The World Today

Despite rising global anxiety over the nuclear sabre rattling by Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump, in South Korea 'nobody cares', according to a Korean studies specialist at South Korea's Kookmin University. Professor Andrei Lankov says that if the Trump administration were to launch a strike on the North, it would almost certainly provoke a catastrophic nuclear war - but the chances are slim and South Koreans have become jaded about threats from Pyongyang.

Treasurer Scott Morrison has described the latest scandal where the Commonwealth Bank is engulfed in money laundering allegations as 'an epic fail' and 'incredibly serious'. Mr Morrison says he's 'puzzled' about many of the allegations relating to the use of the CBA's intelligent deposit machines by drug runners and criminal gangs. The bank's embattled chief executive Ian Narev spoke with the ABC's Peter Ryan but has refused to say if he offered his resignation to his chairman Catherine Livingstone.

The former director for Malcolm Turnbull's Republic campaign is warning that Australians should not boycott the same-sex marriage postal vote. Some proponents of same-sex marriage, including prominent retired High Court judge, Michael Kirby, are vowing to opt out of the voluntary ballot in protest against the process. But Greg Barnes, who ran the 'yes' campaign for the failed republic referendum and says the lesson from that is that disunity leads to defeat.

Asylum-seekers and refugees from Australia's detention centre on Manus Island say the death of an Iranian refugee exposes the dire and deteriorating situation. The body of 28 year old Hamed Shamshiripour was found on Monday near the island's main town. Police say the death appears to be suicide, but it came just after several asylum-seekers were injured in violent assaults by local people.

Lawyers for the Adelaide woman accused of trying to smuggle around one million dollars' worth of cocaine from Colombia have failed in a preliminary bid to reduce her prison sentence. Cassie Sainsbury appeared in court in Bogota this morning Australian time, and was told her claim that she'd been coerced into smuggling needed to be tested in court. If convicted, the 22 year old former personal trainer could be sentenced to up to 31 years in a Colombian prison.

A world first breakthrough is expected to prevent a range of birth defects and the problem of multiple miscarriages, in one of the most significant discoveries in pregnancy research ever. Australian scientists have demonstrated that a deficiency in a particular molecule can prevent the normal development of several different organs - and the solution is a common dietary supplement.

Researchers have developed a fast and simple test to measure decline in brain function. They've found that variability in people's reaction time, rather than just the speed of their reactions can better indicate accelerated ageing. People who perform poorly are at a greater risk of death.

Kenyan opposition candidate Raila Odinga has rejected the preliminary results of the country's presidential election, saying the tallies have been hacked. The incumbent President, Uhuru Kenyatta, is leading the poll, with 54 per cent of the votes counted so far, compared with 44 per cent for Raila Odinga. Hundreds of opposition supporters have clashed with police in post-election violence, leaving at least one person dead, although most regions remained peaceful.

The charity Oxfam has issued an urgent call to the international community to help with an escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The Israeli government cut electricity supply to the Gaza Strip in June, as part of efforts to cripple the ruling Hamas government. Gaza's two million residents will now have just two hours of power a day. Anthea Spinks, the Associate Director of international programs at Oxfam Australia, says more pressure needs to be placed on responsible parties to alleviate the crisis.

Public transport is meant to be for everyone, but new research suggests that many young women don't feel safe using it. A study from Plan International and Monash University, asked people to use an interactive map to plot their safe and unsafe places in Melbourne. New analysis of the results, released today, shows that the city's trains and trams were regularly seen by women as unsafe.