THE father of controversial Melbourne artist Natascha Stellmach - who was last night due to smoke a spliff with the ashes of Kurt Cobain inside - says he is proud of his daughter.

A SENIOR police officer sent a stinging email to Collingwood Football Club bosses berating them for suspending players Alan Didak and Heath Shaw.

A FAMILY stalked in their boat by a great white shark off Adelaide yesterday say they feared for swimmers at a nearby beach.

THE US government pushes on with plans to buy stakes in banks, as the G7 pledges to act urgently on crisis.

GLOBAL share markets went into freefall overnight, although Wall Street managed to stem the losses.

THE axe has fallen at ACP magazines, with the company's events and publicity teams made redundant.

AUSTRALIA'S Big Four bank chiefs have refused to commit to freeze senior executive bonuses, but say their pay is likely to suffer anyway.

BUSINESS is booming at a high-security vault in Brisbane as people look for ways to protect their valuables amid the financial crisis.

CUSTOMS officials said the conviction of a 28-year-old Indonesian man over the importation of child pornography sent a strong warning that Australia was tough on the crime

EMERGENCY services are trying to rescue a man and woman who have fallen into a river in North Queensland.

EMERGENCY services have used hydraulic equipment to rescue a man and woman from a river in North Queensland.