ABC NewsMail - Morning Edition

NewsMail Morning Edition Wed 22 Jan, 2014 Top Stories More Top Stories » Australian Navy accused of beating and burning asylum seekers By Indonesia correspondent George Roberts Asylum seekers have accused the Australian Navy of beating them and inflicting burns by ordering passengers onboard a boat being towed back to Indonesia to hold on to parts of the engine. ABC News has obtained video footage of asylum seekers receiving medical assessments of burns that Indonesian police say were inflicted by the Australian Navy. The Federal Government denies the claims, but Indonesian police say they had to get treatment for 10 asylum seekers, seven of whom had severe burns on their hands after they were picked up in Indonesian waters on January 6. The claims of physical abuse come as Canberra is warned that it risks clashes with Indonesia at sea over the Australian Government's asylum seeker policies and the admission that Australian ships have entered Indonesian waters without permission. More » Human Rights Watch report critical of Australia's treatment of asylum seekers Wawrinka eliminates reigning champ Djokovic in five-set epic Thai government declares state of emergency in Bangkok Australian jihadist shot by rebel sniper after Syria siege: militant Nauru deportation laws may be used in asylum seeker cases Police officers guilty of assault after repeatedly tasering detainee More Analysis » Neo-prohibition isn't the answer to violent crime Today Barry O'Farrell announced a crackdown on alcohol venues, with mandatory bottleshop closures at 10:00pm, a 1:30am pub lock-out, and no pub service after 3:00am. Let's lay aside whether it is fair to restrict the liberties of all because of the idiocy of a few. It is utterly and despicably perverse that our immediate reaction to a highly publicised violent assault is to blame public policy, or market forces, or "culture" in general. There have always been brutal thugs who take pleasure from violence. The correct - and most direct - response is to target the thugs, not to fiddle with tax policy. More » It's hard to feel dignified in underpaid work At knife's edge: elections and democracy in Thailand History repeats in curriculum war Exposed: the treachery of hairy women The ingrown toenail of Australian politics Miscarriage of emotions in abortion debate Unrealised fringe benefits in the housing market Labor reform, one step at a time Tony Abbott's high-stakes expectations game Just In More Just In » Inflation expected to remain within RBA comfort zone By Simon Frazer Official inflation figures to be released today are expected to be well within the Reserve Bank's comfort zone. More » Human Rights Watch report critical of Australia's treatment of asylum seekers Curitiba World Cup stadium is 'emergency situation': FIFA Rescued Antarctic passengers arrive in Hobart Australian Navy accused of beating and burning asylum seekers Angry South Koreans flood banks after data leak China crackdown on online video uploads China executes man for raping, murdering sex slaves Wawrinka beats Djokovic in epic to reach semi-finals Wright leads Stars to Big Bash win over Hobart World More World » Curitiba World Cup stadium is 'emergency situation': FIFA The behind-schedule stadium that will host Australia's group match against Spain could be excluded from the World Cup. More » Angry South Koreans flood banks after data leak China crackdown on online video uploads China executes man for raping, murdering sex slaves Al Qaeda-linked group claims deadly Beirut blast Super typhoon victims flee again as rains flood southern Philippines Business More Business » Super funds post best returns in 20 years By business reporter Michael Janda A leading industry analyst says super funds had their best returns in 20 calendar years as share markets surged. More » Qantas to send 747 maintenance work offshore Saputo claims majority stake in Warrnambool dairy firm Market closes higher despite mining and energy stocks falling Australia Post survey suggests charging for daily deliveries Politics More Politics » Expelled magistrate to sue over Nauru government comments Nauru's former Resident Magistrate says he'll sue the Nauruan government. The country's Department of Justice has released a statement outlining the reasons Peter Law was sacked and deported. It says the government had lost confidence in Mr Law to hear judicial matters in a fair and equal way. More » Bainimarama to quit as head of Fiji's military on Feb 28 India minister's wife died from overdose: report Government excludes age pension from welfare spending review Use of commercial fishers to kill sharks off Perth beaches abandoned Sport More Sport » Wawrinka beats Djokovic in epic to reach semi-finals Stanislas Wawrinka outlasted defending champion Novak Djokovic in a near carbon copy of last year's fourth round. More » Bouchard sets up Li Na semi-final showdown Curitiba World Cup stadium is 'emergency situation': FIFA Wright leads Stars to Big Bash win over Hobart Gerrans wins Tour Down Under first stage England eager to atone for poor series Science and Technology More Science and Technology » More concerns over academics accused of misconduct A review of 100 papers has raised further concerns about the work of two former University of Queensland researchers accused of fabricating a study into Parkinson's disease. Professor Bruce Murdoch and speech pathologist Caroline Barwood resigned from the state's top university last year after a whistleblower raised concerns about the study. UQ says an investigation has found there was no missing data in further studies published by the two researchers, or any research undertaken without ethical approval. However, the ABC understands concerns have been raised about 11 papers. More » Sunlight can lower blood pressure, researchers say Comet-chasing probe Rosetta wakes up Scientists collect goanna sperm in bid to create gene bank Patient records targeted in ransomware cyber attacks Environment More Environment » Murray-Darling water allocations to be sold back to farmers The Federal Government has announced plans to sell back water allocations to farmers along the Murray-Darling river system. The Commonwealth currently owns almost 1,700 gigalitres of water in the basin, following several years of environmental buy-backs. Parliamentary secretary for the environment Simon Birmingham says the trade of this year's water allocations will have important economic benefits while also maintaining environmental flows. "The core test for the environmental water holder in undertaking these activities is whether it better achieves environmental outcomes, whether it aligns with the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, which the Coalition is committed to implementing in full and on time," he said. More » Fishermen cautious over WA shark cull amid safety fears, Premier says Scientists collect goanna sperm in bid to create gene bank Dangerous smog in Beijing as index hits top of scale Flying foxes drop dead in extreme heat 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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