PM

The last time anyone said anything really memorable in a US vice-presidential debate was probably in 1988. That was the one when the Democrat Lloyd Bentsen told the Republican Dan Quayle, who'd compared himself to President Kennedy, 'I knew Jack Kennedy. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.' There were no such zingers in the 2016 vice-presidential debate between Republican Governor Mike Pence and Democrat Senator Tim Kaine. It was a fractious affair which at times looked and sounded more like a squabble than a debate.

Northern Territory specialists in child medicine have found children in the majority of Top End Aboriginal communities with elevated lead levels. The paediatricians are calling for an immediate ban on lead shot for waterfowl hunting in the Northern Territory. The Health Department's concluded it's the most likely cause of the high levels.

There's been widespread anger among deaf people after the High Court rejected an appeal to allow them to serve on Queensland juries. The case was brought by a woman who argued she'd been discriminated against when excluded from a Queensland jury. Deaf jurors serve in the United States and New Zealand and several independent reports have previously recommended legislative change to allow deaf jurors in Australia. But the Queensland Government is showing no signs of doing so.

The failure of a referendum in Colombia to approve a peace deal between the country's government and the guerrilla organisation FARC has left many perplexed and disheartened. The deal had taken four years to hammer out - not surprising given that the conflict had been going on for more than five decades. Fewer than 40 per cent of Colombians actually bothered to vote, and of those who did, just over 50 per cent voted against the peace deal. PM speaks to Dr Rolando Ochoa, a Lecturer at Macquarie University's Department of Security Studies and Criminology.

Australian military veterans are vowing to redouble their effort to win a battle against the Defence Force over a controversial anti malaria drug. Mefloquine, also known as Lariam, was a frontline drug against the tropical disease in the 1980s, before its side-effects became known. But those effects can be very serious, including depression, anxiety, confusion, and hallucinations. Up to 5,000 ADF personnel insist they were effectively ordered to take the drug well after the military should have known the risks.

Environmentalists warn New South Wales will adopt Queensland-style lax land clearing regulations, under proposed changes to conservation laws. They're also concerned the legislation - to be introduced later this year - would further threaten vulnerable species. The New South Wales Government wants to reduce red tape, saying the current laws fail to deliver the right incentives to industry and landholders. But it rejects allegations it's watering down protection.

Police in Malaysia have told the ABC they expect to charge a group of Australians arrested during the weekend's Formula One Grand Prix race in Sepang. The men, who were celebrating after the victory of Grand Prix driver Daniel Riccardo at the Sepang raceway, stripped down to their underpants, which featured the Malaysian flag on the backside. They will be charged with 'intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach the peace', which carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail, could appear in court as soon as Monday.

The West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has for the first time indicated he's willing to give ground on the WA Nationals' plan to change the state's iron ore royalty regime. The National Party wants the production rental fee BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto pay the state to go from 25 cents a tonne, $5 a tonne. So far Mr Barnett has dismissed the idea. But today he indicated he's looking at unscrambling some of the decades' old state agreements between the government and the companies.

It's estimated almost a third of growers in Adelaide's north, hit by intense floods over the weekend, have been affected, wiping out their livelihoods. The losses have been put at around $30 million, but with water still high in the area, the final figure is yet to be determined. The blame game has begun over why appropriate infrastructure wasn't in place to mitigate against the disaster, 11 years after a similar flood in the region.

The collapse of yet another so-called clean coal project in Victoria has cast a further cloud over the future of the Latrobe Valley. Three years ago, the then federal environment minister, Greg Hunt, suggested Ignite Energy may hold the key to massive carbon reductions. Today the State Government confirmed the company's plan to convert coal to oil was over.