The World Today

The Uluru delegation was made up of Indigenous leaders of considerable influence. One of the delegates was Desmond Tayley, the mayor of the Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council on Cape York. Reporter Bridget Brennan spoke to him shortly after the Statement was presented.

North Korea has tested another missile this morning in defiance of the international community's threats of military action and increased economic sanctions. The scud missile travelled 450 kilometres off the country's east coast and landed in the Sea of Japan, inside Japan's exclusive economic zone.

A Queensland Parliamentary inquiry into the re-emergence of Black Lung, or Pneumoconiosis, has delivered a final report into the deadly disease. It was thought Black Lung had been eradicated 30 years ago, but 21 cases have been identified in Queensland over the past two years. The 'Black Lung White Lies' report by a Parliamentary Committee runs to more than 400 pages and includes 68 recommendations, including the establishment of an independent statutory body.

FEATURED:

Jo-Ann Miller, Queensland Government MP

Questions persist over whether a potential billion dollar taxpayer loan for the mining company, Adani is being decided by people with conflicts of interest. The two board members from government agencies deciding on the loan are also directors of mining companies whose companies could ultimately benefit from the Adani project. Both the board members - and the government agencies - are yet to clarify whether they've participated in the loan discussions. It comes just days after the Queensland Government ruled out a controversial royalties discount for Adani, leaving the project's future uncertain.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that Europe can no longer rely on its oldest allies - the US and Britain. She made the statement at the conclusion of US President Donald Trump's visit to Brussels and his refusal to recommit to NATO's joint defence principle or to the Paris Agreement on climate change. Chancellor Merkel's comments summed up the frustration among European leaders at the G7 summit.

One close observer of international climate negotiations says it would in fact be preferable were Donald Trump to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement. Dr Luke Kemp is no climate change denier. He is a lecturer in International Relations and Environmental policy at the Australian National University. He says the US as a 'rogue administration', has more leverage to do damage from inside the agreement than would have from outside.

An aside from a journalist tipped off one of Canberra's most powerful bureaucrats about a potentially market sensitive leak from his department, it's been revealed. Treasury Secretary John Fraser's told senate estimates he wasn't aware details of the Government's bank tax, which was supposed to have been revealed in the budget, had been leaked until a journalist told him hours after the story appeared online.

The death toll from the floods and landslides in Sri Lanka has risen to 122, officials said on Saturday, as the country appealed for international assistance. Ninety-seven people are still missing after the worst torrential rains since 2003, and there are fears survivors will be facing disease and food shortages for some time to come.

A study has found Australian nursing home residents are increasingly dying of potentially preventable causes. Falls are overwhelmingly the main cause of death from external causes, followed by choking. An industry boss warns that falls are always a risk unless people are stopped from getting around.

Biologists are warning their fellow scientists to avoiding revealing too much information when they discover an endangered species. Information readily available online can be used by poachers to track down an animal's location and ship them to a private collector overseas. In Australia parrots, birds of prey and reptiles are popular targets for poachers.