The World Today

Australian mental health advocates are optimistic that Prince William may have helped to spark a wider conversation about dealing with grief. The Prince has opened up about his struggle over his mother's death. Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris almost 20 year ago. But can the British royal family really help to shift attitudes about mental health here?

There is concern that a rising number of former prison inmates are struggling to find housing in Australia, once they get out of jail. Welfare agencies are meeting in Melbourne today to discuss how to help the outgoing prison population avoid homelessness.

An 18-hour police siege at a remote farmhouse in Queensland's Lockyer Valley has ended with the death of gunman Rick Madison. Police have said that the gunman emerged from the farmhouse and began firing his weapon at police, who returned fire. The siege began after Madison opened fire on several police vehicles attempting to intercept him, killing Senior Constable Brett Forte of the Toowoomba Tactical Crime Squad.

The World Today's Eleanor Hall speaks with entrepreneur and technology author Steve Sammartini about this week's major technology stories. They discuss the huge jump in total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies this year, from $25 billion to $75 billion. Steve says that cryptocurrencies are likely to be a staple of the future economy, despite currently existing outside the bounds of securities regulation. They also talk about Chinese retailer jd.com, which has taken advantage of lax regulation to beat retail giant Amazon to product delivery using commercial drones.

Australian paedophiles could soon be banned from travelling overseas. The Federal Government has announced legislation drafted with the help of Victorian senator Derryn Hinch. He's hailing the proposed crackdown as his biggest political achievement and child protection advocates have also welcomed the news. But a civil liberties lawyer is calling it an outrage.

Papua New Guinea's coffee industry is crying for help after it discovered an insidious pest in some of its most productive growing areas. The coffee berry borer is a small beetle that has devastated coffee crops all over the world. If it's allowed to spread in PNG, coffee growers say it could destroy the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people.

After three days of chaos, British Airlines boss Alex Cruz has rejected suggestions that he resign over the failed computer systems that caused the cancellation of hundreds of flights. It's been revealed that 75,000 people had their plans upset due to Saturday's systems failure - and the backlog still hasn't been cleared.

Authorities in the South African city of Cape Town have declared a state of disaster, as the community faces its worst drought in more than a century. With dams running dry, the city council is imposing stricter controls. Water experts say it could take two to three years for the city to recover from the dry spell.

The Defence Minister has announced that Australia will send an additional 30 troops to Afghanistan following a request from NATO. The personnel will be working in an advise and assist role. During Senate Estimates, Defence has also been grilled on problems with the Royal Australian Navy's two largest ships.

The Cape York Institute says it's important a proposal for a new Indigenous advisory body is clearly understood. Last week Indigenous delegates met in central Australia and called for a new representative body to advise MPs on policies affecting Aboriginal people. They want the body enshrined in the Constitution, but say it would operate outside the parliament.