The World Today

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi has announced that the battle to retake the city of Mosul from Islamic State militants has begun. The city has been under IS control since June 2014 and the United Nations is warning of a humanitarian crisis, and expects many of the more than one million people living in Mosul to flee.

Australian Federal Police officers have told a senate hearing today that they won't investigate former federal MP Wyatt Roy's trip to a conflict zone in Iraq any further. The trip raised questions about whether Mr Roy flouted Australian government authorisation in making the trip.

Shares in James Packer's casino empire have been smashed this morning as mystery surrounds the fate of 18 Crown Resorts staff detained in China over gambling offences. Crown shares plunged more than twelve per cent as investors worried the company's strategy of luring 'high rollers' from China to Australia might be unravelling. Chinese authorities are yet to notify the Australian government about the welfare of the Crown staff who could face as much as ten years in prison.

The New South Wales Government is turning up the heat on convicted killers who refuse to reveal the location of victims' bodies. The Government is considering a no body, no parole law, similar to one introduced in South Australia last year.

A police investigation into a suspected British Army agent known as Stakeknife, allegedly linked to the murder of over 50 IRA members, is being joined by former New South Wales Police deputy commissioner Nick Kaldas. He joins Operation Konova as one of six experts on an independent steering committee. The investigation is expected to take years, as it delves into the murky and violent era known as The Troubles.

The Federal Government is today detailing a new system to regulate financial advisors. An independent standards body will be responsible for professionalising the sector and insuring that people with only two weeks study will no longer be allowed to practice. The country's 22,000 advisors will be required to sit an exam, before they can continue to offer advice.

Nujeen Mustafa was 16 when she crossed the Mediterranean from Syria seeking refuge in Europe last year. British journalist Christina Lamb co-wrote her story: 'Nujeen: One Girls Incredible Journey from war-torn Syria in a wheelchair'.

An Adelaide church has broken away from the Australian Christian Churches, in support of the LGBT members within its congregation. Activate Church says it couldn't continue to operate under the denomination which doesn't allow gay and lesbian members to hold leadership roles. The ACC says while it respects the decision, its position is clear under the Bible.

Property may be the hottest investment game in town, but a leading Australian economist warns it's about to become the 'worst investment'. Deloitte Access Economics is forecasting that over-supplied inner-city apartment markets in Melbourne and Brisbane will fall by as much as 15 per cent in value by 2019. Of course Deloitte has its critics. The property council has dismissed the firm's predictions as 'over-hyped'.

Efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change on sea turtles are being ramped up on the southern Great Barrier Reef. A joint Federal and State Government program is expanding the use of shade cloth to reduce the temperature for turtle egg incubation. Environmentalists say it's a hypocritical stance when politicians are simultaneously approving Australia's biggest coal mine.