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12:50 (AEST) THE Victorian government will be handed a petition of more than 20,000 signatures opposing tolls on the Scoresby Freeway in Melbourne's east.
Israelis wound 20 Palestinians
12:35 (AEST) AT least 20 Palestinians were injured today during clashes between Israeli troops and dozens of Palestinian teens in the northern West Bank town of Nablus, Palestinian medical sources reported
New York in state of emergency
12:10 (AEST) US President George W Bush declared a state of emergency in New York state today, more than a week after a massive blackout caused chaos in the north-eastern United States and parts of southern Canada.
Teenage Picasso picture sold
12:00 (AEST) A PICTURE painted by Pablo Picasso when he was a teenager was sold for 420,000 euros (458,000 dollars) at an auction in northern France yesterday.
225 deaths on Victoria roads
11:50 (AEST) A PEDESTRIAN died after being hit by a car at Frankston in Melbourne's south-east early today.
Man charged for SA firearms
11:15 (AEST) AN 18-year-old man has been charged with numerous firearms offences after he discharged a gun during an altercation in Adelaide last night.
Butler has 'no skeletons'
10:20 (AEST) TASMANIA'S Governor-designate Richard Butler said today he was confident there were no skeletons in his closet.
Hanson kids visit mum in jail
10:10 (AEST) PAULINE Hanson's children have visited her in jail for the first time since the former One Nation leader began her three-year sentence for electoral fraud.
Al-Qaeda UK plane hijack plot
10:05 (AEST) THE FBI has uncovered intelligence that the al-Qaeda terrorist network is plotting to hijack an aircraft in Britain over the next two months and fly it into an important building, a London-based newspaper said today.
30,000 flee Canada fires
10:00 (AEST) A FIRESTORM that forced 30,000 people to flee their community in western Canada has destroyed more than 200 houses, reducing them to smoldering rubble, officials said today.
Six arrested in drug raids
09:55 (AEST) SIX people, four of them British, have been arrested during a joint operation, involving Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands, to thwart an international drugs trafficking ring, Belgian police announced last night.
Massive power blackout in Helsinki
09:30 (AEST) THE Finnish capital Helsinki was hit by a massive power blackout late last night, the FNB agency reported.
Man's nose bitten in assault
08:20 (AEST) POLICE are seeking witnesses to an assault in Melbourne overnight in which a man had his nose bitten.
Woman killed by Woonona train
08:00 (AEST) A WOMAN died after being struck by a train at a railway level crossing south of Sydney, police said today.
Man charged after body in boot
07:30 (AEST) A MAN is due to appear in court this morning following the discovery of a woman's body in a car boot in Sydney's inner-west yesterday.
Bosnians arrested over war crimes
02:00 (AEST) BOSNIAN police have arrested two Muslims suspected of committing war crimes against Croat civilians during the country's 1992 to 1995 war.
Two dead in Indian train collision
01:55 (AEST) TWO people were killed and nine others injured after a local train collided head on with a stationary engine on the same track and burst into flames this morning, railway and fire officials said.
Bush "Islam's biggest enemy"
01:38 (AEST) A PROMINENT leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas has accused US President George W. Bush of being an enemy of Islam after the US government froze the assets of Hamas leaders.
37 extremists arrested in Egypt
00:50 (AEST) EGYPTIAN security services have arrested 37 suspected members of the banned group Jemaah Islamiya (JI) for trying to reignite violence, as well as two members of the Muslim Brotherhood, police said yesterday.
Bus stop bomb in Belfast
23:00 (AEST) A SMALL bomb detonated inside an abandoned car in the Northern Ireland border town of Newry, but nobody was injured, police said today.
UN envoys body arrives in Brazil
22:18 (AEST) A BRAZILIAN air force jet carrying the body of slain UN envoy to Iraq Sergio Vieira de Mello arrived today in his home city in Brazil.
Killer gunman sought in Rome
22:00 (AEST) ITALIAN police were searching today for a fugitive gunman who shot and killed four people - including a two-and-a-half-year-old girl and a pensioner - in a working-class neighbourhood on the outskirts of Milan.
