The World Today

The federal Cyber Security Minister says he will press heads of government departments to improve their security processes as research reveals government departments are a 'weak link' in national defences against cyber attacks. Around 40 per cent of cyber security managers at government departments and medium-sized businesses said their boards had limited or poor knowledge of cyber risks like hacking, espionage, malware or data breaches, and only around 60 per cent of cyber security managers are at executive levels.

Protestors in South Korea are stepping up pressure on the country's President, Park Gyun-hae, over an extraordinary influence scandal. Some observers say it is the biggest crisis to rock South Korean politics in 30 years.

This Friday will mark an important moment in the international effort to deal with climate change. It's the day when the Paris Agreement will come into effect. Australia has not yet ratified the agreement, to keep global temperature increases below 2 degrees Celsius, but it is expected to do so before the end of the year. But a new report comissioned by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity says that honouring the landmark agreement may be difficult unless certain radical measures are taken, including large-scale intervention into the planet's physical systems, or 'geoengineering'.

The Australian Christian Lobby has joined some peak legal bodies in seeking to block a human rights charter for Queensland. The Queensland Premier has the go ahead from cabinet to adopt a Victorian style human rights bill for the state. But the Christian group says the bill would block religious freedom and goes against the grain of democracy.

The Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai was one of the world's great masters. Best known as a woodblock printer, his image depicting a giant blue wave has become iconic in Japan and recognised around the globe. Now, a Dutch art historian says he's discovered evidence that six unattributed paintings, held in storage in a museum in the Netherlands, were painted by Hokusai. It could be one of the great art discoveries of our time. But 167 years after the artist's death - proving it might be tricky.

The doctor at the centre of a chemotherapy scandal at Sydney's St Vincent Hospital says his superiors had known for some time what he'd been doing. Dr John Grygiel has given evidence at a New South Wales parliamentary inquiry, sparked by revelations he'd been under-dosing patients.

The political landscape just became slightly more uncertain for the Turnbull Government. The Family First Senator from South Australia, Bob Day, has this morning tendered his resignation, effective immediately. Senator Day had been planning to stay in the Parliament until the end of the year, guaranteeing his support for the Government's industrial relations bills in the Senate, where numbers are tight. It comes as the Prime Minister has given a stronger rejection yesterday of the views of Pauline Hanson when it comes to refugees.

Tasmania's Primary Industries Minister Jeremy Rockliff is defending the salmon industry after last night's Four Corners program. One of the state's biggest producers, Huon Aquaculture, is worried about the future of fish farming in Macquarie Harbour, where more than 20,000 farmed fish died last summer. But the CEO of rival company Tassal, Mark Ryan, says the Four Corners report was based on selective science.

Home prices in Australia's big east coast cities show no sign of slowing, with the latest CoreLogic figures pointing to an average 0.5 per cent gain across the nation last month. CoreLogic's research director Tim Lawless says capital city housing values are just over 9 per cent higher over the first 10 months of this year highlighting the recent reacceleration. The latest data shows investors are being encouraged by low interest rates although the Reserve Bank maintains tighter lending standards on banks are dampening the risk of a real estate bubble.

Let's go now to Brisbane, where hundreds of people have gathered to protest about changes to water regulations affecting some of Queensland's coal mines. The rally has been organised by the mining company New Hope, which says the state Labor Government's changes are unfair and put around 300 jobs at risk.