The World Today

As we've been hearing the Bureau of Meteorology is reporting that Hamilton Island has been hit by wind gusts of 232 kilometres an hour. Sue Hollands was sailing around the Whitsundays this week when she heard about the approaching cyclone. She moored her yacht at Hamilton Island and is now sheltering in an apartment there.

One of Australia's cyclone specialists is now taking shelter in his home in Townsville. Jonathan Nott is Professor of Geoscience at James Cook University and is also a Member of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards. He and his fellow researchers often go out to gather data during tropical storms.

The Australian Energy Market Operator has delivered its final report into last year's state-wide blackout. The review outlines19 recommendations, and has found that the total blackout could have been avoided if nine windfarms had not shut down because of sensitive self-protection settings. It also highlights that South Australia's grid has become more prone to state-wide blackouts. AEMO's Chairman and CEO are presenting their findings in Adelaide today.

Tasmanian independent Senator Jacqui Lambie says she's disgusted by an apparent seven-month delay to a veteran suicide prevention trial. The Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the program back in August but the Department of Health is yet to recruit a project manager. Veterans say things are moving too slowly, and Jacqui Lambie has labelled the progress so far as tokenism.

An American expert witness has told the child sexual abuse Royal Commission the hard-line approach the US is taking to children who sexually abuse other children isn't working. Dr Elizabeth Letorneaux from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health gave evidence child offenders are on a public register in the US and there is no evidence to suggest this improves public safety. But she has found evidence that the young registered offenders are at greater risk of suicide and being approached by adults for sex.

The Federal Government has dumped its plans to ratify an extradition treaty with China. Not only did the Labor party oppose the move, the Prime Minister failed to convince many members of his own party of the need for the treaty. Conservatives in the Liberal party, led by former prime minister Tony Abbott, raised concerns about China's human rights record.

In Iraq, the assault on Mosul is back on after Iraqi forces briefly paused to assess the civilian casualties from its air strikes. Thousands of civilians are fleeing besieged areas. And while the US Defence Secretary is defending the air strikes, human rights groups are warning that a failure to prevent civilian casualties would be a violation of humanitarian law.

A resourceful thief, possibly acting alone, has broken into a German museum, and made off with a gold coin with a face value that's the equivalent of $1.3 million dollars. What makes the theft even remarkable though is the fact that the coin is made from 100 kilos of high purity gold, which if melted down, could be worth anywhere between five and six million dollars.

North Queenslanders are leaving their homes ahead as a destructive cyclone looms closer. Cyclone Debbie is predicted to hit south of Townsville tomorrow morning.

Tropical Cyclone Debbie is expected to hit Queensland hardest further south of Townsville, with the coastal towns of Ayr and Bowen in the firing line. Some residents in low-lying areas there have already started evacuating, but the remainder are being urged to get out now, before it's too late.