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On Friday's edition of The World Today: Extra Australian troops could soon be headed for Afghanistan, with the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull indicating today he's 'open' to boosting the ADF's commitment to the troubled country. In his budget-in-reply, the Opposition Leader Bill Shorten announced that Labor will only support a higher Medicare levy for people earning over $87,000. And the US President, Donald Trump, is facing mounting questions over his motives for sacking the FBI director James Comey.
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| UpdatedQueensland schools are making use of an unusual approach to education about substance abuse. High school students are taking part in a virtual reality trial exploring their attitudes to drinking and drugs. Twenty independent schools across the state are included in the trial that kicked off at a school in Cairns this week, and saw its year 10 students virtually attending a Friday night party.
Topics: drug-education, secondary, drug-use, qld, australia
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Chronic kidney disease is a problem that disproportionately affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders at 10 times the rate of non-Indigenous Australians, but the experts still don't exactly know why that is. Those at the coalface are calling for further community-based treatment.
Topics: liver-and-kidneys, indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, health, rural, aboriginal, australia
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| UpdatedChild health experts are urging parents to give their kids the flu jab, in the face of a new study which reveals most mums and dads have reservations about the vaccine. The latest Australian Child Health Poll also found parents have misconceptions about the flu not being a serious disease.
Topics: vaccines-and-immunity, family-and-children, diseases-and-disorders, children, parenting, family, australia
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| UpdatedChild protection advocates have welcomed new laws in Queensland, aimed at giving police more powers to track known child sex offenders. State Parliament passed the bill overnight, which also gives courts more say in determining who's a known offender. But some advocates say there needs to be a co-ordinated national response, instead of a state-by-state approach.
Topics: child-abuse, crime, police, qld, australia
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| UpdatedPresident Donald Trump is facing mounting questions over his motives for sacking the FBI Director James Comey. Originally the White House circulated a memo suggesting the President had acted on the advice of the deputy Attorney General to sack Mr Comey, citing his conduct over an investigation into Hillary Clinton. Now, the President has told NBC television the decision was his alone. US media reports suggest he may have made his decision after a dinner with the FBI boss in January.
Topics: world-politics, security-intelligence, elections, united-states, russian-federation
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| UpdatedAn international law expert is warning the extradition of alleged Islamic State terrorist Neil Prakash may take longer than the twelve months or less, that some media outlets are reporting.
Topics: terrorism, world-politics, international-law, turkey, australia
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| UpdatedSteven A. Cook is the author of the upcoming book 'False Dawn: Protest, Democracy and Violence in the New Middle East.' He spoke to The World Today from Washington DC.
Topics: world-politics, unrest-conflict-and-war, terrorism, united-states, egypt, syrian-arab-republic, tunisia
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| UpdatedLeaders in Turkey have expressed anger at the United States, over its decision to arm Kurdish fighters in Syria. The US argues the move is necessary if it's to drive Islamic State fighters out of their stronghold of Raqqa. However, Turkey considers the Kurdish fighters to be an extension of an outlawed Turkish terror group. Leaders from both countries are due to meet for the first time soon, and the issue is expected to dominate those talks.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, terrorism, syrian-arab-republic, turkey
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| UpdatedCommonwealth Bank chief executive Ian Narev has accused the Government of 'concocting policy on the run' and managing the economy based on opinion polls. Mr Narev has described the decision to impose a levy on bank liabilities as grabbing tax from a profitable sector to prop up the budget. But so far the five major banks targeted with the levy, are yet to announce a fightback plan similar to the resource industry back lash against Labor's mining tax.
Topics: banking, company-news, budget, tax, money-and-monetary-policy, australia
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| UpdatedBudget week is drawing to a close with the Federal Government and Opposition trading blows over the question of fairness. The Government says it's at the heart of its budget; but Labor's announced it won't back the full plan to increase the Medicare levy to help pay for the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Bill Shorten says Labor would support a higher levy for those earning over $87,000 and it would also re-impose a two per cent levy on the highest tax bracket.
