Your noon Briefing: ‘He went on the street to kill more people’

Your 2-minute digest of the day’s top stories.

Hello readers. Police continue a massive sweep of an alleged knifeman’s home, and is ScoMo on an infrastructure go-slow?

**DAILY TELEGRAPH ONLY** A knife-wielding man who terrorised bystanders in the Sydney CBD during an alleged stabbing rampage which left one woman dead and another injured is a 21-year-old escaped mental patient. Mert Ney, from Marayong in Sydney’s west, was detained by members of the public about 2pm after he was seen walking along York St covered in blood and armed with a knife. Picture: Seven News

‘He went on the street to kill more people’

Police continue a massive sweep of alleged knifeman Mert Ney’s home and social media to determine if terrorism or mental illness drove him to attack. Brad Norington writes that none of the recent US killing sprees could have been stopped by the use of two chairs and a milk crate.

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John Tiedemann Op Ed Cartoon for 14-08-2019. Version: Ozoped Artwork (1280x720 - Aspect ratio preserved, Canvas added)COPYRIGHT: The Australian's artists each have different copyright agreements in place regarding re-use of their work in other publications.Please seek advice from the artists themselves or the Managing Editor of The Australian regarding re-use.

PM must let traffic pass

Scott Morrison’s infrastructure pledge is just a fraction of what the country really needs; until he turns off his handbrake, we’ll be stuck in the slow lane.

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HONG KONG, CHINA - AUGUST 13: Members of the medical profession gather to protest against Hong Kong police brutality at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on August 13, 2019 in Hong Kong, China. Pro-democracy protesters have continued rallies on the streets of Hong Kong against a controversial extradition bill since 9 June as the city plunged into crisis after waves of demonstrations and several violent clashes. Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam apologized for introducing the bill and declared it "dead", however protesters have continued to draw large crowds with demands for Lam's resignation and completely withdraw the bill. (Photo by Anthony Kwan/Getty Images)

US Navy denied access to Hong Kong

China denies access to Hong Kong for two US Navy ships as Beijing warns of America’s ”black hand”. Robert Gottliebsen warns that Hong Kong is heading for an endgame, so Australia needs to be on its toes.

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12/08/2019 NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian in London. Source: NSW Premier's Office

The long read: Beating the premiership blues

The headwinds have buffetted NSW leader Gladys Berejiklian, writes Andrew Clennell.