The World Today

Members of the board of the Commonwealth Bank are in damage control this lunchtime as the company pledges to fight allegations it breached anti-money laundering laws. The bank faces potential fines of up to one-trillion dollars if the almost 54,000 alleged breaches are proven. Financial security analysts are baffled by the size and scale of the charges. Meanwhile there's concern too that the bank's customers and shareholders could wear some of the cost of any future fine.

The Reserve Bank has slightly downgraded its growth forecasts for the Australian economy while predicting a bounce back over the next few years as inflation returns to normal levels. In its quarterly statement on monetary policy released this morning, the RBA sees growth in December 2017 of two to three per cent edging back from 2.5 to 3.5 per cent in the previous forecast in May. However, the RBA repeated concerns that the Australian dollar - which broke through 80 US cents earlier this week - has been at levels not seen since 2014.

The young tech genius who managed to derail the global WannaCry ransomware attack in May is now in policy custody. Marcus Hutchins is accused of creating and distributing malicious software dating back to 2014. The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested the cyber security researcher in Las Vegas.

The South Australian Government is urging its federal counterpart to get serious about investing in the space industry. The Federal Government has just announced a review into the sector, which could eventually lead to forming a national space agency. But with Holden set to close in two months, there are calls for Commonwealth transition money to be used to boost the state's prospects in space.

The peak body representing 21 Australian energy retailers say the Government should fix the uncertainty around long-term energy policy, if it wants to improve prices for consumers. The Prime Minister has summonsed the heads of some of Australia's largest retailers to Canberra next week, accusing them of switching some consumers onto more expensive options once their discounted contract ends. The Australian Energy Council says all retailers are obliged to tell consumers when their contract is ending. It says the market is very competitive, but high prices are being driven by policy uncertainty.

The Australian women's soccer team, the Matilda's have just ended their most successful tournament ever with a 6-1 defeat over football powerhouse, Brazil. The team is competing in the Tournament of Nations, where it previously had wins over the United States and Japan. Australia is currently the seventh-ranked team in the world but after today's win - the Matildas can now claim to be one of the best.

Three years after one of the darkest chapters in NSW politics, the state's corruption watchdog has recommended charges against three former Labor ministers. In its report handed down this morning, the Independent Commission Against Corruption has made damning findings against Eddie Obeid, Joe Tripodi and Tony Kelly.

Young people with a mental illness are three times more likely than their peers to end up homeless, according to a new national report. Mission Australia has released its annual youth survey which has also found that the homeless situation for young Australians is getting worse rather than better. The charity's chief executive officer is now calling for governments of all levels to work together to halve youth homelessness by 2020.

The Prime Minister has spent another morning batting away questions about divisions in his party room over marriage equality. Today another potential compromise has been raised to end the division inside the party room.

The New South Wales Government is targeting children as young as ten with drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs. The Government has set aside $6.5 million to develop new programs for children with serious addictions.