ABC NewsMail - afternoon edition

Residents anxiously await flood peak
Regional towns across central New South Wales are anxiously watching river levels rise, with some townships isolated by floodwaters that are predicted to reach Wagga Wagga this afternoon.

Roxon ready to bargain on health deal
Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon has indicated the Government is prepared to strike a compromise deal with Western Australia on a national agreement for health funding.

Witnesses saw brawl before party boat crash
An investigation into a boat crash in Sydney Harbour that injured seven people last night is looking into reports a fight broke out between passengers and crew.

Pietersen plunders directionless Aussies
Australia's bowlers were troubled but Kevin Pietersen was not as he strolled to his second career double century before tea on day three of the second Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval.

Labor to back adults-only games classification
The Federal Government has announced it will support a push for an adults-only classification for video games.

Evidence destroyed: the luckiest oil spill
When the West Atlas rig haemorrhaged oil for 74 days last year, no-one was killed and according to the Government and the oil company the environmental damage has been minimal. "The fact is we were lucky with Montara" said Resources Minister Ferguson when he tabled the Montara Commission of Inquiry last week. But leafing through the report there is a strange feeling they were in a parallel universe to that inhabited by the inquiry's commissioner.

Editor's letter makes for a bizarre Posettigate twist
The offer made by The Oz's editor-in-chief to Julie Posetti via a lawyer's letter is, to my mind, quite simply bizarre.

We all have faith - why not embrace it?
Faith is needed for all of us to make sense of life, to know what it means to be human, especially in relationship with others.

A wing and a prayer in the Murray-Darling Basin
If irrigation allocations are cut in the Murray-Darling Basin we are turning our backs on world food production.

Breaking bread, making peace
All who partake of the Eucharist must commit themselves to peacemaking in our world scarred by violence and war.

Pietersen plunders directionless Aussies
Australia's bowlers were troubled but Kevin Pietersen was not as he strolled to his second career double century before tea on day three of the second Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval.

Elderly stroke victim bashed during break-in
A 91-year-old man, bashed during an aggravated burglary in Melbourne's inner west, had only recently returned home from hospital after suffering a stroke.

Russian spy found in British parliament: report
A Russian woman working in the British parliament is to be deported after security services arrested her on suspicion of espionage, The Sunday Times has reported.

Russian spy found in British parliament: report
A Russian woman working in the British parliament is to be deported after security services arrested her on suspicion of espionage, The Sunday Times has reported.

WikiLeaks cables link China to Google espionage
US diplomats in Beijing have linked top Chinese officials to the cyber attacks that prompted Google to take down its search engine in China early this year, according to leaked diplomatic cables.

Mbeki to mediate Ivory Coast election dispute
The African Union is sending former South African president Thabo Mbeki to Ivory Coast to mediate in the country's political dispute.

Pietersen plunders directionless Aussies
Australia's bowlers were troubled but Kevin Pietersen was not as he strolled to his second career double century before tea on day three of the second Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval.

Elderly stroke victim bashed during break-in
A 91-year-old man, bashed during an aggravated burglary in Melbourne's inner west, had only recently returned home from hospital after suffering a stroke.

Residents anxiously await flood peak
Regional towns across central New South Wales are anxiously watching river levels rise, with some townships isolated by floodwaters that are predicted to reach Wagga Wagga this afternoon.

Spanish air traffic stand-off comes to a close
Most of Spain's air traffic controllers have returned to work and airspace has reopened, after a walkout grounded flights and stranded thousands.

US hit by surging unemployment
The US jobless rate surged to 9.8 per cent in November, a hammer blow to the economic recovery and to president Barack Obama's hopes for a quick end to high unemployment.

Gunns eyes plantations amid peace deal strain
The first cracks have appeared in the peace deal between loggers and conservationists in Tasmania.

Angry Hogan wants apology from ACC
Crocodile Dundee star Paul Hogan is preparing to sue his former financial adviser and is demanding an apology from the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) after it abandoned a five-year investigation into his taxes.

