Sydney: According to Australia's leading newspaper 'Sydney Morning Herald', chronology of the siege at a Sydney Café is as follows.
Blue sports bag
A woman is believed to have raised the alarm at 9:44 am (3:30 AM IST) when she saw a man outside the cafe carrying a blue sports bag with a gun inside.
There are reports that there could be two gunmen inside the cafe, although police have not confirmed this.
Within minutes, police surrounded Martin Place.
Terrified customers in the cafe could be seen holding an Islamic flag - which is black with white writing on it - up against the glass window.
The flag appears to be a Shahada flag, not an Islamic State flag, but is associated with Islamist and jihadist movements.
Just before 12.30 pm (7 am IST), police tackled a man to the ground about 200 metres from the cafe and a police officer was seen with his foot on what appeared to be a small black handgun.
However, police later said the arrest was not related to the siege.
The cafe is right in the middle of the banking and retail district, and is usually packed with Christmas shoppers at this time of year.
The federal government has been warning for months that a terrorist attack in Australia could happen.
The Channel Seven newsroom, which faces Martin Place, was evacuated, along with the Macquarie Bank and Westpac offices in the area.
The Martin Place studio is Seven's main newsroom and is home to breakfast show Sunrise and The Morning Show, which was on air when news of the siege broke about 9.45 am.
The network was originally running a live-stream of the siege, but was asked to take it down for security reasons.
It is unknown if any Seven staff are among the hostages. Channel Seven has shifted its network operations to Melbourne during the siege.
State Parliament, which is one block away from the cafe, has also been closed to the public, while David Jones' flagship store in the city was also evacuated.
Office workers as far away as Circular Quay reported that they were being sent home just before midday.
Police said office workers on Hunter, George, Elizabeth and Macquarie streets bordering Martin Place had been told to stay indoors and away from open windows. Anyone outside that area was free to leave their buildings.
Trains between Central and Bondi Junction were initially stopped, but the Transport Management Centre said services resumed about 10.45 am. However, Martin Place train station has been closed and trains are not stopping there.
A spokesman for federal Transport Minister Warren Truss said: "The airspace over the Sydney CBD is not in shut down. There are choppers in the air and air traffic is being rerouted according. At this stage no impact on the air traffic network."
The Department of Education and Communities' Safety and Security Unit has notified public schools of the hostage situation.
All schools have been asked to assume "white level" lockout, which means no school group is to leave the school grounds.
Journalist in shop
Journalist Chris Kenny, who was in the Lindt cafe about 20 minutes before the siege began, said he understood the automatic glass sliding doors had been disabled.
"I did speak to a couple of people who saw a bit more of this unfold than I did," he said.
"One woman said she tried to go into the shop just after I came out with my takeaway coffee but the doors wouldn't open. So obviously whoever is doing this has disabled the automatic glass sliding doors to stop anyone else going in and she said immediately she could see there was a weapon. She mentioned it being taken out of a blue bag and people were straight away asked to put up their hands," he said.
A man who gave his name only as Bruno said he'd worked in the cafe for six months. "I was supposed to start at 10am," he said while visibly shaken.
That was about 15 minutes after the siege started and he was unable to get inside.
Ray Hadley
Broadcaster Ray Hadley claimed on Monday to have spoken on the phone to one of the hostages.
Hadley said on 2GB that the male hostage was "remarkably calm" when relaying information over the phone from the gunman about 1pm on Monday.
Hadley said he could hear the gunman talking in the background during the phone conversation. The gunman wanted the hostage to speak live on radio, a demand that Hadley said he refused.
There have since been reports that Hadley has spoken to the hostage again.
Earlier this year in September, police conducted a series of major anti-terrorism raids across Sydney. Following those raids, police alleged Islamic extremists were planning to behead a person in Martin Place in Sydney's CBD.
Shortly after the siege began, the US Consulate sent an "emergency message" to its citizens warning them to stay away from Martin Place.
The message read: "US citizens are strongly encouraged to review your personal security plan, remain aware of your surroundings including local events, and monitor local news stations for updates. Maintain a high level of vigilance and take appropriate steps to enhance your personal security."
Lawyers, courts evacuated
The NSW Supreme Court's criminal courts on King Street in the CBD have been evacuated, as has have scores of staff from the NSW Crown Solicitor's office.
A number of prominent barristers' chambers have also been evacuated, including the Seventh Floor Garfield Barwick Chambers in Martin Place and the Wentworth Chambers.
Other legal chambers such as Sir Owen Dixon have been locked down, along with dozens of government and commercial buildings in the blocks surrounding the siege, including the Reserve Bank and the NSW Department of Transport.
Some staff say they have been moved out of their offices to the "safe" side of their buildings, away from the café.
A Transport Management Centre spokeswoman said the Sydney Harbour Bridge remained open, despite reports to the contrary.
A NSW Police motorcyclist was involved in an accident with another vehicle just after 11am on the Cahill Expressway, resulting in the closure of some approaches to the bridge.
The motorcyclist was treated by paramedics before the road reopened a short time later.
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