The World Today

Homelessness New South Wales is calling on the State and Local Governments to stop what it calls the 'blame shifting' around the issue. For more, The World Today spoke to the group's CEO, Katherine McKernan.

A letter from LNP president Gary Spence to sitting LNP members has drawn accusations that he's threatening to dis-endorse MPs whose views are at odds with official party policy. A 'furious' Warren Entsch says MPs have a right to vote with their conscience on any vote.

The survey of Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia has been tracking more than 7,000 households since 2001, and despite revealing only a small fraction of problem gamblers, researchers say when you include their family and friends, millions of Australians are suffering as a result of gambling addiction.

The Australian Medical Association has criticised the National Drug Strategy for listing ice as the highest priority substance for Australia, saying excessive drinking is a bigger health issue. Alcohol-related harm alone is estimated to cost $36 billion a year, and the AMA says that figure will rise unless the Government takes action.

A hearing is underway as part of a federal parliamentary inquiry aimed at putting an end to modern slavery. Save The Children argues that well-intentioned Australian tourists are inadvertently contributing to the growth of a global orphanage 'industry', putting children in developing countries at risk of further exploitation.

For Donald Trump, it might rank as one of his few wins since he assumed the US presidency. Christopher Wray - the man he's handpicked to lead the FBI - has been resoundingly endorsed by Republicans and Democrats in the US Senate, 92 votes to five. It seems Senators were convinced Wray is a 'straight-shooter' who won't succumb to pressure from the White House.

The families of two Venezuelan opposition leaders say they were taken from their homes in overnight raids. Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma were taken, after urging continued protests against the country's new constituent assembly. They say the political body will allow the government to re-write Venezuela's constitution, giving it unfettered power.

In Turkey, the treason trials of nearly 500 soldiers and airmen who tried to take over the country a year ago have finally begun. Most face life in prison if convicted. In the wake of the failed coup President Tayyip Erdogan launched a nationwide crackdown on dissent that saw 50,000 arrests and a purge of civil servants and media organisations.

A school for disabled students in Fiji is teaching young people skills that challenge the island nation's traditional perceptions of gender. The school introduces mixed gender vocational classes, teaching both boys and girls skills in cooking, sewing and carpentry.

Researchers say they've potentially discovered why obese people have trouble burning energy or fat. The study on mice by Monash University's Biomedicine Discovery Institute has found there's a switch in the brain which instructs the body to convert fat into energy to be expended after eating. The research showed the switch doesn't work in obese mice, and Professor Tony Tiganis says figuring out how to turn the switch back on in obese people could help to treat the disease.