The World Today

The Western Australian coroner will shortly hand down her findings into the death in custody of an Aboriginal woman more than two years ago. Twenty-two-year-old Ms Dhu died from septicaemia and pneumonia, three days after she was locked up in a South Hedland police station for unpaid fines totalling less than $4,000. Her grandmother, Carol Roe, has made an emotional statement outside the court. Lawyer Ruth Barson, who has worked closely with Ms Dhu's family, has called for the Western Australian Government to 'demonstrate their remorse' by removing its 'unfair and inflexible fines policy' which disproportionately affects Indigenous women.

More than six months since Tasmania was hit with some of the worst flooding in its history, the recovery is continuing. Some who lost their homes in the floodwaters are still battling insurers and will spend Christmas in temporary accommodation. A number of major tourism attractions are also still inaccessible, on the eve of the state's peak tourism season.

North Stradbroke Island, or 'Straddie' as it's known by many Queenslanders, is moving away from sand mining, which has been the mainstay of its economy since the 1940s. The State Government will give $5 million to support North Stradbroke Island miners as they phase out of the industry. Some doubt that the island can sustain itself on tourism alone. But the traditional owners, the Quandamooka Aboriginal people, hope their connection to the region of more than 20,000 years will now be better recognised, starting a new chapter for the place they have long known as Minjerribah, meaning 'island in the sun'.

The Anglican Archbishop of Perth has announced he's bringing forward his retirement after relentless calls for him to stand down. Reverend Herft has faced stiff criticism since he made admissions to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that he did not pass abuse allegations on to police when he was Bishop of Newcastle more than a decade ago.

The Prime Minister is being accused of hypocrisy for taking part in a 'robo-call' campaign to promote changes to the pension. The calls were in response to a campaign by the Australian Council of Trade Unions, which has sent out more than 500,000 automatic phone messages of its own, warning that some people will have their pension cut. The Government says that the union's campaign is deceptive, but its own campaign makes it clear who's behind the call. While the fight over robo-calls continue, there's questions about whether it's actually an effective political strategy and whether the average Australian wants to take a call from the Prime Minister.

Twenty-two-year-old white supremacist Dylann Roof has been found guilty of the massacre of nine African American church-goers. Roof went on a shooting rampage during a Bible study class at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in June last year. His premeditated and targeted attack was designed to cause maximum damage, firing at least 60 rounds of hollow-point bullets at his victims. The jury deliberated for just over two hours before finding him guilty of 33 charges, including murder and racial hatred.

After decades of debate and calls for its demolition, the Austrian Government has decided that Hitler's birthplace should be saved. Despite fears the house could become a shrine for neo-fascists, the building will be seized by Austrian authorities and turned into a centre for disabled people.

Malta became the first European country to ban gay conversion therapy earlier this month. Under the new law, anyone found guilty of attempting controversial techniques to make individuals heterosexual will be fined or even jailed. It follows the Maltese Government introducing the most progressive transgender laws in the world. Willa Naylor was instrumental in kick-starting the acceptance of transgender people in Malta.

This weekend when entrants in this year's Miss World competition take the stage at the international beauty pageant being held in Washington DC, one will be hoping to strike a blow against ingrained racism in her home country. This year's 'Miss World Japan', Priyanka Yoshikawa, is half-Indian and half-Japanese. It's the second year in a row that a bi-racial women will be representing Japan in an international beauty pageant. Last year, the country's entrant in the Miss Universe competition was the daughter of a Japanese mother and African-American father. It's a trend that is challenging the notions many people there have about what it means to be 'Japanese'.

Tensions between the US and Russia have erupted in the UN Security Council meeting about the urgent humanitarian crisis in Aleppo. The Russians say the Syrian Government has established control over eastern Aleppo, and that military activities in the city have stopped. However, the US administration has accused the Syrian Government and its allies of human rights abuses. The UN humanitarian adviser on Syria says negotiations between the US and Russia are the worst he's ever seen - and he warns the war is far from over.