The World Today

Now to the technology that is revealing the secrets of people who've been dead for thousands of years. Egyptian mummification was an extraordinary technology for its time. Today an exhibition at Sydney's Powerhouse Museum is using modern science to expose the stories of six Egyptians who were mummified as long as 3,000 years ago.

The latest figures on the Australian economy show has actually contracted in the three months to September. The weakness in economic activity was across the board. It's the first time the economy has gone backwards since the devastating Queensland floods in 2011.

One Nation Senator Rod Culleton has had a rowdy session in front of High Court judges, trying to make his case to keep his Senate seat. The court refused to allow Mr Culleton more time to prepare his argument, and a friend was then removed from the court.

Salvation Army leaders are back in the witness box at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, assuring the Commissioners that they have taken action to ensure children within the organisation are safe. The appearance comes after the inquiry uncovered decades of abuse at the hands of Salvation Army officers.

The issue of how Australia deals with its young offenders has been thrown into the public eye in recent weeks, after disturbances at juvenile detention centres in Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland, and the royal commission into the Don Dale centre in the Northern Territory. It’s estimated that almost a third of young detainees have come from out of home care, where they are supposed to protected by the state but many will start a lifetime of cycle of detention the first time they end up in custody.

The Victorian Children's Commissioner says child protection workers are repeatedly underestimating or disregarding how family violence can affect children. She's released a report highlighting common failures in the deaths of 20 children. Among other things, it highlights how 9 of the 20 children were alleged to have been abused, yet only one received counselling.

In the wake of the murder of Luke Batty, there's been a surge in the rates of single people with children, presenting for help with crisis accommodation. Homelessness programs are hoping to hear on Friday, whether their funding will be continued.

With populist parties seemingly on the rise in several parts of the world, lawmakers in Europe are increasingly worried about the spread of misinformation via social media. Leading researchers say governments, including those in Australia, should treat Facebook and Twitter like mainstream media companies and punish them if they break electoral laws.

A former Ugandan child soldier who went on to become a commander in the notorious militia, the Lord's Resistance Army, is being tried for war crimes in the International Criminal Court. Prosecutors say Dominic Ongwen, who was captured last year, became the second in command to the brutal LRA leader, Joseph Kony. But the former child soldier denies being responsible for war crimes, saying he was a victim himself.

The workplace regulator and convenience store chain, 7-Eleven, have signed a landmark deal to combat exploitation of workers by franchisees. The Fair Work Ombudsman says the agreement forces 7-Eleven to tackle wages fraud and help prevent the illegal treatment of workers at its stores through measures including biometric technology and supervision by the regulator. The regulator says the deed also has measures to stamp out 'cash backs' where workers are forced to hand back part of their wage to franchisees.