Great train misery in London
21:17 (AEST) THOUSANDS of Britons intent on making the most of the August bank holiday were facing serious problems today as railway companies said they would close some major lines for three days for heavy repairs.
34 killed in day of China traffic
21:15 (AEST) THIRTY-four people have died in three accidents on China's hazardous roads in a 24-hour period, state media reported today.
Biggest roller coaster drops wheels
20:50 (AEST) TWO people were injured today at an amusement park in central Japan when the world's tallest and longest roller coaster screeched to a halt after dropping wheels, police said.
Food poisoning puts 60 in hospital
20:49 (AEST) SIXTY Chinese university students have been hospitalised with food poisoning, as initial investigations point to sulphuric acid as the likely culprit, state media said today.
Turkey considers troops for Iraq
20:20 (AEST) TURKEY will send 10,000 troops to Iraq if the government decides to help the US-led coalition to restore stability there, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said in an interview published today.
Fiji ferry boat sinks
20:03 (AEST) AN INTER-island ferry carrying around 100 people sank today in Fiji, television reported.
ICC chief mixed up in murder
19:06 (AEST) INTERNATIONAL Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Malcolm Speed has issued a statement denying any knowledge of an Indian woman found murdered and linked to him through hotel keycards.
Woman found dead in car boot
18:50 (AEST) THE body of an unidentified woman was found in the boot of a car in Sydney's inner-west today.
21 feared dead after rocket mishap
18:23 (AEST) TWENTY-one people were feared dead today after the explosion of a rocket at Brazil's Alcantara Space Centre, officials said.
Malaysia frees JI suspect
18:15 (AEST) A SUSPECTED senior member of the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) extremist group has been freed from prison in Malaysia and is likely to be deported to Indonesia, his lawyer and wife said today.
US wildfires spread
14:50 (AEST) OREGON Governor Ted Kulongoski has declared a state of emergency to allow National Guard troops to help fight two wildfires burning in a national forest and threatening a tiny mountain community in the western United States.
Govt 'hiding' bulk-billing figures
14:45 (AEST) FEDERAL Health Minister Kay Patterson was sitting on the latest bulk-billing figures until after next week's meeting of state premiers and the prime minister, Labor said today.
Bus crash in China, 27 dead
14:40 (AEST) A TOTAL of 27 people were killed in north China when their bus plunged down a 30-metre deep ravine, state media said today.
Thai ban on trucks during APEC
14:35 (AEST) THAILAND will ban trucks and other large vehicles from high-rise buildings, department stores and hotels following new warnings that terrorists may attack a coming Asia-Pacific leaders' summit in the capital Bangkok, a newspaper said today.
Beattie fears One Nation surge
14:30 (AEST) QUEENSLAND Premier Peter Beattie said today a resurgence in support for One Nation after Pauline Hanson's jailing could cost Labor government.
Aussie war memorial for London
14:20 (AEST) A NEW memorial recalling some of the most momentous events in Australia's wartime history is under construction at London's Hyde Park Corner.
Attacks don't explain war: Wilkie
14:00 (AEST) THE government's personal attack on a former intelligence analyst highlighted its inability to justify the Iraq invasion, a conference in Sydney was told today.
Sobig virus wreaks havoc in China
13:35 (AEST) THE Sobig.F worm has wreaked havoc on large numbers of email users in China, exploiting a widespread absence of efficient anti-virus software to attack computers across the country, a government official said today.
$500m for Murray River fund
13:30 (AEST) THE Commonwealth was cautiously hopeful states would agree to a new $500 million fund to fight the River Murray's decline, Prime Minister John Howard said today.
Leaders rally around Aspinall
13:20 (AEST) POLITICAL and religious leaders have rallied behind Brisbane Anglican Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, who yesterday denied sex abuse allegations.
ICAC Face investigation 'failed'
13:10 (AEST) NSW's corruption watchdog had failed to properly investigate a former state government minister so that he could not now be held accountable for misusing public resources, the opposition said today.
Ski resorts warned on chairlifts
13:00 (AEST) SEVEN Victorian ski resort operators have been issued with safety improvement notices after a crackdown on chairlift safety, WorkSafe Victoria said today.
