The World Today

A study of the ethnicity of pregnant women has that found those from a South Asian background are at higher risk of experiencing a still-birth. The findings suggest the definition of term birth as 40 weeks gestation may need to be changes because of these cultural differences.

It's peak tourism season for northern Australia, but in Kakadu national park some key sites still aren't open. Crocodile numbers are back to pre-white settlement levels, meaning it's taking longer and longer for rangers to check popular waterholes before giving the public the all clear.

A major political headache for the Federal Government has eased, after its school funding package passed through Parliament. The Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his Education Minister Simon Birmingham have been hitting the airwaves to spruik the achievement, while saying the extra money that was promised to get the crossbenchers to approve it is simply the price of doing business.

The Catholic education sector has come out fighting against the updated funding model for schools. Both Primary and secondary principals in different states have said they want to maintain high quality education for students.

Three Federal Government ministers have apologised unreservedly to Victoria's highest court in order to head off being charged with contempt. The court of appeal was considering whether to prosecute them following their criticism of how the Victorian judiciary has been handling sentencing for terrorism cases.

There are plenty of trans-Tasman rivalries; rugby union, cricket and who created the pavlova to name a few. Now, it's broadband internet. The company building New Zealand's equivalent of the National Broadband Network has told a Senate committee in Canberra that its contractors don't leave a home until the internet is 'working awesomely'. New Zealand is rolling out optic fibre cables to 84 per cent of the population. The NBN's multi-technology mix will see fibre to the premises of just 20 per cent of Australians. The principal of a small school on NZ's south island has told The World Today ultra fast broadband means there's no downside to their rural location.

Despite scathing criticism from the banking industry, the South Australian Government is refusing to back away from its planned new tax on the major banks. The Bankers' Association has branded it an 'outrageous cash grab'. The South Australian Government expects to raise $370 million from the proposed levy. And at least one other state is watching the tussle with interest.

Australia is sending two military surveillance planes to help the Philippines in its fight against Islamist militants in southern Mindanao province. Philippine soldiers have been fighting insurgents linked to Islamic State, who seized the city of Marawi late last month. Hundreds of people have died and there are growing fears that the jihadist group could establish a wider foothold in the region.

Malcolm Cook of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore sees Australia's deployment of surveillance planes to assist the Philippine Government as a sign that the Government is worried that Islamic State is aiming to consolidate power in the area, at a time when its influence in the Middle East is under greater threat. Speaking with The World Today's Kim Landers, he says that Australia's concern is shared by the Indonesian, Malaysian and Philippine governments, who appear to be putting aside long-held disputes in order to cooperate against the growing threat of terrorism in the region.

Since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, around 500,000 people have been killed. UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has made an urgent appeal for all combatants to do everything in their power to protect civilians. He has voiced particular concern for the civilians in Raqqa in northern Syria, the de facto capital of Islamic State and an area where humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontieres is delivering emergency aid. Kate White, the medical emergency manager for MSF in Syria, says the number of people fleeing the conflict is rising, with one of the many humanitarian camps outside the city receiving around 800 refugees a day.