A 17-hour-long hostage drama in which a lone heavily-armed man of Iranian-origin held 17 people hostage at a cafe in central Sydney ended late Monday night (Indian Standard Time) with the police storming it, resulting in three deaths.
The tree, which is popular with Sydneysiders every year, will hold 16,000 light globes and is due to be officially turned on in late November.
A mother of a hostage at Sydney's Lindt Cafe received in text from her son who was trapped inside on Monday.
Another Indian national, who was among about 15 people held hostage in a popular Sydney cafe and later rescued, was also an Infosys employee.
Thousands of people lined the streets of central Sydney to officially welcome home the country's most successful Olympic team.
An armed gunman on Monday took several people hostage at the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in Sydney and forced two people to hold what appeared to be a black flag bearing Islamic slogans written in Arabic in the store's window.
Several people, including an Indian techie, were taken hostage by an armed man at a popular caf in Sydney and forced to display an Islamic flag, triggering a security alert in Australia and leading to evacuation of key buildings, including the Indian Consulate.
Vishwakant Ankireddy, an Indian working for Infosys was one of the many who had been rescued by the Australian police force after an armed intervention in the 17-hour hostage scenario at a cafe in central Sydney.
The Indian Consulate in Sydney was on Monday evacuated in view of the hostage situation in a caf near its premises and all the staff members are safe, the external affairs ministry said.
A gunman holding hostages at a popular cafe in Sydney has demanded delivery of an Islamic State flag and a conversation with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, a media report said on Monday.
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last week, in 10 images.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Tuesday led a shocked nation in mourning the death of 2 Australians who lost their lives at the cafe siege in Sydney that ended with the killing of lone Iranian-born ISIS sympathiser who took 17 people hostages, including 2 Indians.
'Tis the season for hope and for forecasts. So here we look at the things we want and hope will be granted in 2015.
Two hostages who have been killed in the 17-hour-long hostage drama at a cafeteria in Sydney were identified as the manager of the Lindt Chocolate cafe and a lawyer. The 38-year-old lawyer, Katrina Dawson, was a mother of three young children who became the victim of the siege. She was a barrister at Selbourne Chambers and was married to Paul Smith, a partner at Mallesons.
From the Syrian civil war to the Ukrainian crisis to the terror unleashed by the dreaded Islamic State, there was no lack of news in 2014. In this five-part series,rediff.com presents a selection of the year's most enduring moments year from around the world.
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