US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has left Australia after a whirlwind visit to Perth.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today told enthralled schoolgirls how she loves shopping - and has no presidential ambitions.

SEVERAL charges against a man accused of being the "hot chocolate" rapist have been withdrawn.

A QANTAS flight plunged 20,000 feet after a door 'popped' mid-flight, passengers are reporting.

VICTORIAN Premier John Brumby says he's open to the idea of a drop box to allow people to legally abandon their unwanted babies.

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd has avoided saying whether the Government could stop banks raising loan interest rates independently of the Reserve Bank.

TWO Victorian men airlifted to hospital after a highway bus crash are off the critical list, with seatbelt campaigners saying it was a miracle they survived.

A MAN found guilty of two underworld murders has abandoned an appeal against one of his convictions.

A BABY boy found dumped at a Shepparton bus shelter could be given a pauper's funeral if his mother is not found.

THE green light has been given for a $1.4 billion oil and gas development in Bass Strait.

THE number of prestige cars being repossessed in Melbourne is rocketing as stock and property markets cool, interest rates bite and petrol prices hit record highs.

WORLD oil prices have held steady in Asian trade in a market calmed by slowing global demand.

COMPANIES owned by Australia's wealthiest individual, Andrew Forrest, face fines of up to $7 million over the death of a worker and serious injuries to five others during a cyclone at a Pilbara construction camp last year.

BEACONSFIELD Gold Mine's senior surveyor said mining was putting too much stress on the underground rock at the mine three months before the rockfall that killed a worker, an inquest was told today.

THE Queensland Liberal leader and two other MPs say they are prepared to quit the party as early as tomorrow and join a new conservative party.

AUSTRALIA'S economy is looking even more fragile amid reports that mortgage lenders are repossessing homes for defaults of as little as $1000.

OPPOSITION Leader Lawrence Springborg says he's pushing ahead with a new Queensland conservative party, with Liberal leader Mark McArdle as deputy.

A FOUL-smelling man who repeatedly raped a 19-year-old student in her home has lost an appeal to have his conviction overturned.

A COURT has given a Queensland Liberal Party convention the green light to proceed this weekend after ruling the state council had no power to postpone it.

INTRODUCING the "Gastrosexuals" - a new generation of men using their kitchen prowess to seduce women.