AUSTRALIA'S banks were enjoying record profit margins when they cried poor, lifted mortgage interest rates independently of the RBA.

A QUICK-THINKING Melbourne man has rescued a 12-year-old girl from drowning in a fast-flowing creek.

BROWNLOW medal winner Adam Cooney used all his initiative - and a bit of snack food - when he proposed to his girlfriend two weeks ago.

POLICE have charged a man with the murder of his de facto partner following a seven-hour siege in the Victorian city of Geelong on Sunday.

A STOREMAN in Melbourne started a factory fire that caused $2.5 million damage in retaliation for being sacked, a court heard yesterday.

SCREEN star Nicole Kidman believes outback "fertility waters" may have contributed to her unexpected pregnancy and that of six other women who worked on her latest film, Australia.

A WOMAN who snatched a newborn baby girl from a Perth hospital has escaped going to jail with only a suspended sentence.

THE Australian Labor Party says it has no option but to force a recount in the marginal Perth seat of Riverton, one of several crucial to Labor's loss of the September 6 election.

A DOCTOR has blamed the stress of carrying a big surgical load for using language so blue "it would make Gordon Ramsay blush".

A GUN lobbyist is entitled to express his views, but went too far with homophobic bumper sticker, he has been told.

A RESPECTED Cape York Aboriginal elder has claimed ownership of a boomerang collected by Captain James Cook - and he wants it returned.

BUNK beds should carry a danger warning and must never be in the same room as a ceiling fan, a hospital emergency expert said yesterday amid a shock report that shows an estimated 450 Queensland children are injured in bunk-related

A CAIRNS woman has been forced to shelve plans to sell a mobile phone complete with X-rated photos she bought from Dick Smith Electronics after auction website eBay banned it from being listed.

The multi-talented Liam Robertson (Yamaha) dominated round two of the Supermoto Club of WA's winter series held on Sunday, September 21....

Hot weather and fast dusty tracks are the memories that riders will take home from Rounds 11 and 12 of the Yamaha Victorian Off Road Championship hosted by the Northwest Victorian Motorcycle Club a...

Duuude! The World's Largest Flip Cup Tournament will be taking place in New York next month. If I were in the US, I would absolutely be trying to talk Kel, Crawf, Pants, and RT into entering. AND WE'D WIN.

SHARES have tanked on the back of heavy losses on Wall St and the biggest ever spike in the price of oil.

CRUDE oil traded lower in Asia today after the benchmark New York futures contract soared more than 16 dollars for its biggest one-day gain ever.

THE share market closed almost 2 per cent lower today amid uncertainty on the short selling ban and concerns over the effectiveness of the US government's proposed bailout of the financial sector.

The number of millionaires in Australia has grown sharply, says the latest annual report on global wealth by management consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG).