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Thousands of people gathered in Sydney for a pro-Palestine protest, despite organisers being denied the chance to rally at the Sydney Opera House.

The Palestine Action Group had a request to march to the Opera House rejected by three judges in a court ruling on Thursday on the grounds of public safety.

This decision came after the NSW Premier Chris Minns and NSW Police initially blocked the move.

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Organisers were looking to replicate the August protest on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, where around 100,000 people braved the rain to protest against the war in Gaza, which has killed 67,000 people according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

Up to 40,000 were expected to turn out for this week's protest, which has become a regular occurrence on Sundays in Australia's major cities.

The demonstration began at around 1pm at Hyde Park.

That's despite a ceasefire being declared in Gaza.

There was a heavier security presence than normal, with security checkpoints being set up in and around Hyde Park.

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"Our right to protest is paramount in a democratic society," Damian Ridgwell, part of the Palestine Action Group, told reporters after Thursday's court ruling.

Brisbane and Melbourne also held marches.

Protests were also expected in Canberra, Cairns and Coffs Harbour.

Sydney also saw protest of another kind, as a convoy of boats sailed on Sydney Harbour as a demonstration against anti-semitism. 

The protests come as a ceasefire in Gaza has been held for a second day, with remaining Israeli hostages set to be released by Hamas as soon as tomorrow.

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Ian Watkins, the former frontman of Welsh rock band Lostprophets who was serving a 35-year sentence for child sex offences, has been killed in prison by another inmate, British media has reported.

Watkins, 48, was serving his sentence at Wakefield Prison in northern England.

"At 9.39am this morning, police were called by staff at HMP Wakefield reporting an assault on a prisoner," West Yorkshire Police said in a statement.

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"Emergency services attended and the man was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later."

The statement did not name Watkins.

Police did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

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Watkins was convicted in 2013 after pleading guilty to 13 charges.

He had admitted two attempted rapes, sexually assaulting a child under 13, aiding and abetting the sexual assault of a child under 13, conspiring to rape a child under 13 and conspiring to sexually assault another child under 13.

He had also pleaded guilty to six counts of taking and possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing extreme pornographic images.

A delivery rider in Sydney has been hospitalised after being involved in a collision with a Porsche that was allegedly involved in a pursuit with police.

Police say the chase with the Porsche began after they tried to stop it for speeding in Sydney's south during a routine patrol on the Bangor Bypass at around 12.30am today.

The driver of the Porsche refused to stop, according to police.

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"The pursuit was terminated a short time later for safety reasons," a NSW Police spokesperson told 9news.com.au.

Police found the Porsche a short time later after it had been involved in a collision with a delivery rider.

The rider, who is in his 20s, suffered serious injuries and was treated at the scene by paramedics.

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He was then taken to St George Hospital.

Police say the driver of the Porsche, a 52-year-old man, was not injured.

He was taken to Sutherland Police Station, where he has been assisting police with their investigation.

At this point in time, no charges have been laid.

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