Hong Kong (AFP) - 07:38 GMT - British PM - British Prime Minister David Cameron tweets: I was briefed overnight on the siege in Sydney. Its deeply concerning and my thoughts are with all those caught up in it.07:33 GMT - One of the hostages runs towards policeFour bombs07:31 GMT - Demands - The report by Channel Ten says it has spoken to two of the hostages inside the cafe and the man holding them had made a series of demands.Our TenNews team have spoken directly to 2 hostages inside the café… They are confirming 2 demands from the perpetrator, the network tweets.He needs the ISIL flag to be directly delivered to the cafe; And his 2nd request is to speak to the Prime Minster.They also state there are 4 bombs… two inside the Lindt café at Martin Place - and two further in the Sydney CBD.07:27 GMT - IS flag - The guman has demanded that a flag of the Islamic State group be delivered to him and warned that four bombs have been planted around the city, a report says.At the start of the siege a flag -- black with white Arabic writing -- was held to a window by customers.It appeared to be the shahada, or profession of faith in Islam, and said: There is no god but Allah; Mohammed is the Messenger of Allah.06:56 GMT - Long night - The Australian is reporting that officials seem to be preparing for a long night with emergency services and welfare workers setting up tents in Hyde Park, a few blocks from the cafe and bottles of water being brought in.Negotiators have contact06:19 GMT - More information - The first three hostages to run out of the cafe were all men while the second group of two were women.It was not clear if they escaped or were released.Deputy Police Commissioner Burn said police would first make sure they are okay.We will work with these people to figure out more information. We do not have information to suggest that anyone is harmed at this stage.Burn said while police did not have precise figures on how many hostages remained, it is not as high as 30 as some reports have suggested.She added police negotiators have had contact and continue to have contact with the person holding the hostages.06:16 GMT - Police walk through Martin Place as spectators look on06:14 GMT - Counter terrorism protocols - NSW police have issued a new statement saying no one has been injured as far as we know.We are operating according to our Counter Terrorism protocols, with our Counter Terrorism and Security Command in charge of this operation.Commuters have also been asked to stay away from the area on their way home.06:11 GMT - Five now free - This now means that five people have managed to get out of the cafe, although it is still not know exactly how many are inside.06:09 GMT - Two more run out - Two more hostages have been seen running out of the cafe.06:06 GMT - Lockdown - Australia’s 9News also reports Jewish schools and institutions across the country are in lockdown06:06 GMT - Map showing Martin Place and central SydneySiege condemned06:04 GMT - Speak to PM - Australia’s 9News is reporting that unconfirmed radio reports have claimed the gunman has demanded to speak to Prime Minister Tony Abbott.05:57 GMT - Criminal act - The Australian on its website is reporting that the countrys highest Muslim office holder, Grand Mufti Ibrahim Abu Mohamed, says he and the Australian National Imams Councils (ANIC) are devastated by the situation.The Grand Mufti and the Australian National Imam Council condemn this criminal act unequivocally and reiterate that such actions are denounced in part and in whole in Islam, Professor Mohamed said in a statement.We along (with) the wide(r) Australian society await the results of the investigation about the identity of the perpetrators and their underlying motivations behind the criminal act.05:46 GMT - Hotline - Police say people can also contact the National Security Hotline on 1800 1234 0005:34 GMT - Information - NSW police are tweeting that anyone with any information about the siege should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 00005:31 GMT - Opera closes - The Sydney Opera House is announcing that all performances tonight have been cancelled because of the hostage situation.05:27 GMT - Security committee - ABC News is reporting the the cabinet security committee is currently meeting via video link.Those involved include Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Treasurer Joe Hockey in Canberra, with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison and Defence Minister David Johnston who are in Papua New Guinea, it says.Australian Federal Police chief Andrew Colvin and Justice Minister Michael Keenan are en route back from Papua New Guinea to Australia, it adds.05:25 GMT - Safety priority - Our priority is the safety of the people in the cafe and the safety of the people of NSW, says Burn.05:24 GMT - Members of the police tactical unit deploy near the cafeThree run from cafe05:21 GMT - Motivations - Deputy Commissioner Burn: We dont believe anyone else in the cafe has been injured.Negotiators remain on scene. Investigators are trying to work out the offenders motivations.05:19 GMT - police confirm - Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn: I can confirm that three people have emerged from the locationI cant speculate on how many more people remain in the cafe.05:17 GMT - Three run from cafe - Three people have run out