ABC NewsMail - Morning Edition

NewsMail Morning Edition Wed 06 Aug, 2014 Top Stories More Top Stories » Baby Gammy's father has child sex convictions By Adam Harvey The Thai surrogate mother of baby Gammy says she is shocked to learn that the child's biological father is a convicted paedophile. Electrician David John Farnell, 56, was sentenced to three years' jail in 1997 for sexually molesting two girls under the age of 13. Just months later, while still imprisoned, he was charged again - this time with six counts of indecent dealings with a child under the age of 13. The WA Department for Child Protection has begun an investigation and visited the house of the Bunbury couple at the centre of the scandal. More » Abbott overrules Brandis on changes to Racial Discrimination Act US general killed in Afghanistan insider attack Israel withdraws troops as 72-hour ceasefire holds in Gaza Brisbane geologist linked to N Korea mining project Rupert Murdoch withdraws bid to acquire Time Warner Ecclestone bribery trial halted after $US100m settlement Second staffer leaves Senator Ricky Muir's office Alleged drug lab found in buried shipping container Push to use experimental drugs in Ebola outbreak More Analysis » Rising living costs are hitting some of us harder The cost of living might be rising for all of us, but employees are faring much better than people on welfare payments, who will face an even tougher time under the budget. For aged pension and beneficiary households, costs are rising much in line with the CPI, but for employee households they are rising much slower. And changing the indexing of the Age Pension, Disability Support Pension, Carer Payment and Veterans' Affairs pensions will only make it harder for welfare recipients to keep up with costs. More » The politics of (downward) envy Abbott needs to hit the reset button A poor plan to tackle the pirates Balibo's ghosts and East Timor's media law We must be honest with children about tragedy Believe me, Germans don't ignore WWI The West risks creating a Central Powers 2.0 We didn't choose to join WWI - nothing has changed Don't underestimate Aussie strategic thinking in 1914 Just In More Just In » Scottish leaders face off in independence debate The battle for Scotland's future shifted to voters' TV screens when the leaders of the pro-independence and pro-union campaigns took part in a presidential-style debate ahead of a historic referendum. More » Two-year cut-off for injured workers in planned WorkCover reform Push to use experimental drugs in Ebola outbreak Thai junta bans video game simulating dictatorship NSW Government whip to appear at ICAC over 'slush funds' Prison terms doubled for Victorian parents leaving kids in cars Civil liberty groups suspect terrorism threat exaggerated Rupert Murdoch withdraws bid to acquire Time Warner Ecclestone bribery trial halted after $US100m settlement US general killed in Afghanistan insider attack World More World » Scottish leaders face off in independence debate The battle for Scotland's future shifted to voters' TV screens when the leaders of the pro-independence and pro-union campaigns took part in a presidential-style debate ahead of a historic referendum. More » Push to use experimental drugs in Ebola outbreak Thai junta bans video game simulating dictatorship Rupert Murdoch withdraws bid to acquire Time Warner Ecclestone bribery trial halted after $US100m settlement US general killed in Afghanistan insider attack Business More Business » Interest rates pass a year on hold at record lows By business reporter Michael Janda The official cash rate been on hold for a year at a record low 2.5 per cent, with the Reserve Bank leaving it unchanged at today's meeting. More » Finance, mining shares dominate market losses Transurban boosts profit at motorists' expense Cochlear profit falls but sales, shares surge Trade deficit narrows but weak commodity prices keep Australia in the red Services industry going backwards, but at slower pace Politics More Politics » Scottish leaders face off in independence debate The battle for Scotland's future shifted to voters' TV screens when the leaders of the pro-independence and pro-union campaigns took part in a presidential-style debate ahead of a historic referendum. More » Two-year cut-off for injured workers in planned WorkCover reform Prison terms doubled for Victorian parents leaving kids in cars Civil liberty groups suspect terrorism threat exaggerated Psychiatrist says detention treatment akin to torture Sport More Sport » Ecclestone bribery trial halted after $US100m settlement A German court has halted a bribery trial against Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone in exchange for his paying a $US100 million fee. More » Wallaroos beat Wales to remain undefeated in World Cup Scott not settling for second at PGA Championship Cartwright quits as Titans coach Perth and Adelaide United progress in FFA Cup Steve Johnson free to face Fremantle Science and Technology More Science and Technology » CSIRO gets new research vessel 11 months overdue By Ros Lehman and Tom Nightingale Australia has officially taken possession of its new $122 million marine research vessel, Investigator, but almost 12 months later than scheduled. Billed as a game-changer for marine research, RV Investigator was expected to be completed last September and be operational by March. Now it is expected to arrive in Hobart in mid-September, where it will be fitted with research equipment worth $6.7 million. A series of delays saw the ship remain longer than expected in its Singapore shipyards, and those setbacks have impacted upon the CSIRO's 2014 research program. Project head Toni Moate, who was in Singapore to "pick up the keys", said the delay was within normal expectations for a build of its size. More » High-tech tools can turn carbon dioxide to oxygen: NASA Modern birds 'evolved from flesh-eating dinosaurs' Crew 'back on Earth' after simulated Mars mission NASA's Opportunity rover sets travel record on Mars Environment More Environment » Alan Jones and Greens co-founder reunite for coal seam gas fight By Kristine Taylor The coupling of Greens co-founder Drew Hutton and radio shock jock Alan Jones has taken aback plenty of observers. More » Nuclear waste dump could 'close Aboriginal gap': Hawke Coal power station to close, two years after $50m bailout Bow and arrow attacks on wildlife on the rise: carers Massive coal mine won't affect Great Barrier Reef: Hunt 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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