ABC NewsMail - Afternoon Edition

NewsMail Afternoon Edition Tue 31 Dec, 2013 Top Stories More Top Stories » Cyclone Christine tears through Pilbara lifting roofs and felling trees Authorities are assessing the damage from Tropical Cyclone Christine, with at least one small town hit hard in Western Australia's Pilbara. Residents of Wickham, about 50 kilometres east of Karratha, are reporting the cyclone is the worst in memory. They say most trees are gone, roofs and fences have been lost, homes flooded and cars damaged. The red alert has been lifted in some areas but remains in place for Tom Price and Paraburdoo. More » Friends, fans, rivals of F1 great Schumacher send messages of support Officers injured as abusive crowd riots outside Surfers Paradise police station WikiLeaks under fire over Assad meeting in Syria Russia tightens security after Volgograd terrorist attacks Raw-food runners wrap up 15,000km marathon trip around Australia More Analysis » Australia's march to free speech has begun The High Court's decision in Unions NSW vs New South Wales is one of the most significant decisions for democracy and human rights in Australian history. It's on par with the 1951 decision which quashed the Communist Party Dissolution Bill. It reveals a High Court inching - slowly, reluctantly, unhappily - towards a full-blown recognition of the human right to freedom of speech and freedom of association: the sort of uncompromising liberties expressly found in United States' First Amendment. More » Language as a selfie of the soul in 2013 A new tax on illness Ashes: every which way to lose Taking Australia's decency for granted 2013 in politics: the power of three Australia's love affair with the jewel sea A time to be thankful for the market economy (really) Summers of our content Revisiting the Jesus meme Just In More Just In » Armed police storm building after Sydney shooting By Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop Police in Sydney's inner west have stormed a building at Leichhardt following reports of a shooting at a nearby pub. More » Share market ends boon year with a whimper 19,000 flee erupting volcano in Indonesia WikiLeaks under fire over Assad meeting in Syria Raw-food runners wrap up 15,000km marathon trip around Australia Sydney Wet N Wild NYE party cancelled Top End crocodile capture numbers down for year Record number of women make Queen's New Year's honours list Wanderers and Victory blame rival supporters for brawl Learner leads RBT police on 80km chase World More World » 19,000 flee erupting volcano in Indonesia More than 19,000 people have been displaced by a volcano in Indonesia that has been erupting for months and shot lava into the air nine times overnight. More » Record number of women make Queen's New Year's honours list Switzerland grants Mikhail Khodorkovsky three-month visa Prince William goes back to college to study farming Dozens dead in DR Congo after attack by renegade prophet's militia Myanmar announces broad prisoner pardon Business More Business » Share market ends boon year with a whimper By business reporter Michael Janda After trading a little down, then a little up, the share market has failed to add to its 15 per cent annual gain on the last trading day of 2013. More » Aussie dollar forecast to fall to 80 cents in 2014 New phone reforms reducing complaints, more improvements to come: telco ombudsman Home lending leads as business borrowing falls in November Myer website still down after Christmas crash Politics More Politics » WHO could soon recommend people cut sugar intake by half, report says By Lucy Carter The World Health Organisation is considering a formal recommendation that people cut their sugar intake by half, a paper reportedly shows. Many obesity and health experts say such a change cannot come quickly enough, but warn of a concerted campaign from the processed food industry. More » Switzerland grants Mikhail Khodorkovsky three-month visa Dozens dead in DR Congo after attack by renegade prophet's militia Myanmar announces broad prisoner pardon Chinese police kill eight 'terrorists' in Xinjiang Sport More Sport » Pattinson returns to Australian ODI squad Recuperating fast bowler James Pattinson has been named in the Australian one-day squad to play England. More » Stosur loses Hopman Cup match to Pennetta Ebden makes up for lost time in Brisbane International Wanderers and Victory blame rival supporters for brawl Messages of support flood in for critical Michael Schumacher Security concerns for Sochi Olympics following Russian blasts Science and Technology More Science and Technology » Bad weather delays Antarctic ship rescue plans Scientists on an icebound Antarctic research ship look set to be stranded for New Year's Eve after a helicopter rescue was put on hold. More » Australian icebreaker abandons attempt to reach ship stranded in Antarctica Man survives first week with artificial heart Bad weather holds off Antarctic rescue 'Big cracks' appear in ice around stranded ship Environment More Environment » Tasmanian Greenpeace activist leaves Russia By Europe correspondent Barbara Miller Tasmanian Greenpeace activist Colin Russell has left on a flight out of Russia hours after being granted an exit visa. More » Greenpeace activist Colin Russell expected home before new year The year that was: Fact, fiction and everything in between Nyrstar given five years to upgrade smelter Fact File: Protecting people from shark attacks About this email You received this email because you are subscribed to ABC News email alerts. This message was sent to you at starnewsposting@gmail.com Please add newslists@your.abc.net.au to your email address book to see images by default and stop the email being treated as spam. 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