Good morning and welcome to the Morning Buzz for Wednesday, December 6. There’s a high chance of showers during the morning and afternoon, and the chance of a thunderstorm in the west. Temperatures are expected to reach 25 in the city and 27 in the west. Enjoy your day!
Amazon's Australian launch was 'weirdly underwhelming'
James Hall was perched at his "home theatre personal computer" two Thursdays ago, repeatedly hitting the refresh button on Amazon's Australian site in anticipation of its "soft" launch.
As a frequent customer of Amazon's US site and self-described techie, he was disappointed to find he wasn't one of the "small number of customers" chosen to participate in Amazon's "internal testing phase" starting at 2pm that day. Read more
Nine patients woke up to find surgical instruments inside them
Nine hospital patients in NSW have had to undergo further surgery after medical instruments were left inside them in 2015-16, a new report reveals.
The Auditor-General's latest report on NSW's health system shows there were 34 sentinel events – major adverse events that result in very serious harm or death to patients – in public hospitals in 2015-16, a third fewer than in the previous year.
Sydney man charged with trafficking wife and baby daughter
A man who allegedly trafficked his Indian wife and their two-month-old daughter from Sydney to India has appeared in court, facing charges of human trafficking, general dishonesty and document forgery.
It is alleged Pardeep Lohan, from Lidcombe, used threats, coercion and deception to force his wife and Australian-born child to travel to India in March this year. Read more
Russia banned from Pyeongchang Winter Olympics: IOC
Russia's Olympic team has been barred from the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The country's government officials are forbidden to attend, its flag will not be displayed at the opening ceremony and its anthem will not sound.
Any athletes from Russia who receive special dispensation to compete will do so as individuals wearing a neutral uniform, and the official record books will forever show that Russia won zero medals. Read more via SMH
Supermoon and heavy rain cause flooding at Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens
Monday night's supermoon was one factor to blame for the flooding of part of the Royal Botanic Gardens on Tuesday morning, a meteorologist said.
A high tide lapped at the top of the waterfront wall along Farm Cove and flooded the walkway around the Botanic Gardens about 10am.
'Maybe we got it wrong': Aussie bowling coach laments Smith's decision
Steve Smith's decision not to enforce the follow-on continues to linger, with Australia having burnt their reviews in an increasingly tense day-night Ashes Test and Joe Root having kept alive England's chances of pulling off the unthinkable.
From Root's call at the coin toss to send Australia in, to Smith's move not to bowl again at England on the the third night, the second Test that is shaping up as an unlikely thriller has been all about the two teams' respective captains. Read more
