ABC NewsMail - Afternoon Edition

NewsMail Afternoon Edition Thu 23 Jan, 2014 Top Stories More Top Stories » Ex-military spy drone to conduct NASA climate tests in Australian skies By international correspondent Mark Corcoran US space agency NASA is preparing to launch drone missions high in Australian skies for the next six weeks. The ex-US Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk drone has a wingspan of a Boeing 737 airliner and a flight endurance exceeding 30 hours. It costs a hefty $US200 million when fitted out with sophisticated eavesdropping equipment and is designed to circle the globe on secret military missions. The drone has been fitted with different instruments to help NASA "track changes in the upper atmosphere and help researchers understand how these changes affect Earth's climate". Pilots have been warned to be on the look out for the Global Hawk - the largest, most sophisticated drone in operational service today - until March 2. More » Craig Thomson trial: HSU whistleblower Kathy Jackson says union 'like a cult' Forrest's coal conversion deal to free 2.5m from slavery in Pakistan Li beats Bouchard to move through to Aussie Open final Pulitzer-winning photographer fired after doctoring Syria photo Abbott will not raise whaling in meeting with Japanese PM Facebook predicted to fade 'like a disease' More Analysis » When is a blue tie more than just a blue tie? Call me old-fashioned, but I would like to think this of my Prime Minister: that he is a man of intelligence, independent thought and creative intellectual flexibility; a man who knows, trusts and expresses his own mind. Call me trivial, but I'll never be able to convince myself that Tony Abbott is any of those things while he keeps wearing those blue ties. To me it marks him as a politician compulsively obsessed by the finest detail of political messaging; a man prepared to surrender even something as small, simple and silly as the choice of a tie to the necessities of political craft. More » What an "Anglo" foreign policy actually looks like Tony Abbott's inflation headache All's quiet on the Nauru front Wasting energy on climate change sceptics Abbott's constitutional curveball on paid parental leave Twitter babble disguises its worth Sending young men to prison won't make you safer The festering injustice that is Guantanamo Bay Neo-prohibition isn't the answer to violent crime Just In More Just In » Police wait to question Sydney man over wife's death Police are still waiting to speak to a man over the death of his wife in Sydney's south yesterday afternoon. More » Ex-military spy drone to conduct NASA climate tests in Australian skies Li beats Bouchard to move through to Aussie Open final China manufacturing sector posts surprise contraction Forrest's coal conversion deal to free 2.5m from slavery in Pakistan Warne to act as Australia's Twenty20 spin coach Pulitzer-winning photographer fired after doctoring Syria photo National Zoo unveils rare tree kangaroo joey Police searching for gunman after double shooting Porsche owner put car before murder case World More World » China manufacturing sector posts surprise contraction By business reporter Michael Janda China's manufacturing sector has contracted for the first time in six months, sending the Australian dollar lower. The widely-watched HSBC flash manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 49.6 in January from 50.5 in December - a level below 50 indicates the sector is contracting. However, some analysts caution that little can be read into January and February Chinese data as it is skewed by the massive Lunar New Year holiday. More » Pulitzer-winning photographer fired after doctoring Syria photo Bankers at Davos say regulation may have gone too far Abbott will not raise whaling in meeting with Japanese PM Facebook predicted to fade 'like a disease' Personal notes of John Paul II to be published Business More Business » China manufacturing sector posts surprise contraction By business reporter Michael Janda China's manufacturing sector has contracted for the first time in six months, sending the Australian dollar lower. The widely-watched HSBC flash manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 49.6 in January from 50.5 in December - a level below 50 indicates the sector is contracting. However, some analysts caution that little can be read into January and February Chinese data as it is skewed by the massive Lunar New Year holiday. More » Murray Goulburn to sell Warrnambool Cheese and Butter shares Bankers at Davos say regulation may have gone too far ASIC bans mortgage brokers for submitting false documents ANZ monitors Cambodian sugar client accused of human rights abuses Politics More Politics » Abbott will not raise whaling in meeting with Japanese PM By political reporter Latika Bourke The Opposition has seized on Tony Abbott's "dead silence" on the issue of whaling, accusing the prime minister of being a different leader when abroad. More » Labor's Griffith candidate to address shadow cabinet More disease-free zones in the wild for threatened Tasmanian devil Australia offers to cooperate with probe of abuse claims Olympic committees receive hoax threat letters as Sochi concerns continue Sport More Sport » Li beats Bouchard to move through to Aussie Open final Li Na progressed to her third Australian Open decider in four years, ending the dream run of Eugenie Bouchard. More » Manchester City gets controlling stake in Melbourne Heart Australia names largest ever squad for Sochi Federer unsure if double-bounce shot was legal Warne to act as Australia's Twenty20 spin coach Fittler will be "smashed" at Nines: Axe Science and Technology More Science and Technology » Ex-military spy drone to conduct NASA climate tests in Australian skies By international correspondent Mark Corcoran US space agency NASA is preparing to launch drone missions high in Australian skies for the next six weeks. The ex-US Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk drone has a wingspan of a Boeing 737 airliner and a flight endurance exceeding 30 hours. It costs a hefty $US200 million when fitted out with sophisticated eavesdropping equipment and is designed to circle the globe on secret military missions. The drone has been fitted with different instruments to help NASA "track changes in the upper atmosphere and help researchers understand how these changes affect Earth's climate". Pilots have been warned to be on the look out for the Global Hawk - the largest, most sophisticated drone in operational service today - until March 2. More » National Zoo unveils rare tree kangaroo joey Federal Government to seek costs over Antarctica rescue Facebook predicted to fade 'like a disease' Mystery white rock appears near Mars rover Environment More Environment » Twitchers in a flap after croc blocks sewerage By Mark Di Stefano Bird watchers are furious at being blocked from a Darwin sewerage facility where a lost Arctic bird has been spotted, because a crocodile is lurking in the ponds. The Grey Phalarope with its dirty white feathers has been floating around the Leanyer sewage facility for the last few days. Local bird watchers do not know how it got to Darwin, as it usually breeds in the Arctic tundra and there have been no sightings of it in Australia for years. More » 2013 fourth hottest year on record for planet: reports China pollution wafting in large quantities across Pacific to the US: report Murray-Darling water allocations to be sold back to farmers Fishermen cautious over WA shark cull amid safety fears, Premier says 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. Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 700 Harris Street, Ultimo NSW 2007 © 2014 ABC | Conditions of Use | Privacy Policy | Discover other ABC Email newsletters