The World Today

The Chinese Government is seeking the Australian Government's support in negotiating an Asia-Pacific trade deal that would be an alternative to the United States-driven Trans-Pacific Partnership, in an apparent manoeuvre to take advantage of the possible reduction in US influence in the Asia Pacific region under a Trump presidency. China specialist Professor Michael Wesley believes Donald Trump sees himself as a deal-maker and he doubts the President-elect's rhetoric around imposing high tariffs on China.

The UN has said that 2016 is likely to go down as the hottest on record. The announcement was made in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh as UN climate talks entered their second week. The shadow of Donald Trump's election - and his views on climate change - also hang over the proceedings.

NSW Skills Minister John Barilaro has been elected leader of the State Nationals, after a disastrous swing against the party in a weekend by-election. Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair won the deputy role in a ballot this morning.

The Victorian Government is taking urgent legal steps to move about 40 youth detainees into adult prisons after a riot at a youth detention centre. The youths caused about $500,000 worth of damage and the site will be redeveloped. Yesterday's riot was the latest in a series of incidents at youth detention centres. The police union is calling for an independent investigation.

Hundreds of aftershocks and bad weather have been affecting evacuations in the earthquake-ravaged South Island of New Zealand. Thousands of people are stranded in the coastal community of Kaikoura and there are fears that essential supplies are running out. But army helicopters and a navy ship are being used to help people get out of the worst affected areas.

Suicide bombings have killed more than a dozen people in Iraq, in attacks that appear to be carried out by Islamic State militants. The attacks come as Iraqi forces, backed by the US-led coalition, are slowly gaining the upper hand against IS in the northern city of Mosul. Iraqi authorities managed to kill five suicide bombers in the Shiite city of Karbala. But the Iraqi army still has a long way to liberate the country from the militant group.

Nine Entertainment Company has survived the threat of an embarrassing shareholder backlash on executive pay. The company's remuneration report was passed by more than 78 per cent of shareholders after a major investor overrode recommendations for a 'no' vote from proxy advisors. Chairman Peter Costello used Nine's annual general meeting to ramp up lobbying for a further reduction on commercial television licence fees.

The Prime Minister is keen to promote his plan to settle some refugees on Manus and Nauru in the United States, and has been selling the merits of the proposal, while saying he'll increase border security to prevent any potential people smugglers who are encouraged by the deal. In the meantime, refugee advocates say they're sceptical about how many people will actually make it to the US, whether the deal will survive the Donald Trump presidency, and what will happen to those left behind.

The New South Wales National Party looks likely to lose the seat of Orange for the first time since World War II. It's suffered a massive swing against it in a by-election in the seat, after a series of controversial decisions including the now dumped ban on greyhounds and council amalgamations. The job of the party's leader Troy Grant is now on the line. Nationals MP Andrew Fraser says he will put up a motion to spill the leadership at the party room meeting tomorrow, saying the leadership has not been consultative with its party room which shows it's not listening to its constituents.

US President-elect Donald Trump appears to be retreating from some of his harder-line policies. In an interview on the American 60 Minutes program he has said the wall on the Mexican border could be a fence in some parts, and he is open to keeping elements of Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act.