Topics: budget, healthcare-facilities, health-policy, canberra-2600, australia
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| UpdatedExtra Australian troops could soon be headed for Afghanistan, with the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull indicating today he's 'open' to boosting the Australian Defence Forces commitment to the troubled country. The NATO commander in Afghanistan made a personal plea to Mr Turnbull for more resources during the Prime Minister's visit to the country two weeks ago.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, defence-forces, australia, afghanistan
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Forensic scientists say they have been overwhelmed at the number of people wanting to donate their corpses to the southern hemisphere's first "body farm". The secret bushland facility on the outskirts of Sydney is being used to study how human bodies decompose.
Topics: forensic-science, university-and-further-education, australia
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| UpdatedThe Federal Government has backed away from an election promise to impose a ban this year preventing the Australian cosmetics industry from selling products tested on animals. Instead, the fine detail of this year's budget papers reveal restrictions won't be in place until 2019 at the earliest. It comes after the Government consulted the cosmetics industry and other stakeholder groups about the changes.
Topics: animal-welfare, business-economics-and-finance, animals, animal-science, australia
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| UpdatedThe New South Wales village of Bylong, near Mudgee is known for its idyllic and tranquil appeal but some farmers and locals in the town fear that won't last much longer. Mining company Kepco plans to build an open cut coal mine in the region, and extract about 6.5 million tonnes of coal a year. The NSW Department of Planning and Environment approved the mine in a preliminary report last month and yesterday the Planning Assessment Commission held a public hearing into the proposal.
Topics: mining-rural, mining-industry, mining-environmental-issues, bylong-2849, australia
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| UpdatedChinese sports analysts say Port Adelaide's plan to bring Aussie rules to China will require patience and a lot of persistence. Both Port and their rivals Gold Coast Suns are now in Shanghai ahead of Sunday's match for premiership points. Port is already reaping millions in Chinese sponsorship through the game but experts warn the massive market is notoriously tricky to crack.
Topics: australian-football-league, sports-organisations, china, australia
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| UpdatedLabor is dubious that the proposed Medicare levy will fund NDIS, believing instead that it will go towards funding the $65 billion company tax cut. Labor's finance spokesman Jim Chalmers spoke with AM to discuss the budget in reply speech.
Topics: budget, banking, tax, disabilities, health-policy, australia
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| UpdatedChina is now the biggest export destination for Australian wine. But Chinese customers aren't just after any Australian drops. They're interested in premium bottles and brands. So much so that Western Australian winemakers have set up Chinese stores that only sell Margaret River wine.
Topics: trade, food-and-beverage, wa, australia, china
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| UpdatedOpposition Leader Bill Shorten has ruled out supporting the Government's Medicare Levy increase as it stands. Labor only wants the hike to impact people on the top two income tax brackets. Mr Shorten says the funding shortfall can be found by keeping the budget deficit levy in place. However, the Government is questioning Labor's figures, saying they don't add up.
Topics: budget, schools, tax, disabilities, health-policy, australia
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| UpdatedThe acting head of the FBI says the investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia will continue unimpeded despite the sacking of the bureau's director James Comey. Donald Trump's decision to fire Mr Comey earlier this week has been widely criticized and acting director Andrew McCabe has vowed to speak out if anyone tries to interfere with the investigation.
Topics: world-politics, security-intelligence, united-states
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On Thursday's program: We remember the voice of this program. Our colleague, friend, and presenter of PM for 20 years, Mark Colvin, who died this morning. We'll have highlights from his dazzling career and tributes from those who knew him best.
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During Question Time, The Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and the Opposition Leader Bill Shorten paid tribute to veteran broadcaster Mark Colvin who passed away this morning.
Topics: death, community-and-society, government-and-politics, broadcasting, abc, journalism, australia
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| UpdatedMark Colvin brought an empathy and deep sense of humanity to those who shared their stories with him. But he was also a fearless and forensic interviewer and politicians who dithered or evaded his questions did so at their own peril.
Topics: journalism, death, broadcasting, abc, australia
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The former ABC correspondent and CNN editorial advisor Ian Macintosh was a friend, colleague, and boss to Mark Colvin. He's been recalling the moment, back in 1994, when the extent of Mark's illness became apparent.
Topics: broadcasting, community-and-society, death, information-and-communication, abc, journalism, australia
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It's a testament to Mark's contribution to journalism at how many people have come forward today to pay tribute to his life and career. SBS presenter Jenny Brockie is one of his oldest friends and takes us back to her earliest days with him when she was here at the ABC.
Topics: abc, death, information-and-communication, broadcasting, journalism, australia