of the cafe.The hostages appeared to come out of a side door of the cafe which was being watched by heavily armed police, almost six hours after the standoff began.Three people have now emerged from the location in Martin Place. The first thing we will do is make sure they are okay, a police spokesman said.We will work with these people to figure out more information. We do not have information to suggest that anyone is harmed at this stage.03:42 GMT - India PM - Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi Tweets:The incident in Sydney is disturbing. Such acts are inhuman & deeply unfortunate. I pray for everyones safety.03:37 GMT - hostage call - Sydney talk radio station 2GB is tweeting confirmation Ray Hadley, a staff member, did receive a phone call from a hostage: To clarify, Ray Hadley was contacted by the hostage, the call was taken off air and then confirmed by the Police Commissioner.03:35 GMT - banks closed - Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Banking Corp and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group say they have shut their branches in the cnetral business district (CBD)03:29 GMT - Police number - Police are asking people to call 1800 227 228 for information on the incident and not the 000 emergency services line or the Police Assistance Line03:26 GMT - NZealand PM - Prime Minister of New Zealand John Key tweets: I’ve contacted Prime Minister @ TonyAbbottMHR to let him know our thoughts are with the people of Australia today.03:17 GMT - Members of the media monitor the situation near the cafe03:15 GMT - suspect devices - Scipione says the police have received a number of calls about suspect devices around the central business district, but everything has proven negative so far.03:13 GMT - peaceful resolution - There are well trained officers on the job who Im sure will bring this to a peaceful resolution, says the commissioner.03:08 GMT - hundreds of officers - There are hundreds of officers involved in that very small tight location right now. But again if need be we will escalate that and if need be well take it out to many many more, Scipione says.He adds that authorities are looking into the flag which was held up against the window of the cafe. Were trying to work out what it stands for but at this stage its probably best that I dont take that any further. Were working with or partner agencies to better determine what it is were dealing with there.Police commissioner speaks03:05 GMT - Difficult day - This is a difficult day for everyone that is involved in this particular operation, Scipione says.I can confirm for you that we have an armed defender in premises holding an undisclosed number of hostages in the city.We are at this stage continuing to secure and make sure that we are doing all we can to bring this to a peaceful outcome. We want to matter resolved peacefully and we will do all we need to do to ensure that.We certainly have tight restriction and tight controls around that location and we will work as long as we need to to bring this to an outcome. The officers there are trained and professional.03:05 GMT - Armed police evacuate employees from the offices near the cafe where hostages are being held in the central business district of Sydney03:04 GMT - No contact yet - Commissioner Scipione says police havent had contact with the armed offender at this stage.03:00 GMT - Armed man - Police are saying that the Sydney siege involves one armed man and an undisclosed number of hostages02:58 GMT - Hostage numbers - The Australian newspaper says there could be more people in the cafe than was first reported. Lindt Australia CEO Steve Loane has told the newspaper that there are up to 40 or 50 customers and employees in the cafe.02:51 GMT - Phone call - Sydney talk radio station 2GB is saying that Ray Hadley, a staff member, has received a phone call from someone claiming to be one of the hostages. He said the man had given him instructions and then Hadley went off air to talk to the apparent hostage.02:47 GMT - Warning - New South Wales police are warning people to avoid the Sydney CBD - roads are still closed due to police operation at Martin Place. More roads may be closed with little notice.The police website has been overloaded by so many visitors at times it is impossible to load. The police have resorted to Tweeting their warnings, updates and statements on the situation in order to reach as many people as possible.02:36 GMT - Police conference - ABC News reports that NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione is due to hold a media breifing shortly02:28 GMT - Courts closed - Justice NSW @NSWJustice is tweeting that all law courts in the central business district are closed for the day02:21 GMT - White House - A White House official says Lisa Monaco, the presidents top counter-terrorism advisor, has spoken to Obama about events in Sydney02:19 GMT - Canada - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is tweeting Canadas thoughts and prayers are with our Australian friends02:11 GMT - Obama briefed - Colleagues in Washington are reporting that President Barack Obama has been briefed on the hostage situation02:08 GMT - Mid-year outlook - The PM says that as part of the busisness as usual Abbott Treasurer Joe Hockey and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann will shortly release the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook as planned.01:59 GMT - Police maintain a cordon around the cafe01:57 GMT - PM speaks - “Australia is a peaceful open and generous society and nothing will change here.”