Good morning and welcome to the Morning Buzz for Wednesday, May 24. There’s a chance of some thunderstorms around this morning followed by a sunny afternoon with temperatures of around 23 degrees across the city. Enjoy your day!
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Here’s what’s making news this morning:
Manchester attack: the morning after the Ariana Grande concert
A suicide bomber has killed at least 22 and injured scores more, in an attack on a Manchester concert of US artist Ariana Grande packed with thousands of young people.
There are children among the dead, police confirmed on Tuesday morning. Read more
Australians targeted by Amazon spam scam
Australians have been targeted by scammers purporting to be the retail giant Amazon and promising them $500 Amazon vouchers.
The scammers used Amazon's well-publicised expansion into Australia as a hook. Read more
Worker killed on NorthConnex
A 65-year-old man has died after being struck in the head with a piece of equipment at the NorthConnex work site in Sydney's northwest.
The man was trapped for a period of time and went into cardiac arrest when he was freed at the Pennant Hills site after 8am on Tuesday, a NSW Ambulance spokesman said.
He was rushed to Westmead Hospital, where police say he died. Read more (SMH)
Tributes flow for former James Bond actor Roger Moore
British actor Roger Moore, who won international fame playing secret agent James Bond, died on Tuesday aged 89, his family said on the actor's official Twitter account.
His 12 years as James Bond, the British agent with a voracious appetite for danger and sex, made Moore a millionaire and a heartthrob the world over. Read more (SMH)
Randwick City Council to join anti-merger fight
Buoyed by the legal triumph of Ku-ring-gai council against the NSW government's forced merger policy, Randwick council has made a belated decision to join the anti-merger fight.
Lawyers formally briefed Randwick City Council on its legal options last week, as it prepares to file a legal challenge against its forced merger with Woollahra and Waverley councils. Read more (SMH)
Katoomba GP a cannabis crusader
Katoomba GP, Teresa Towpik, is singing the praises of medicinal cannabis.
“About a year ago I used to hold very, very biased and limited views on cannabis,” she said, describing herself as almost “brainwashed” by prevailing attitudes to the subject.
She thought it was dangerous and addictive and in her mind equivalent to heroin.
But when she started to investigate more closely, her views changed. Read more.
Cameron Smith refuses to rule out Johnathan Thurston
The emotional outcry about the omission of Billy Slater from the Queensland team has left Darius Boyd feeling a bit like he just backed over Bambi. Even the coach was crying when he had to confirm the news on Monday.
Yet Boyd stands by his selection after beating the returning Storm to start in the Maroon fullback jersey, saying he was immensely proud of the achievement given the quality of the man left on the sidelines. Read more
Nathan Peats’ Origin honours cuts no ice as Parramatta offer taken off the table
Nathan Peats' State of Origin promotion hasn't convinced his former club he is worth his asking price, with the Parramatta Eels taking their offer off the table.
Fairfax Media can reveal the Eels have pulled out of the race for Peats' services after he baulked at the club's $500,000-a-season offer.
It is understood Peats is holding out for $600,000-a-season deal and both the Titans and Eels were well short of his desired figure.
The Titans have recently reduced their offer to about $500,000, shaving close to $50,000 off the original offer they tabled for the NSW No.9. Read more (SMH)
Liverpool FC delays flight to Sydney to spend night in Thailand
There could be a few heavy eyelids among Liverpool's ranks during Wednesday's exhibition match against Sydney FC after the Reds made a last-minute decision to delay their flight to Australia in order to spend a night in Thailand.
Fairfax Media understands Liverpool will not arrive on Tuesday night as scheduled, but will instead touch down 11 hours before kick-off after making a late change of plans for an overnight lay-over in Bangkok. Read more (SMH)
Sydney FC captain Alex Brosque confirmed to play on
Sydney FC have confirmed captain Alex Brosque will play on with the A-League champions for another season.
As revealed in The Leader on April 12, Brosque has extended his stay with the Sky Blues after leading them to the premiership-grand final double. Read more.