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NewsMail Morning Edition Wed 04 Dec, 2013 Top Stories More Top Stories » Lawyer claims ASIO trying to gag witness in East Timor spying scandal A lawyer representing East Timor in its spying case against Australia has accused the Government of attempting to gag the key witness, a former spy turned whistleblower. East Timor has accused Australia of using the cover of its aid program to install listening bugs inside a Dili cabinet room so it could spy on sensitive information during oil and gas negotiations in 2004. East Timor will launch a case in The Hague on Thursday to have the treaty it signed with Australia, worth an estimated $40 billion, ripped up. Yesterday, ASIO officers raided the Canberra office of lawyer Bernard Collaery, who is currently in the Netherlands preparing for the case, and cancelled the passport for the retired spy who was expected to give evidence at The Hague. In an interview with Lateline, Mr Collaery accused ASIO of being "crass" by "muzzling the oral evidence of the prime witness". More » Australian students slipping behind in maths, reading: OECD report Julie Bishop to travel to Indonesia for talks on spying fallout Guardian defends publishing Snowden leaks as police flag possible charges Kim Jong-Un's powerbroker uncle ousted, South Korea says Bolshoi dancer Dmitrichenko jailed for acid attack AFL allegedly offered James Hird inducements to drop lawsuit over supplements scandal: report More Analysis » 'Vibenomics' obscures a changing economy The widely held view that Western Australia, and therefore the rest of the country, is in decline doesn't square with the statistics that matter. The reality, as with most things to do with Australia's economy, is that it's more complicated than just looking at the big picture. Looking closer reveals the economy changing from the mining investment boom, to the mining export boom, and a big change happened in 2012-13 - especially in WA. More » A short history with Christopher Pyne Qantas: the spirit of Australian nationalism Dancing with Israel's elephant GrainCorp decision in the Nationals' interest Australian governance caught in a black hole Indonesia was handed a free kick and used it 'Mortgage Bill' beats 'Electricity Bill' in cost-of-living war Our big pharma waste Russia must respect the law of the sea Just In More Just In » Third shooting attack on Sydney home By Thomas Oriti Shots have been fired at a Sydney home for the third time in less than eighteen months. More » Guardian defends publishing Snowden leaks as police flag possible charges AFL tried to induce Hird, Bombers: report Lawyer claims ASIO trying to gag witness in East Timor spying scandal French scientists say Arafat was not poisoned Yuan now world's second trade currency Former UBS executive accepts extradition to US over tax evasion scandal Bolshoi dancer Dmitrichenko jailed for acid attack Julie Bishop to travel to Indonesia for talks on spying fallout Australian students slipping behind in maths, reading: OECD report World More World » Guardian defends publishing Snowden leaks as police flag possible charges By Europe correspondent Barbara Miller The editor of Britain's Guardian newspaper has defended the decision to publish material leaked by former US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden. More » French scientists say Arafat was not poisoned Yuan now world's second trade currency Bolshoi dancer Dmitrichenko jailed for acid attack Kim Jong-Un's powerbroker uncle ousted, South Korea says Thai police abandon anti-protest barricades Business More Business » Reserve Bank leaves the official interest rate on hold at 2.5 per cent By business reporter Pat McGrath The Reserve Bank has left Australia's official interest rate unchanged at the historic low of 2.5 per cent, in line with economists' forecasts. Concerns about ongoing uncertainty in the global economy has led the the central bank has cut the cash rate by 225 basis points since November 2011. The most recent cut came in August, when the RBA lowered the rate by 25 basis points. More » Retail sales beat expectations in October Bill Gates says Amazon drone delivery plan 'overoptimistic' Global markets dip despite positive US economic data Former NBN Co boss warns Government review not to rewrite history Politics More Politics » Lawyer claims ASIO trying to gag witness in East Timor spying scandal A lawyer representing East Timor in its spying case against Australia has accused the Government of attempting to gag the key witness, a former spy turned whistleblower. East Timor has accused Australia of using the cover of its aid program to install listening bugs inside a Dili cabinet room so it could spy on sensitive information during oil and gas negotiations in 2004. East Timor will launch a case in The Hague on Thursday to have the treaty it signed with Australia, worth an estimated $40 billion, ripped up. Yesterday, ASIO officers raided the Canberra office of lawyer Bernard Collaery, who is currently in the Netherlands preparing for the case, and cancelled the passport for the retired spy who was expected to give evidence at The Hague. In an interview with Lateline, Mr Collaery accused ASIO of being "crass" by "muzzling the oral evidence of the prime witness". More » Julie Bishop to travel to Indonesia for talks on spying fallout Kim Jong-Un's powerbroker uncle ousted, South Korea says Mayor accused of conflict of interest over Surfers Paradise land sale Lawyer accuses ASIO of 'muzzling' E Timor spying case after raids Sport More Sport » AFL tried to induce Hird, Bombers: report The AFL allegedly tried to induce Essendon, James Hird to accept supplements scandal penalties, a news report says. More » Clarke nominated for top international cricket award World Cup venues late but will be ready - FIFA All Black Kieran Read named IRB player of the year Armstrong considering race against Chris McCormack Slater's knee injury worrying Storm for career: Bellamy Science and Technology More Science and Technology » Australian students slipping behind in maths, reading: OECD report A new report comparing Australian high school students with 65 other countries shows Australia is slipping further behind in maths and reading skills. More » ACCC rejects complaints over nano-free sunscreen Bill Gates says Amazon drone delivery plan 'overoptimistic' Bitcoin explained: the digital currency making millionaires Chinese launch sends rover to the Moon Environment More Environment » Abbott hits YouTube to ramp up pressure on Labor over carbon tax By chief political correspondent Emma Griffiths, staff Prime Minister Tony Abbott has taken to YouTube in a bid to up the ante on Labor to axe the carbon tax. Legislation to repeal the scheme is set for debate in the Senate this week but the bills are headed for defeat at the hands of the Opposition and the Greens. Mr Abbott continues to push his assertion that abolishing the carbon price will save householders hundreds of dollars. "You could do a lot with $550. That's what every Australian household on average will get from the abolition of the carbon tax," he said in the video. "It would be the best possible Christmas present for the Australian people." Labor insists it will only agree to abolish the tax if it is replaced with an emissions trading scheme and not the Coalition's Direct Action policy. More » Somerset koalas give scientists hope Clean Energy Finance Corp warns shutdown will hit budget Kiribati man fails to become first climate change refugee Captive-bred Tasmanian devils thriving on island haven 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. Manage your preferences | Unsubscribe | Contact Us   This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. 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