PM

The AFL says it's working to develop new strategies to overcome racism. In a weekend clash between Adelaide and Port Adelaide, players from both sides faced verbal insults from fans. There was also an off-field clash involving spectators in the grandstand, and a woman who trolled Adelaide star Eddie Betts. The AFL says there's no room for racism in the sport, and it is working to stamp it out.

Narrabri, a town in north-western New South Wales is at the centre of the huge debate over energy security. Energy company Santos has earmarked the area for coal seam gas production. It's proposing up to 850 wells to supply gas to New South Wales for two decades. But locals are divided about the expected benefits and costs, with the environmental impact statement attracting thousands of submissions.

An Indonesian court has adjourned the high-profile blasphemy trial of the city's Christian Governor until after a bitterly fought election next week. Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, or Ahok as he is commonly known, faces up to five years in prison if found guilty of insulting Islam over references he made to the Koran during a campaign speech.

Footage of a man being dragged bloody from his plane seat in the US has brought the practice of overbooking on flights into sharp focus. The passenger was forcibly removed from a United Airlines flight to make room for staff, when no volunteers could be found. Australian airlines also overbook their flights, and consumer advocates say customers here have even fewer entitlements in the same situation.

On his first official trip to India, the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says he wants to bring the two countries closer together through talks on energy, education and security. Accompanied by his Education Minister and six Australian university vice-chancellors, Mr Turnbull will spend the next four days meeting Indian officials including the country's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

A US Navy strike group including a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier has moved into a strategic position in the Western Pacific Ocean, just off the Korean peninsula. The USS Carl Vinson strike group was in the region last month for joint military exercises with South Korea and was on its way to Australia for a planned visit, but it's been ordered back amid increasing signs that North Korea is preparing to carry out its sixth nuclear test.

The closer the federal budget gets, the more intense the political rhetoric on housing affordability. Today the Treasurer has labelled labor's negative gearing policy cruel, and the Opposition retorted the Government is turning home ownership dreams into nightmares.

While the Treasurer Scott Morrison grapples with the problem of affordable housing, recent actions by the banking regulator to curb the buying of investment properties already seem to be working. Data out today showed investor lending fell sharply in February although property investors nationally still account for about 40 per cent of all new home loans, and prices, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, are soaring.

From the 1st of September, all shoppers wishing to buy alcohol in the Northern Territory must present their ID at the counter. The Labor Government says it's delivering upon a key election promise to reinstate its Banned Drinker Register. Under the scheme, 1000 people will automatically be added to the BDR. The Government predicts an additional 500 people will find their names on it month-on-month, and is likely to also include people involved in the child protection system.

Queensland is changing the way it investigates the deaths of children, after a report found the current system is inadequate. The state's Family and Child Commissioner reviewed the response of government agencies to the death of toddler Mason Jet Lee last year. She found the current system isn't independent enough. The Queensland Opposition has criticised the government for failing to release its report on how the toddler died.