The World Today

Federal Labor has toughened up its opposition to the Government's latest school funding plan. Legislation for the so-called 'Gonski 2.0' plan is expected to be introduced to Parliament by the end of next month. It would lift funding by more than $18 billion over the next decade but Labor points out that's $22 billion less than it would spend. The Opposition says it'll try to block the Government's bill.

Anti-smoking advocates are breathing a sigh of relief today as reports emerge from Geneva that the World Trade Organisation will uphold Australia's tobacco plain-packaging laws. Tobacco companies have been arguing that the measures introduced in this country in 2012 infringe on their trademarks, and are an illegal barrier to trade. A number of nations have already followed Australia's lead on plain-packaging and it's anticipated that the WTO ruling will give a green light to more countries ready to implement similar measures.

The lawyer for a 22-year-old Australian woman arrested for drug smuggling in Colombia has lashed out at the media for its intrusion into her family's life. Cassandra Sainsbury is in jail for allegedly attempting to smuggle cocaine out of Colombia. And a press conference held by her lawyer, Stephen Kenny, turned aggressive this morning.

The death of a 19-year-old Ballarat university student from meningococcal disease has prompted further calls from public health advocates for a wider meningococcal vaccine program in Australia.

Victoria's home to thousands of African migrants and refugees, many of whom fled war and poverty in search of a better life here in Australia. The transition can be tough, but now a Sudanese man in Melbourne thinks he's found the solution: sport. David Lewis reports on the Black Rhinos, a small basketball team with big ambitions.

The Facebook juggernaut is showing no signs of slowing. The company has just released its latest quarterly results revealing a 77 per cent surge on profits. As traditional media companies scramble to stem the losses haemorrhaging from their bottom lines Facebook is fast becoming the world's dominant provider of news and information. Now it's also aiming to corner the market in online advertising revenues.

While social media platforms like Facebook grow in profits and power, traditional media companies are continuing to falter. And the latest round of job cuts at one of Australia's major media outlets has prompted South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon to call on the Federal government to step-in and fund independent journalism. Striking Fairfax journalists have been rallying in Sydney and Melbourne this morning to protest about the company's decision to cut another 125 journalists.

Centrist Emmanuel Macron and his far-right rival Marine Le Pen will face the voters again this weekend. With Macron polling about twenty points ahead of Le Pen, The National Front candidate went in hard during the debate on her nationalist platform of economic protectionism and closing the borders against the threat of terrorism. Watching on the edge of her seat was the ABC's Europe bureau chief, Lisa Millar, who says it was the among the most ferocious campaign debates she has ever witnessed.

Watching the debate between Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron was Dr Maryse Helbert, a researcher in international politics at Melbourne University. She joins The World Today, to express her views on the fierce debate.

NAB has produced a first-half profit of $2.5 billion, a significant turnaround after a heavy loss in the first half last year. Cash profit, the bank's preferred measure, which strips out one-off items - of $3.29 billion was up only 2 per cent on the previous corresponding period, just ahead of analyst expectations. ABC's Peter Ryan speaks with NAB chief executive Andrew Thorburn.