The World Today

The World Today's Eleanor Hall speaks with World Vision Australia's chief advocate and former CEO, Tim Costello, as humanitarian workers try to obtain safe access for the 100,000 besieged citizens in the east of Aleppo. He describes the state of Aleppo as like Berlin or Potsdam at the end of World War II and describes the chaos of Aleppo as 'the worst failure of the international global architecture' that he has seen.

US President-elect Donald Trump has picked businessman and chief executive of ExxonMobil, Rex Tillerson, as his nominee for the coveted diplomatic position of secretary of state. His selection needs to be confirmed by Congress, though there are already concerns that the process may not be as smooth as Mr Trump would hope, with opposition expected from both sides of the congressional floor. There are concerns about whether Mr Tillerson can change his stripes from businessman to diplomat. However, Mr Tillerson has a good working relationship with Russia, something the President-elect would be hoping to use to his new administration's advantage.

The Federal Government has announced a crackdown on the cash economy. It's created a taskforce which will look at cash-in-hand payments and welfare fraud. The crackdown has led to speculation that the $100 bill may be phased out. Treasurer Scott Morrison has also announced today that he's asked the Productivity Commission to look at economic growth around the country and whether there are parts of the economy that are being left behind.

While the United Nation's focuses on Syria, the war-weary people of Afghanistan are struggling to cope with yet another tide of human misery, this time coming into the country. Pakistani authorities have told the hundreds of thousands of Afghans who'd previously fled into Pakistan that they are no longer welcome.

South Australia is making history today, with the State Government entering treaty discussions with Aboriginal nations to help address past injustices. The State Government has set aside $4 million to create treaties with Indigenous communities and is appointing an independent 'treaty commissioner' to move the process forward.

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BYLINE: Dan Conifer

CAPTION: Lawyer and activist Michael Mansell has published a book called 'Treaty and Statehood', in which he outlines a proposal for a separate Aboriginal state within the Commonwealth. He discusses a possible path to a seventh state, noting that provisions exist in the constitution for its establishment and acknowledging that such a path would likely take 20 to 30 years.

The Queensland coroner has resumed the inquest into the death of Sunshine Coast schoolboy Daniel Morcombe, with a former police officer testifying that his report identifying the murderer as a strong suspect went missing. Counsel for the former officer also argued against a police boss who oversaw the investigation being present in court. Thirteen-year-old Daniel Morcombe was abducted in 2003 and the coroner is now examining the adequacy of the police investigation. His murderer was not charged until 2011.

The Federal Government is enlisting the help of private investors to ensure that Australian biomedical advances are commercialised in this country. A new $500 million joint fund is being established to provide development finance for promising Australian research. Half the money will come from the 'Medical Research Future Fund', which was established by the then Abbott government in its 2014 budget. The rest of the money will be private finance, provided by biotech company CSL and a number of large superannuation funds.

A psychologist is concerned that Victoria's firefighters' union is risking the mental health of its members. The union wants to discredit his review of the mental health of firefighters.

Three-time world surfing champion Mick Fanning has ticked off a huge bucket list item; one that has nothing to do with competition points. The Aussie surfer has had a spectacular surf session, taking to the waves under the mesmerising green aurora of the Northern Lights in Norway. The project was years in the making, thanks to local photographers Emil Sollie and Mats Grimsaeth. Fanning is currently on hiatus from competitive surfing.