The World Today

Melbourne researchers believe an anti-inflammatory drug can be used to prevent the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) which affects up to 60 per cent of premature babies and can have life long health consequences.

There were rowdy scenes in the British House of Commons overnight as Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn butted heads in the last Prime Minister's questions before the June 8 election. The snap general election will be held six weeks from now and the opinion polls are looking dire for the Labour Opposition. John Curtice, Britain's best known polling analyst, says if these polls were replicated in six weeks Theresa May would have a very substantial majority. He says Labor's problem is that it's a seriously divided party.

Australia needs to focus on trade opportunities with China and India rather than being derailed by the rise of protectionism in the US and Britain, according to a report out today. The Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) cites the protectionist policies of US President Donald Trump and the UK vote to leave the European Union as two key factors clouding potential deals with emerging markets. CEDA's policy committee chairman Professor Rodney Maddock speaks with the ABC's Peter Ryan.

The White House and the Australian Government have confirmed that Malcolm Turnbull and Donald Trump will meet next week for the first time. The meeting is expected to be more friendly than the tense phone call about refugee resettlements early in Trump's presidency, to take place during a commemoration of the battle of the Coral Sea. Professor Simon Jackman, CEO of the United States Studies Centre, says the event was largely brokered by former ambassador John Berry, now the CEO of the America- Australia Association, and other intensive 'relationship management'.

The US military has started moving parts of its controversial anti-missile system to a deployment site in South Korea as fears grow that North Korea is preparing its sixth nuclear weapons test. Trailers carrying the US missile defence equipment arrived on a golf course in South Korea this morning.

The Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says he's not concerned that the merger of the Family First and Australian Conservatives parties will take votes away from the Liberal National Coalition. Former Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi broke away from the mainstream to form a new party, the Australian Conservatives, a few months ago. He held a media conference late this morning in Adelaide to formally announce the merger.

Senator Cory Bernardi held a media conference late this morning in Adelaide to formally announce the merger between his new Australian Conservatives Party and Family First. The ABC's election analyst says Anthony Green said there was always going to be a series of party mergers, due to the changes in the Senate electoral system that would make parties with similar ideological backgrounds compete against each other more.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is warning the ABC it could lose some of its funding if it fails to represent 'Australian values'. His comments follow a Facebook post by Yassmin Abdel Magied on ANZAC Day. Ms Abdel Magied, a part-time presenter on the ABC, has apologised. Despite this some other Coalition MPs are urging the ABC to reconsider Ms Abdel Magied's position.

Australia's inflation rate has edged up in the first three months this year, driven by higher fuel and health costs. Headline inflation rose by 0.5 per cent over the first quarter to an annualised rate of 2.1 per cent. Underlying inflation - the measure most keenly observed by the Reserve Bank, which strips out volatile factors - remained weak, edging up by 1.8 per cent over the year.

Featured: Peter Ryan, ABC

The former Northern Territory Corrections Commissioner Ken Middlebrook has appeared for the first time before the Royal Commission into Youth Justice. Mr Middlebrook authorised the use of tear gas on six teenagers Don Dale, and was heard on the 4 Corners program that sparked the inquiry saying 'I don't care how much chemical you use'. Today he described a lot of the material aired by the program as 'historical'.