“The ordinary business of government must go on and it will go on,” says Abbott01:55 GMT - motivation - Prime Minister Tony Abbott is speaking to the media saying We dont yet know the motivation of the perpetrator, we dont know whether this is politically motivated.01:50 GMT - Police close a street near the cafe01:48 GMT - More from the NSW Police website:Some nearby offices have been evacuated as a precaution. Anyone else in the area encompassing Hunter, George, Elizabeth and Macquarie streets bordering Martin Place is directed to remain indoors and away from open windows. Anyone in the vicinity but outside that area is free to leave their buildings.Police urge members of the public to remain calm and note that an appropriate police presence is in place.Police urge the media to be responsible in their reporting. Speculation can cause unnecessary alarm. We will attempt to keep you updated and police will release more information when it has been confirmed.01:43 GMT - trapped in building - ABC news is tweeting that an unknown number of people are trapped in the building above the cafe where the hostages are being held.Police are evacuating those above the cafe - including a baby - by ladder.ABC Local Radio reporter John Donigan says: Police search and rescue are evacuating people out windows and down ladders in the building that the hostages are being held in. So on the Elizabeth Street side of it people are being evacuated out windows and down ladders.01:39 GMT - Hostages held in Sydney cafe: Duration:00:2601:35 GMT - armed incident -NSW Police comment on their website:Police are dealing with an armed incident and specialist officers are attempting to make contact those inside a café.High alert01:33 GMT - jihadists - Australia has been on high alert after the government raised concerns that citizens who have fought alongside jihadists in Iraq and Syria could return home radicalised and capable of carrying out attacks.01:29 GMT - Bystanders watch events at the cafe seige01:27 GMT - Transport impact - Transport in the heart of Sydney has been impacted, with trains not stopping at Martin Place and buses operating in the area have been diverted, causing gridlock on other roads in the city.Sydney police are saying on Twitter: “Buses that normally travel across the Sydney Harbour Bridge are terminating at North Sydney Railway Station.”Australian airline Qantas tweets:“All Qantas flights are diverting around Sydney CBD but are operating as per schedule at this stage “01:22 GMT - Cafe siege in Sydney - Map locating the cafe in SydneyAustralians reassured01:19 GMT - National security - A national security meeting has been called by Prime Minister Tony Abbott.This is obviously a deeply concerning incident but all Australians should be reassured that our law enforcement and security agencies are well trained and equipped and are responding in a thorough and professional manner, he has told the media.01:15 GMT - Muslim leaders - The president of the Lebanase Muslim Association, Samier Dandan, has told ABC that Australian Muslim leaders are meeting online now to see if the community can help with the unfolding crisis.Dandan says it is not known who is behind the siege and whether there are any links to the Australian Muslim community.But regardless we have a hostage situation. Whether he is someone who belongs to the Australian Muslim community or not, we are still waiting for information to be provided by police and based on that if theres something the Muslim community can do or assist, we are there.01:12 GMT - Opera house - An incident at the nearby Sydney Opera House has also been reported, although police will not say whether it is related to the ongoing siege.New South Wales police spokeswoman has told AFP: The police are responding to an incident at the Opera House, adding that no further details were available.Reports say the Opera House had been evacuated.01:08 GMT - Armed police outside the cafe01:07 GMT - Situation unfold - A newsroom of the Australian TV station Channel Seven is opposite the café.Patrick Byrne, a producer says staff watched the situation unfold.We raced to the window and saw the shocking and chilling sight of people putting their hands up against the panes of glass at the cafe, he tells the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. This was just extraordinary.01:01 GMT - WELCOME TO AFP’S LIVE REPORT on the hostage crisis in Sydney, Australia. An unconfirmed number of people are being held in a café in the heart of the government and business district of Sydney.Witnesses on the scene report that an Islamic flag has been displayed in a window of the Lindt café in Martin Place, which has been cleared of people and surrounded by armed police.Reports say as many as 20 people could be in the cafe and that there are at least two gunmen, although police have not confirmed this.Witnesses have also reported hearing loud bangs that sounded like gun shots. We will continue to bring you live updates as the situation unfolds.Dunya News Tv
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 08:13:17 +0000
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