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NewsMail Morning Edition Wed 25 Dec, 2013 Top Stories More Top Stories » Fly-in fly-out families make the most of Christmas apart By Jennifer King Christmas Day is traditionally an opportunity to spend time together as a family, playing cricket in the back yard, going to the beach and sharing traditions. But with many Australians taking on fly-in fly-out jobs, some families will spend today with an absent loved one working far from home. Those families are used to husbands and wives, mums and dads regularly being away, but with Christmas being such a family-oriented time, it is especially difficult. Sue and Urban Krucker, parents of three children, have calculated that it will be 2016 before they can spend Christmas Day together. They get around the strain by celebrating early, and last weekend they opened presents, popped bonbons, wore paper hats and read silly riddles as though it was December 25. More » Locals work to bring Christmas cheer to fire-hit Blue Mountains CMC focuses on retail lobby group in Scott Driscoll investigation Two boys abducted south of Brisbane Mass grave fuels fears of ethnic bloodshed in South Sudan Deadly storms wreak havoc in Britain and France Sydney to Hobart: Contenders ensure 2013 the most eagerly anticipated race yet More Analysis » A time to be thankful for the market economy (really) At first glance, the Australian Christmas in 1865 doesn't look too different from ours. Food, family, the outdoors; it looks lovely. But the celebration would have been an enormous, expensive, time-consuming, and overwhelming logistical task. Now, thanks to the technology and wealth generated by a market economy and consumer society, it has never been easier to share Christmas with friends and family. More » Revisiting the Jesus meme Tony Abbott's blame game can't last forever The sticky residues of Christian faith Ben Pobjie's tips for maintaining Christmas harmony The Coalition is a victim of its own rhetoric The age of internet empires The Hobbit as you've never experienced it before These falls may be just the beginning for the AUD The opportunistic embrace of free speech Just In More Just In » Mass grave fuels fears of ethnic bloodshed in South Sudan Thousands of South Sudanese have been killed in over a week of violence with reports of bodies piled in mass graves, the UN says, amid ongoing battles threatening to slide into civil war. More » Astronauts step out on Christmas Eve spacewalk Deadly storms wreak havoc in Britain and France Australians hold fears for Sudanese relatives over Christmas Locals work to bring Christmas cheer to fire-hit Blue Mountains Philippines expects a Merry Christmas despite Typhoon Haiyan Two boys abducted south of Brisbane Sri Lanka lets Australian hotelier Geoffrey Dobbs back in after flag furore CMC focuses on retail lobby group in Scott Driscoll investigation Explosives scare delays treason trial for Pakistan's Musharraf World More World » Mass grave fuels fears of ethnic bloodshed in South Sudan Thousands of South Sudanese have been killed in over a week of violence with reports of bodies piled in mass graves, the UN says, amid ongoing battles threatening to slide into civil war. More » Astronauts step out on Christmas Eve spacewalk Deadly storms wreak havoc in Britain and France Philippines expects a Merry Christmas despite Typhoon Haiyan Sri Lanka lets Australian hotelier Geoffrey Dobbs back in after flag furore Explosives scare delays treason trial for Pakistan's Musharraf Business More Business » Retailers get Christmas cheer from spendthrift consumers By business reporter Pat McGrath Retailers are expecting Christmas sales to better last year's, with city stores full of customers. The Australian Retailers Association is expecting sales of more than $42 billion in the six weeks leading up to Christmas - around 3 per cent more than last year. Other retailer organisations are even more optimistic, expecting more than 5 per cent sales growth. More » Share market continues winning run into Christmas break NAB and UBS pay up for alleged market misdemeanours Health Minister approves 6.2 per cent increase to health insurance Politics More Politics » Mass grave fuels fears of ethnic bloodshed in South Sudan Thousands of South Sudanese have been killed in over a week of violence with reports of bodies piled in mass graves, the UN says, amid ongoing battles threatening to slide into civil war. More » Britain pardons 'father of computing' of homosexuality conviction Medical tests for older drivers to be abolished in SA Nyrstar given five years to upgrade smelter Obama symbolically signs up for Obamacare Sport More Sport » 2013: The year in sport by Jon Healy Ashes series, droughts ended and Australian sport's "blackest day". It was a big year for sport at home and abroad. More » Plenty of contenders for Sydney to Hobart Great sporting comebacks of 2013 MCG magic moments Swann blasts 'low life' journalists No Christmas cheer for England as Test approaches Science and Technology More Science and Technology » Astronauts step out on Christmas Eve spacewalk Two astronauts have stepped out for a rare Christmas Eve spacewalk, successfully wrapping up repairs on a cooling system at the International Space Station. More » Terminally ill daughter inspires new hospital technology 15 animal stories from 2013 you may have missed World's first life-sized Lego car hits streets of Melbourne Snorkel-clad spacewalkers leave ISS for crucial repairs Environment More Environment » Nyrstar given five years to upgrade smelter Nyrstar's $385 million proposal to upgrade its lead and zinc smelter at Port Pirie has been given major project status by the South Australian Government. It has imposed 12 conditions on Nyrstar to help safeguard air and water quality and the backing triggers a five-year time frame for an upgraded plant to be operational. A final decision from the company itself on whether to proceed is expected early in the new year. More » Fact File: Protecting people from shark attacks Can governments protect people from killer sharks? Government accused of breaking election promise over whaling Waratah talks up jobs potential of massive mine 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. This email address is not monitored - Please don't reply to this email. 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