British number one Andy Murray has withdrawn from the Brisbane International because of a hip injury. More to follow.
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/42539620
Category: Oceania
Ashes: Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch ‘poor’, says ICC
The pitch used for the Boxing Day Test between Australia and England in Melbourne has been rated as “poor” by the International Cricket Council. Only 24 wickets fell over the five days of the drawn fourth Ashes Test.
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/42541481
Morning mail: the facts behind Melbourne’s youth crime alarm
Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Wednesday 3 January.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jan/03/morning-mail-facts-melbourne-youth-crime
Big wave surfer Mark Mathews, his horrific injuries and the battle to control his own fear
Mathews was told he might not surf again after an excruciating wipeout in 2016. But now he is planning a comeback Mark Mathews had to shut the blinds for six months. He couldn’t bear to look outside.
Kim Jong-un, Pakistan, Iran: Your Wednesday Briefing
Good morning. South Korea is waiting to hear whether North Korea will agree to high-level talks next week, which Seoul proposed after an unexpected New Year’s outreach from the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un. It would be their first official dialogue in two years.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/02/briefing/kim-jong-un-pakistan-iran.html
‘I’m not going to cry’: Leonie Sheedy reveals personal pain in fight for sexual abuse survivors
A vocal supporter of the royal commission into child sexual abuse, Sheedy implored survivors to tell their story and to keep fighting for justice For the past five years Leonie Sheedy travelled around Australia urging survivors of childhood sexual abuse in orphanages and foster care
Is Melbourne in the grip of African crime gangs? The facts behind the lurid headlines
Sensational media reports about violent incidents have raised social and political tension, and put Victorian police in the spotlight. But the truth is inevitably more complicated Victoria is having a debate about gangs.
The Post is a timely reminder of the struggle between press freedom and government lies
You know something is amiss when a US-based foundation dedicated to monitoring and defending press freedom around the world feels compelled to set up a website to track it in the one place that has always held itself up as a beacon of free speech – the United States itself.
Dozens of reptile eggs found in Australian school sandpit
Australian wildlife rescuers have removed 43 reptile eggs from a sandpit at a school in New South Wales. The incident sparked alarm after initial reports suggested the eggs belonged to the eastern brown snake, the country’s deadliest species.
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-42539713
Sydney seaplane crash: investigators say type of plane considered reliable
The model of seaplane that crashed on New Year’s Eve, killing five Britons and the plane’s pilot, is generally reliable, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said on Tuesday. The plane crashed in the Hawkesbury river, north of Sydney, at 3.
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