The World Today

There's been enormous international media attention about the decision to charge Cardinal George Pell with historic sex offences. Cardinal Pell is strenuously denying all the allegations and says he's looking forward to his day in court to defend the charges. Vatican watchers say it's an historic moment, not only for the Catholic Church, but for Pope Francis. At a church service in Melbourne last night, young Catholics were responding to the news of Cardinal Pell's charges.

The White House has been forced to defend Donald Trump against a growing outcry over his attack on a television host. The US President posted crude comments on Twitter, attacking the looks, intelligence and personality of MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski. The tweets have drawn bipartisan howls of outrage, with one Republican imploring the President to 'please just stop'.

In London, the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire is being criticised by survivors even before it has started. A retired judge, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, has been appointed to head the inquiry. He has indicated that he may narrow the remit of the inquiry to focus on preventing future disasters. One activist has described his remarks as a deliberate attempt to avoid bringing those responsible for the disaster to account.

The first criminal charges relating to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster go to trial today. Three former executives of TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company), including former chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata, are charged with professional negligence. Prosecutors will argue that internal reports and simulations at TEPCO clearly indicated the risks of a major tsunami inundating the plant.

The Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission cancelled voting in the capital, Port Moresby, on Tuesday because polling officials went on strike over unpaid allowances. Then police arrested the city's election manager and two returning officers, adding to the confusion and mistrust around the electoral process. Now election officials are trying to reassure voters that the vote will proceed, and that it will be free and fair.

So far, he's had a leadership marked by a murderous war against drugs and a rise in violent Islamist militancy, but still the Philippines President is riding high in the popularity stakes, a year to the day since he took office. At home it's said 80 per cent of voters support Rodrigo Duterte's so called war against drugs, which has seen the murder of an estimated 7,000 people. But human rights groups say in time he could be tried before an international court for crimes against humanity.

A Russian court has convicted five men over the assassination of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. One of President Vladimir Putin's most vocal critics, Nemtsov was shot dead near the Kremlin in 2015. Critics say the trial has failed to punish the real perpetrators.

The Catholic Church has apologised for failing to notify two schools that a former priest accused of inappropriate conduct with children was living nearby. An independent report commissioned by the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn has found that the Church was concerned about the man's privacy.

A new study has found that removing the gender of people from job applications doesn't help improve the number of women who are hired. In fact, the Australian Public Service trial found fewer women were employed in senior positions. The surprising results come as many companies struggle to find successful strategies to attract and recruit women.

Hopes that a dip in global oil prices would translate into even lower prices at the pump have been short-lived. A week ago analysts expected the price of oil could fall further, amid a bear market. But now the volatile oil market has recovered its losses and the price per barrel is creeping back up.