Australia has abandoned me: Assange
As authorities close in on Julian Assange, the controversial WikiLeaks founder has blasted Australia's response to the scandal, saying the Federal Government has thrown away his rights in an attempt to pander to US interests.

Federal government willing to compromise on health deal for WA
The Federal Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, has indicated the Government's prepared to strike a compromise deal with Western Australia on a national agreement for health funding.

Locusts swarm across Victorian border
Medium and high density locust swarms have made their way into Victoria.

Gunns eyes plantations amid peace deal strain
The first cracks have appeared in the peace deal between loggers and conservationists in Tasmania.

Drought-crippled farmers devastated by flooding
The State and Federal governments are under pressure from farming groups to continue drought funding while farmers recover from the floods.

Baa Baas too strong for Springboks
Australia winger Drew Mitchell capped an impressive individual Autumn with two early tries as a strong Barbarians side beat a much-changed South Africa 26-20 at Twickenham.

Woods stays four clear of chasing pack
Tiger Woods, with a swagger in his step, was poised to end a turbulent year on a high note after maintaining a four-shot lead in Saturday's third round of the Chevron World Challenge.

France leads Serbia in Davis Cup
Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra came back from two sets down to stun Nenad Zimonjic and Viktor Troicki 3-6, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 and give France a 2-1 lead over Serbia in the Davis Cup final.

Being a mum helped with film role: Kidman
Nicole Kidman says being a mum helped her "feel" her latest character as a grieving mother in the gritty drama Rabbit Hole.

Angry Hogan wants apology from ACC
Crocodile Dundee star Paul Hogan is preparing to sue his former financial adviser and is demanding an apology from the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) after it abandoned a five-year investigation into his taxes.

Labor to back adults-only games classification
The Federal Government has announced it will support a push for an adults-only classification for video games.

Roxon ready to bargain on health deal
Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon has indicated the Government is prepared to strike a compromise deal with Western Australia on a national agreement for health funding.

Federal government willing to compromise on health deal for WA
The Federal Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, has indicated the Government's prepared to strike a compromise deal with Western Australia on a national agreement for health funding.

Labor calls on State Government to resolve health dispute with Commonwealth
The State Opposition has called on the Western Australian Government to finalise its negotiations with the Commonwealth over plans to reform the healthcare sector.

Fresh warrant issued for Assange's arrest
As the fallout grows from WikiLeaks' release of secret US diplomatic cables, Julian Assange could be extradited to Sweden this weekend.

Man arrested for mailing hundreds of tarantulas
A German man who allegedly shipped hundreds of live tarantulas into the United States through the mail has been charged with illegally importing wildlife.

Underwater robot discovers Coral Sea secrets
Marine scientists say they have been able to collect data about a remote region of the Coral Sea off north Queensland by using an underwater robot.

Sea Shepherd fleet prepares in Hobart
The newest addition to anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd's fleet has joined two sister ships on Hobart's River Derwent.

Tas govt approves forest loop road
The Tasmanian Government has agreed to spend millions of dollars improving roads through the north-west Tarkine forest.

Locusts swarm across Victorian border
Medium and high density locust swarms have made their way into Victoria.

Conference focuses on reducing Indigenous cancer rates
Researchers and healthcare providers say a new approach is needed to reduce cancer rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

New dental training school helps Indigenous residents
Innovative dentistry training schools will be set up in southern Queensland next year.

First Nations party 'could become kingmakers'
A Charles Darwin University political analyst is forecasting a proposed Indigenous political party could attract 20 per cent of the votes in Central Australia.

Man arrested for mailing hundreds of tarantulas
A German man who allegedly shipped hundreds of live tarantulas into the United States through the mail has been charged with illegally importing wildlife.

Egg on our face as Kiwis claim pavlova
The Oxford English Dictionary may have settled a long-running argument between Australia and New Zealand over who invented the pavlova.

Gosling fired from film after ice cream binge
Ryan Gosling has revealed that he was fired from Peter Jackson's 2009 film The Lovely Bones because his 27 kilo weight gain did not sit well with the director and his fellow producers.

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