The World Today

At the child sexual abuse Royal Commission, a senior official of the Anglican Church has indicated the Church has several concerns about the Federal Government's national redress scheme for survivors and cannot commit to it at this stage. The inquiry's chairman Peter McClellan indicated he was displeased with the Church's stance and believes the public will be too.

The missing propeller of the Rex plane that had to make an emergency landing last Friday has been winched to an oval to be investigated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and Rex Airlines. Aviation consultants said Rex Airlines should be congratulated for their quick response in investigating another five aircraft that have similar mechanics as the one that lost its propeller.

New Zealand's military has been rocked by claims that the nation's elite Special Forces soldiers killed women and children during an operation in Afghanistan. The allegations are made in a newly published book that describes the deaths occurring in a quote 'revenge' raid that took place in 2010 shortly after a New Zealand soldier had been killed.

It's no longer acceptable to use 'gay panic' as an excuse for murder in Queensland. That's because changes of changes made in State Parliament overnight. Father Paul Kelly has been instrumental in getting the changes made; he's been lobbying for action ever since a man was bashed to death at the church he was working at in Queensland in 2008. The men responsible for his death claimed 'gay panic', and the charge of murder was downgraded to manslaughter. Under the changes, that won't be allowed to happen.

The world's top body for studying extreme weather events warns the floods and rains devastating Peru are just the latest symptom of a rapidly warming climate. The United Nation's World Meteorological Organization has today released its 'State of the Global Climate' report, finding that a strong El Nino event helped fuel last year's record temperatures. And while the weather pattern linked to lower-than-average rainfall here in Australia has since subsided, the extreme weather conditions in Peru could be a sign that El Nino may be on its way back again.

China's Premier Li Keqiang will land in Australia later today. He is bringing a large business delegation with him and according to one China expert will be attempting to win Australians over to China's regional development initiative and may even bring a model of a high-speed train to help. Peter Cai, non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute says the recent criticism of China by Australia's Foreign Minister for its lack of democracy will have been noted by the Premier.

Renewable energy storage has become a bit of a buzz phrase in recent weeks and the sector says now is the time to capitalise on this shift in energy policy. It comes amid the Federal Government's proposed snowy hydropower expansion and debate about whether it can alleviate Australia's looming energy crisis. But energy experts meeting in Brisbane today say the real opportunities are at the small-scale end in the residential battery storage market. They say Queensland is leading the way.

He may be the most important appointment Donald Trump makes as US President. If he makes it through a gruelling senate confirmation process, Neil Gorsuch will become the newest judge on the United States Supreme Court. And that is likely to see him making decisions about his country long after the end of the Trump presidency.

Farmers in the drought-hit state of Queensland have welcomed laws forcing banks to enter mediations before foreclosing. The legislation was passed overnight, after a number of controversial foreclosures of farms - some of which were successfully challenged by farmers. Queensland follows New South Wales and Victoria in mandating mediation, but some critics warn it could cause banks to reduce farm lending.

The latest official numbers on the increase in house prices shows they rose by 4.1 per cent in the three months to the end of December. The Sydney property market led the charge, while prices in Darwin actually went down.