The World Today

The states and territories are continuing to negotiate the best framework for a national redress scheme for survivors of institutional child sexual abuse, but the Commonwealth's approach is being met with some scepticism on the ground. Abuse victims in the regional Victorian city of Ballarat say they're concerned the scheme won't address the ongoing needs of trauma survivors.

Bird Lake, at the entrance to Port Augusta in South Australia's north, used to be filled with water from Alinta Energy's power station. But the power station closed more than a year ago, the lake is drying, and stakeholders are desperately trying to find a way to keep the resulting sulphuric smell from upsetting nearby businesses, homes, and tourists.

US President Donald Trump is preparing for his first overseas trip. First on the itinerary is Saudi Arabia, and it comes at a time when the President is under mounting pressure over his administration's possible links to Russian interference in last year's presidential election.

The 77-year-old founder of America's conservative Fox News network, Roger Ailes, has died. Aside from creating a television juggernaut, the influential media mogul has been credited with helping Donald Trump get elected, before being ousted from his network over sexual harassment allegations last year.

Economists from international investment firms Credit Suisse and UBS say there won't be another official increase in interest rates until the end of next year. So why have they made these bold predictions?

Ten people have now been charged over the tax fraud syndicate that allegedly stole $165 million from the Commonwealth. The revelations have led to renewed calls to establish a federal corruption commission. Supporters of the measure say a watchdog would increase transparency across government sectors.

A big shake-up of fire services in Victoria has drawn criticism from some volunteer fire-fighters. After a lengthy pay dispute involving the union and the CFA, a new agency Fire Rescue Victoria is being created. The State Government argues the restructure should've been done a long time ago and it'll take CFA back to its volunteer roots.

Medical experts are accusing chiropractors of disregarding warnings about using a controversial technique on pregnant women. The Chiropractic Board of Australia have issued previous warnings against chiropractors using the so-called Webster Technique, because it lacks any scientific evidence to support it. It involves manually moving a breached baby around inside its mother's womb. And it's claimed at least 100 chiropractors are still advertising that they offer the services.

The plight of a young African woman who sought help at a refugee centre in inner Sydney has shone a light on the problem of sexual slavery in Australia. The 17-year-old turned up at the refuge, saying she'd escaped from a house where she'd been held captive and regularly sexually assaulted. Police say the teenager was dropped at the centre by a good Samaritan who saw the girl running down a street. She's told authorities she was in her home country of Guinea earlier this year, when she met a man who offered to bring her to Australia to work as his cleaner.

Iranian voters head to the polls today, in the first presidential elections since the landmark nuclear agreement in 2015. The deal has been thrown into question with the election of Donald Trump in the US, who has vowed to scrap it. After gaining approval from the Guardian Council, the election boils down to two candidates: Hassan Rouhani and Ebrahim Raisi.