PM

The charity Save the Children is warning that an assault on the Iraqi city of Mosul could put more than half a million children in the line of fire. The city is one of the biggest strongholds of the so-called Islamic State, and a key target in the fight to deprive them of territory and resources. Save the Children are calling for safe routes and other protection measures to shield the hundreds of thousands of civilians who'll inevitably be caught up in the deadly battle.

The West Australian Government has upset commercial shark fisherman by confirming it won't re-open the metropolitan shark fishery. It comes amid more shark sightings off Perth beaches.

Queensland's legal, civil and media groups are at odds over the future role of the state's Crime and Corruption Commission. The commission is investigating whether allegations of corruption against individuals should be made public. Media groups say publicity is central to free speech, but other bodies say it tarnishes individuals' reputations and distorts legal trials.

The deputy president of the RSL is calling on the organisation's president to stand aside amid concerns he may have received improper payments. RSL president Rod White and three other members of the RSL NSW state council were serving in unpaid positions, but shared in hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of 'consultancy fees' from the board of RSL Lifecare, an aged care business within the RSL. The CEO of RSL New South Wales has sought independent legal advice about whether the payments might have breached the RSL's Constitution. Now, Rod White is facing calls from within the organisation to take a leave of absence until the matter is fully investigated.

The head of ANZ has conceded credit card interest rates may be too high and admitted the bank is discussing whether to cease making political donations. ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott is the second banking chief to front the parliamentary inquiry reviewing the actions of the four major banks this week. Like his Commonwealth Bank colleague yesterday, Mr Elliott used the public hearing to apologise for ANZ's past failures.

So what do the experts make of this banking sector grilling? Already, at least one banking expert is calling it a 'sideshow'. Martin North is a banking analyst and principle of Digital Finance Analytics. He says the lack of competition among the banks is at the heart of many of the problems consumers face, and it's not clear who or what is actually responsible for improving that. He doubts whether any of the core problems in the banking sector will be resolved over the period of the Inquiry.

It seems there are more questions than answers about the role wind generation played in South Australia's state-wide blackout last week. A preliminary report by the Australian Energy Market Operator released today, found severe weather caused the mass outage, but it's not clear why six wind farms disconnected from the grid at the time.

A regional New South Wales Council admits it was negligent over is failure to identify elevated levels of uranium in local drinking water. The Tamworth Regional Council took two years to recognise that its own testing shows that uranium levels in several bores are almost twice that considered safe. The region's health department is urging calm, but admits it's unclear what health effects there may be for those who've been exposed.

In World War Two, German radio had Lord Haw Haw, and the Japanese, Tokyo Rose. In the Vietnam War, the voice of English language propaganda was known as Hanoi Hannah - and now the woman behind the voice is dead. Hanoi Hannah's real name was Trinh Thi Ngo, and she's died, at 87, not in Hanoi but Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. Her broadcasts listed US casualties, revelled in rising anti-war sentiment, and tried to instil doubt in soldiers' minds about why they were in South East Asia in the first place. But it was her delivery - cold, mocking and delivered in clear lightly accented English - that made her reputation.

Bottled air, camel milk that claims to help sufferers of diabetes and even an Australian dietary staple have been named and shamed in this year's Shonky Awards. Handed out by the consumer group, Choice, the Shonkies highlight the 'worst of the worst' in consumer products. The chocolate drink Milo received its Shonky for overstating its health benefits when in fact it's largely made up of sugar.