PM

The former senator for Western Australia Rod Culleton is still refusing to concede he's officially no longer a senator. Last week the President of the Senate started the process to replace Mr Culleton, after the Federal Court found late last year that he is bankrupt, and as such, not allowed to hold a seat in the Parliament. Today Rod Culleton would only go so far as to declare he's putting 'a self imposed moratorium' on himself as a senator - and he will no longer attend public functions in the role.

The Australian Greens are calling on the Government to send a customs ship to monitor the Japanese whaling fleet. The Sea Shepherd activist group photographed a dead whale on the deck of a Japanese ship yesterday. Sea Shepherd say the whale was killed in Australian waters, inside a whale sanctuary near Antarctica.

A rubber dinghy that carried more than 100 migrants and refugees capsized in the Mediterranean Sea, 50 kilometres off the coast of Libya. There are only for survivors and eight bodies have been recovered. The people on board tried to reach Italy in rough winter seas. The poor conditions continue to hamper rescue efforts. The migrants and refugees already in Italy, Greece and the Balkans are now in shelters which are ill suited for a cold winter.

As this week's inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump draws closer, experts are wondering what a new administration will do with the US' extensive drone strike program. Under Barack Obama, the United States dramatically increased the number of drone strikes in countries like Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. PM speaks to Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and author of The Drone Memos.

If Donald Trump was expecting a honeymoon period in the lead-up to his inauguration as US president, he's likely to be feeling disappointed. Outgoing CIA director John Brennan has rebuked the President-elect for downplaying Russia's threat to the United States. Congressman John Lewis has said Mr Trump's presidency will be illegitimate, and thousands of civil rights activists have descended on Washington DC to protest the inauguration.

Nine out of every 10 rural and regional Australians say they're already feeling the effects of climate change, according to a new survey. The Climate Institute today released the results from a survey of 2000 people across the country. It found more than 80 per cent of rural and regional people feared future droughts and floods would harm crop production and food supply. It comes as farmers say their concern about a changing environment has already forced them to rethink the way they manage their land.

There are high hopes industrial hemp and medicinal cannabis could provide a much needed boost to South Australia's economy and employment rate. A roundtable on the viability of both industries will be held this month, to thrash out any opportunities that may exist for the agricultural and manufacturing sectors. The hemp industry says regulatory reforms will finally help the industry evolve, but farmers aren't yet convinced it's a feasible idea.

A review into the suicide of a man in New South Wales reveals failings in the way he was assessed and gaps in the coordination of mental health services. His father has accused state and private health services of shirking blame over his son's death.

Chinese officials appear to be playing down comments by Donald Trump's Secretary of State pick Rex Tillerson, who suggested a confrontation in the South China Sea. Mr Tillerson told a Senate hearing that China should be denied access to the islands it has built in the disputed waterway. While the official response in Beijing has been mild, China's leaders have used state media to lash Mr Tillerson as 'naive' and 'short-sighted'.

Around the world most eyes are on Trump, but South Korea is also heading into a turbulent 2017. With its President impeached, its leading businesses under investigation for corruption, and millions protesting in the streets. President Park was impeached last month after being accused of colluding with the daughter of a cult leader, Choi Soon-Sil, to manipulate government affairs and extort businesses. The country's powerful family-owned conglomerates are under heavy scrutiny and the company's vice chair has just been questioned again.