The World Today

A secret audio recording of Senior Government Minister Christopher Pyne at a private Liberal Party function has been leaked to the media. Minister Pyne can be heard saying he voted for Malcolm Turnbull in every leadership ballot and that same sex marriage will be legalised sooner than expected. Former prime minister Tony Abbott isn't impressed with the comments.

Papua New Guinea's national election is off to a rocky start, with allegations of irregularities in the electoral roll and concern about the independence of polling officials in one province. The dispute has delayed the start of voting in Hela Province.

Economists employed to value the Great Barrier Reef say losing it is a prospect 'too horrendous' to consider. The Reef has been hit by coral bleaching two years in a row and damaged by Cyclone Debbie. Now Deloitte Access Economics - commissioned by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation - has valued it as an economic and social asset worth $56 billion to Australia. The report's lead author has compared the prospect of losing the Reef to catastrophic economic collapse.

There are estimates that as much as a third of the fish sold in Australia has been caught illegally. Now the CSIRO has come up with new technology to track illegal fishing boats.

It's still not clear if bank customers will be slugged for the South Australian government's proposed new bank tax. It's expected to net the State Government $370 million over four years. A subsidiary of one of the big banks won't rule out a rise in variable mortgage rates for its South Australian customers. There're also moves to stop the levy making it through Parliament.

A group of current and former Crown Resort employees is finally facing a court in China, eight months after being charged with illegally promoting gambling on the Chinese mainland. The group, including three Australians, is facing a maximum sentence of three years in jail. Vivienne Bath, Professor of Chinese and International business law at the University of Sydney, said Chinese prosecutors rarely go to trial unless they're pretty sure of a conviction, and that the case is a warning to foreign businesses that breaching regulations will have consequences.

A tragedy in Pakistan that's left dozens dead and scores more critically injured has drawn attention to the country's ailing energy sector. More than 150 people died when the oil tanker overturned and exploded on a highway near Bahawalpur, in Punjab province. Many of the dead had been collecting the spilled oil before it ignited. A former Pakistani government official has told The World Today the country's energy shortage is keeping millions in poverty, and is also a security risk.

Turkey's President has slapped down demands from major Arab states that he withdraw Turkish troops from Qatar as part of a wider boycott of the tiny Gulf State. The four Arab nations have sent a list of 13 demands to force changes in Qatar's foreign policy - arguing it supports terrorism. But Qatar rejects the demands, and it seems they're unlikely to be implemented.

Email filter technology has sent most suspicious emails to the spam folder. But there's no such technology to give smart phone users a warning that the person on the other end of the line may be seeking banking or personal information. There are calls for the ACCC to share the information it collects with technology companies, in order to help prevent such scams.

The Australian business community has made some headway improving the number of women in senior roles. Now there are growing calls for it to do more to boost the number of leaders from culturally diverse backgrounds. The Australian Institute of Company Directors says the issue is their next battleground. They're considering introducing targets in the next 12 months.