TWO surgeons, a doctor and an anesthetist couldn't save a boardrider who died while surfing at Gnarloo beach north of Carnarvon, West Australian police say.

ONE of the country's major banks has cut its standard variable rate by a quarter of a percentage point without any prompting from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd has reassured business leaders that his measures will safeguard the nation as other economies stumble.

Business leaders emerged from a meeting with the Prime Minister feeling more reassured that Australia can weather the financial crisis.

ANZ has broken ranks with its rivals, slashing home loan rates by 25 basis points in the midst of the global credit crisis.

THE share market gave up its earlier gains to close 1.1 per cent lower amid falls on resources and bank stocks.

A TEEN who filmed a shocking sex DVD, in which a girl was assaulted and set alight, is eyeing an international film-making career.

THERE are calls for an investigation into why AFL club Collingwood rejected player Ben Cousins after talking to Victoria's police chief.

A PEDOPHILE has been jailed for 12 ? years for sex offences against five children.

AN impatient baby made a very public entry into the world on a freeway median strip in the middle of peak-hour traffic this morning.

NEWS Corporation chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch has expressed confidence in the media giant's future despite global turmoil.

VIETNAM veteran Arthur Booker, thought to have been killed by a crocodile, should not be remembered by how he died, mourners were told at a memorial service today.

A NEW Zealand man who attempted to seduce a 12-year-old Australian girl over the internet was arrested after travelling to Brisbane to take a job on a cruise ship more than a year later, a court has been told.

A MAN wounded a neighbour in the face with a slingshot-fired ball bearing in a dispute over drugs in a suburban street, a court has been told.

A POLICE constable is in hospital after he was punched into a semi-conscious state and kicked while on the ground, police say.

THE head of Germany's biggest bank, Deutsche Bank, will forgo his annual bonus of several million euros to show solidarity with staff in this time of financial crisis.

FRENCH bank Caisse d'Epargne lost 600 million euros ($A1.17 billion) in a derivatives trading "incident" during last week's market turmoil, the company said today.

ALLEGED rioter Lex Wotton turned the water supply off after setting fire to the Palm Island police station to prevent fire crews rescuing the building, a Brisbane court has heard.

THE global economic crisis is biting in suburbia with more than 6000 people lining up outside a Queensland church for free food today.