australia Day - Police say they are investigating incident which saw statue’s hand and nose knocked off