Good morning and welcome to your morning wrap of news, sport, and weather around Sydney for Wednesday, January 3. It’ll be cloudy today with a high chance of showers during the day. Temperatures are expected to hit 24 in the city and up to 27 in the west. Enjoy your day!
Sydney property prices tipped to fall 10 per cent in 2018
Sydney property prices are tipped to pull back by up to 10 per cent over the next 12 to 18 months, experts warn, after real estate markets ended the year with a whimper.
The harbour city is leading the country's property downturn, with prices falling 0.9 per cent in December. Prices were down 2.1 per cent for the quarter, well below price growth of more than 17 per cent in mid-2017, said the head of research at property research data group CoreLogic, Tim Lawless. Read more
The pub with no roof: storm rips through north coast
A massive storm has ripped through several northern NSW towns, tearing the roof off one iconic pub and several other buildings, as thunderstorms brought "golf ball-sized hail" to the Blue Mountains.
Wind and rain caused significant damage in Maclean, on the banks of the Clarence River, after it hit about 1.30pm on Tuesday, the State Emergency Service said. Read more
'I nearly choked on my can of JD and coke': Latest WA Lotto winners come forward
WA's latest Lotto millionaires - including a young FIFO worker - have begun to arrive at Lotterywest HQ in Perth to claim their winnings.
Four out of the five Division 1 Megadraw winners from the weekend have come forward to each collect their $1.4 million prize. Read more
'We were touching the plane': desperate rescue effort after seaplane crash
Kurt Bratby was on a houseboat, getting ready to go wakeboarding, when he heard the plane engine roaring. A moment later, his friend called out that it had crashed.
Mr Bratby, a real estate agent, said he and his friends used two boats to reach the seaplane as it sank rapidly in the waters of Jerusalem Bay, north of Sydney, about 3pm on New Year's Eve. Read more
It's official: ICC rates MCG pitch as 'poor'
The Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch on which the Boxing Day Test was played has officially been labelled "poor" by the International Cricket Council, in a highly embarrassing blow for the world-famous ground.
As forecast by Fairfax Media, the game's global governing body delivered a formal rebuke of the much-criticised MCG wicket, rendering it in infamy as the first international pitch in Australia to receive a poor rating. Read more
Winger leaves Wanderers after snubbing coach's handshake
The personnel changes at Western Sydney Wanderers have continued under the reign of new coach Josep Gombau after Japanese winger Jumpei Kusukami and midfielder Jacob Melling agree to leave the club immediately.
The departure of Kusukami comes 17 hours after he snubbed a handshake from Gombau when substituted late in the Wanderers' 2-1 win over over Melbourne City on Monday night. Read more