Good morning and welcome to the Morning Buzz for Wednesday, October 11. There’ll be a slight chance of a shower in the morning and early afternoon with temperatures around 25 degrees in the city and 28 degrees out west. Enjoy your day!
Cahill rescues Socceroos 2018 World Cup hopes with two goals over Syria
When the nation needed him most, Tim Cahill delivered. He always does.
The evergreen forward was all that separated the Socceroos from a stunning elimination at the hands of the Middle Eastern minnows as his 50th goal for his country salvaged a crucial victory from what was so nearly one of the most forgettable nights in the recent history of Australian football.
Australia's all-time leading goalscorer rescued the Socceroos' hopes of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia by scoring two goals to clinch a dramatic 2-1 win over Syria in Sydney. Read more.
Battling for a lady’s love and favour
Kristy Gray got a front row seat to a fine display of athleticism when she spied a couple of red bellied black snakes wrestling on her lawn.
"Since the beginning of September we have seen several lone snakes,” Kristy, from Topi Topi on the NSW Mid North Coast, explained. Read more.
'You end up behind a bar': 22 graduates fighting for every job
Across Australia, about 22 university graduates are competing for every new graduate position and many will need to settle for low-paying entry roles "just to get their foot in the jobs market", a new national report has found.
The competition for graduate jobs is the worst in South Australia, with 46 recent university-leavers per new role, according to an analysis of nearly 140,000 job ads by market aggregator Adzuna.
This falls to 22 new graduates per role in Victoria and 20 graduates for every job in NSW. Read more.
Government bill could weaken Sydney’s water protection
The Berejiklian government has defended moves to rush through legislation to keep open a coal mine in Sydney's catchment despite impacts on water quality, with one minister declaring, "if you want a friend, get yourself a piece of coal".
The legislation, aimed at nullifying a Court of Appeal ruling in August that declared the extension of the Springvale coal mine invalid, was expected to pass the lower house on Tuesday and be voted on in the upper house on Wednesday. Read more.
Woman trapped 45 minutes after Sylvania accident in which five people were injured
A woman passenger was trapped for about 45 metres after the car in which she was travelling was rammed from behind while stopped at traffic lights at Sylvania overnight.
The woman, who was treated for spinal injuries, was among five people injured in the crash at the intersection of Princes Highway and Box Road about 10.50pm on Monday. Read more.
Shops to stay open until 10pm in bid to revive night life
Shops will be allowed to stay open until 10pm, seven days a week, without formal approval under sweeping changes to local planning laws proposed by the City of Sydney.
New residential developments will also need to be designed and built to "manage" noise from an existing venue in a bid to revive Sydney's night life.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the reforms were critical to turning around the city's beleaguered late-night economy. Read more.
ATO's 'tax gap' finds $2.5b missing from corporates
An estimated $3.5 billion in revenue from large corporates and multinationals is at risk to the economy, but through audit activity this will reduce to $2.5 billion, according to the Australian Taxation Office.
On Wednesday, the agency is releasing the first tranche of its long-awaited highly anticipated "tax gap" figures, which focuses on 1400 corporate groups with gross income of over $250 million. Read more.
Nick Kyrgios walks off court after losing first set at Shanghai Open
Nick Kyrgios has apologised for sensationally quit his first-round match at the Shanghai Masters, blaming it on a stomach bug despite commentators saying it appeared to be a protest against the umpiring.
The volatile Australian stormed off after losing the first set 7-6 (7-5) in a tiebreaker.
Kyrgios's dramatic walk-off comes a year after he was suspended from the ATP Tour for tanking at the Shanghai Masters and leaves his immediate playing future in doubt once again. Read more.
Sydney FC set on FFA Cup triumph to complete the treble, says coach Graham Arnold
Sydney coach Graham Arnold will bring former Socceroo defender Michael Zullo back into the starting line-up for the club's FFA Cup semi-final against South Melbourne on Wednesday night as the A-League champions look to make it back-to-back wins in the Victorian capital inside four days.
Sydney blunted a spirited challenge by an under-manned Melbourne Victory on Saturday night, beating Kevin Muscat's side 1-0 despite only playing at what Arnold described as "30 per cent of our ability".
Arnold reiterated that view on Tuesday, saying he had watched a tape of Saturday night's win and that had only increased his frustration. Read more.
Breaker Lauren Cheatle named in Australia's women's Ashes squad
NSW quick Lauren Cheatle has landed an unexpected Ashes call up as one of six Breakers named to take on World Cup winners England this summer.
The young left-armer joins South Australian all-rounder Tahlia McGrath in the squad, both having recently returned from injury, but there was no place for NSW veteran Sarah Aley despite her trip to England for the recent World Cup.
A shoulder injury sidelined Cheatle for six months this year and cost her a spot at that tournament, but she returned for the Breakers on the weekend to push her Ashes claims. Read more.
