Ministers of religion in Western Australia will soon have to report child sexual abuse even if the information is gained under confession.

The WA Government said it expected to introduce the necessary amendments in the second half of this year following the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Anyone convicted of failing to report child sexual abuse faces a $6,000 fine.

If anything we have discussed today has affected you, there are services to help. Contact 1800Respect or visit 1800Respect.org.au.

The trial of former Ipswich mayor Andrew Antoniolli , who was accused of fraud, has heard that evidence showed a problematic culture at Ipswich city council, but not necessarily criminality.

Antoniolli was accused of 12 counts of fraud for allegedly by using the council’s community donations fund to pay for his own use at charity auctions and community events.

The charges followed a Crime and Corruption Commission investigation that led to the sacking of the entire council in 2018.

Almost two decades after the introduction of women-only train carriages, female commuters in Japan are turning to technology to tackle molesters on packed rush-hour trains.

The Digi Police app enables victims of groping to draw attention to any issues by activating a voice shouting “Stop it!” or bring up a full-screen message reading, “There is a molester. Please help” that they can show to other passengers.

If anything we have discussed today has affected you, there are services to help. Contact 1800Respect or visit 1800Respect.org.au.

Tiny fossils found in mudrock in the barren wilderness of the Canadian Arctic are the remains of the oldest known fungus on Earth, scientists have said.

The minuscule organisms were discovered in shallow water shale, a kind of fine-grained sedimentary rock, in a region south of Victoria island on the edge of the Arctic Ocean.

Tests on the shale, which accumulated over millions of years in a river or lake, revealed that it formed between 900 million and 1 billion years ago in what is now the Northwest Territories.

The nation's biggest cattle company,  The Australian Agricultural Company, said extreme weather conditions across northern Australia have cost it more than $100 million in losses.

In reporting its full year financial results, the chief executive officer Hugh Killen confirmed a loss of EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of $182.7 million.

Mr Killen told investors the company had sustained stock losses of 43,000 head in record flooding on several Gulf of Carpentaria stations in February.

A 6,600-year-old, highly sophisticated aquaculture system developed by the Gunditjmara people will be formally considered for a place on the UNESCO world heritage list.

Known as the Budj Bim cultural landscape, the site in south-west Victoria is home to a long dormant volcano, which was the source of the Tyrendarra lava flow.

The Budj Bim cultural landscape is largely managed by the Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, who also protect the Gunditjmara-owned properties along the lava flow.

Former Australian of the Year Professor Ian Frazer has developed a vaccine aimed at treating HPV-related cancers of the head, neck, throat and tongue.

The vaccine works by teaching the patient’s immune system to target the cancer cells containing HPV.

Professor Frazer said it could give a second chance at life for cancer sufferers.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has demanded time frames for approvals on the Adani mine by the end of the week.

The State government is yet to approve two environmental hurdles before the project, proposed for the Galilee basin, can commence.

Ms Palaszczuk said she believes Queenslanders have “had a gutful” on the issue and that she is expecting a definite time frame by Friday.