ABC NewsMail - afternoon edition

Rudd defends 'robust' China relationship
Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has defended Australia's "robust" relationship with China, saying disagreements between the countries are to be expected.

Fairfax Media CEO McCarthy resigns
In a surprise move, Fairfax Media chief executive Brian McCarthy has resigned.

English turn up the heat
Australia again needs its middle order to pull it out of the fire as the home side battles to avoid a massive defeat on day four of the second Ashes Test at Adelaide Oval.

Wagga braces for flood peak
Floodwaters reached a peak in the New South Wales town of Coonamble this morning but authorities are still waiting for a flood peak in Wagga Wagga later today.

Oprah show 'sell-out' sparks Bickmore backlash
Channel Ten personality Carrie Bickmore has been labelled a sell-out after her segment for Oprah Winfrey's visit to Australia on the 7PM Project featured what some consider to be an advertisement for McDonald's.

This one's for the Liberals
Calm yourselves, because I will say this only once: today's piece is pro-Liberal. Consider it an early Christmas present. OK, so it's only pro one Liberal in particular, but the sentiment stands. The man in question is named Bruce Atkinson, and he's a Victorian politician set to become president of the Upper House. He has also, in the past, confessed to being a chap partial to hobbies and opinions of a vaguely sexual nature.

And so this is Christmas
All in all it's hard to be much impressed by what we've done in 2010, and by what we haven't. Perhaps 2011 will be better.

A win-win for Mr 3,000
Simply Red's Mick Hucknall has confessed to sex with over 3,000 women. I suspect he's marketing himself as a stud.

WikiLeaks a blueprint for things to come
With every day, with every passing hour, the power of the state mobilises against WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, its titular leader. Over the last week we've been able to watch the systematic dismantling of WikiLeaks. First came the condemnation, then came the technical attacks, each one designed to amputate one part of the body of the organisation. But in a phenomenon reminiscent of the Napster saga, the failures of WikiLeaks provide the blueprint for the systems which will follow it.

Not quite so super
It's now possible for Australia's largest superannuation fund to invest in firms involved in the production and trade of cluster munitions.

Haitians link cholera deaths to witchcraft
A total of 140 people have died of cholera in recent days in south-western Haiti, a region that had been largely spared the epidemic that has killed more than 1,880 people since mid-October, medical sources said.

CBA wants consultation not more regulation
The Commonwealth Bank has warned the Federal Government against introducing extra regulation in order to boost competition.

Rudd defends 'robust' China relationship
Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has defended Australia's "robust" relationship with China, saying disagreements between the countries are to be expected.

Haitians link cholera deaths to witchcraft
A total of 140 people have died of cholera in recent days in south-western Haiti, a region that had been largely spared the epidemic that has killed more than 1,880 people since mid-October, medical sources said.

Rudd defends 'robust' China relationship
Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has defended Australia's "robust" relationship with China, saying disagreements between the countries are to be expected.

Oprah show 'sell-out' sparks Bickmore backlash
Channel Ten personality Carrie Bickmore has been labelled a sell-out after her segment for Oprah Winfrey's visit to Australia on the 7PM Project featured what some consider to be an advertisement for McDonald's.

CBA wants consultation not more regulation
The Commonwealth Bank has warned the Federal Government against introducing extra regulation in order to boost competition.

Oprah show 'sell-out' sparks Bickmore backlash
Channel Ten personality Carrie Bickmore has been labelled a sell-out after her segment for Oprah Winfrey's visit to Australia on the 7PM Project featured what some consider to be an advertisement for McDonald's.

Rudd defends 'robust' China relationship
Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has defended Australia's "robust" relationship with China, saying disagreements between the countries are to be expected.

New DHA homes planned for Townsville
Defence Housing Australia (DHA) has unveiled plans to construct more than 1,000 new homes in Townsville in north Queensland.

Mine water management rules 'too tough'
The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) says new guidelines to control water discharges from coal mines are too tough.

Flat start for local market
The local share market has started the week flat following a lacklustre session on Wall Street, where non-farm payroll numbers for November came in lower than expected.

Some private school teachers win wage increase
Teachers at some Presbyterian and Methodist schools in south-east Queensland have reached a new wage agreement.

Indigenous residents 'need housing advice service'
Remote Indigenous residents need a dedicated, independent legal service to help them understand their right to housing in good condition, a Darwin community legal service says.

Mental health key to child protection
Better mental health services could reduce the number of Tasmanian children in the welfare system, according to the Mental Health Council.

Rain disrupts sugar harvest in Bundaberg region
Sugar producers at Bundaberg in south-east Queensland say this season's crush has been the wettest and most disrupted in more than three decades.

Mine water management rules 'too tough'
The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) says new guidelines to control water discharges from coal mines are too tough.

Drought aid dries up
Almost 10 years of federal drought aid ends next week for farmers in Queensland's southern regions.

Ogilvy inching up honour roll
Geoff Ogilvy is not concerned about where he stands in the history of Australian golf.

Meyer claims first Oppy medal
Cameron Meyer, one of the leaders of Australian cycling's new generation, won the "Oppy" medal in Melbourne on Sunday night as the national rider of the year.

Victorious Westwood retains top spot
England's Lee Westwood has shot a final-round 68 to win the Sun City Challenge by a dominant eight strokes and remain world number one going into the new year.

NT images short-listed for National Portrait Prize
Two photographs taken in Central Australia have been short-listed in the National Portrait Prize.

Lionel Richie to play A Day On The Green
Pop legend Lionel Richie will return to Australia in March 2011 to perform at several winery events.

Ben Folds to tour Oz
Ben Folds and his band are set to tour Australia in May 2011.

Ambos: avoid binge boozing at Xmas parties
The New South Wales Ambulance Service is asking people to refrain from binge drinking during the Christmas party season.

Haitians link cholera deaths to witchcraft
A total of 140 people have died of cholera in recent days in south-western Haiti, a region that had been largely spared the epidemic that has killed more than 1,880 people since mid-October, medical sources said.

Mental health key to child protection
Better mental health services could reduce the number of Tasmanian children in the welfare system, according to the Mental Health Council.

International gravity wave centre planned
Five Australian universities have joined forces to try and secure an international physics project which would be based near Gingin in WA.

12,000-year-old mine found in Chile
Archaeologists from the University of Chile have discovered a 12,000-year-old iron oxide mine in the north of the country.

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.

6.7M flood peak for Wee Waa Tuesday
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a major flood warning for Wee Waa, in north-western New South Wales.

Smaller crowds at Great Inland Fishing Event
Wet weather, strong winds, and road closures kept angler numbers down at the weekend's Great Inland Fishing Event near Inverell, in northern New South Wales.

Danger signs at Kingscliff
High tides are causing more erosion problems at Kingscliff, despite the efforts of local volunteers.

Indigenous residents 'need housing advice service'
Remote Indigenous residents need a dedicated, independent legal service to help them understand their right to housing in good condition, a Darwin community legal service says.

Indigenous burn control a myth: study
New research puts paid to the belief that Aboriginal people used fire on a large scale to control vegetation across Australia.

More Aboriginal Studies needed on local curriculum
Efforts are underway in Kempsey and Purfleet to keep Aboriginal students in school.

Rare albino kookaburras discovered in Qld
Wildlife carers in far north Queensland say they have uncovered what is believed to be a world first - a pair of albino blue-winged kookaburras.

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.

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