Wilkie claims lack evidence: PM
12:50 (AEST) A FORMER intelligence analyst had offered no evidence to support his claims that the Australian government had distorted information about Iraq, Prime Minister John Howard said today.
Gunman in police shooting named
12:40 (AEST) POLICE have released the name of the gunman alleged to have shot Caboolture Police Senior Sergeant Perry Irwin yesterday.
Thai police arrest terror suspects
12:35 (AEST) THAI police have arrested five suspected terrorists including three Pakistanis and two Burmese nationals in the northern province of Chiang Mai, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said today.
Flags at half-mast for shot officer
12:20 (AEST) FLAGS were flying at half-mast across Caboolture today after the murder of a popular police officer yesterday.
21 dead in rocket explosion
11:50 (AEST) A ROCKET exploded on its launch pad overnight during tests just days before liftoff, killing 21 people and injuring 20 others, the defense ministry said.
'Overload' before US blackout
11:35 (AEST) IN the hours before North America's worst blackout, several transmission lines in Ohio were carrying massive amounts of power "well above" emergency summer standards before automatically shutting down, a company that owns the lines said.
Nation's oldest WWI vet dies
11:30 (AEST) AUSTRALIA'S oldest World War I veteran, Frank MacDonald, died early today, aged 107.
Tuckey calls Stanhope 'delinquent'
11:20 (AEST) FEDERAL Territories Minister Wilson Tuckey extended his intemperate letter-writing to ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope, calling him clearly delinquent, the Canberra Times reported today.
12,000 dead in Europe heatwave
11:00 (AEST) EUROPE'S scorching heatwave has killed 2,000 people in countries outside France.
British Iraq embassy 'attack threat'
10:30 (AEST) BRITISH diplomats in Iraq were evacuated from the embassy compound in Baghdad the day after the bombing of the United Nations headquarters, after a "credible threat" of an attack, The Times newspaper reported today.
Iranians 'secretly deported'
10:00 (AEST) THREE Iranian men were removed from a South Australian detention centre this morning to be forcibly deported from the country, the National Anti-Deportation Alliance (NADA) said today.
Stargazers turn out to see Mars
09:30 (AEST) THOUSANDS of Melbourne stargazers turned their eyes towards the heavens last night as the planet Mars and Earth approached their closest pass in more than 60,000 years.
Man killed, kids hurt in smash
09:20 (AEST) A TWO car smash west of the NSW Blue Mountains has killed one man and seriously injured two children.
Four killed in Milan shootings
09:00 (AEST) FOUR people, including a three-year-old girl, were shot dead in a Milan suburb late today when two gunmen opened fire in a busy street, Italian police reported.
Man charged over stolen tools
08:40 (AEST) A MAN has been charged after police seized $100,000 worth of power tools from homes in Sydney's south-west.
$200,000 ecstasy seized
08:10 (AEST) TWO men will appear in court today charged over the seizure of ecstasy tablets with an estimated street value of more than $200,000.
Hundreds protest Bush visit
08:00 (AEST) UP to 500 drum-banging demonstrators expressed their disapproval of US President George W Bush, as he visited America's liberal and economically-stricken northwest today.
Envoy's body taken to Brazil
07:45 (AEST) A BRAZILIAN air force jet carrying the body of UN envoy to Iraq Sergio Vieira de Mello left Baghdad for Brazil today, three days after he was killed in a devastating suicide bombing of Baghdad's UN headquarters.
Libya transfers Lockerbie funds
07:30 (AEST) LIBYA today completed the transfer into a Swiss bank of $US2.7 billion ($4.14 billion) in Lockerbie compensation money, paving the way for the lifting of UN sanctions against the country, the US State Department said.
Ricki Lake, husband split
07:10 (AEST) TALK show host Ricki Lake and her husband of nine years have filed for a separation, according to court documents.
US stocks stall
07:00 (AEST) WALL Street's advance stalled overnight, running into some expected resistance following weeks of gains.
Canada detains 19 on terrorist links
02:10 (AEST) CANADIAN police confirmed the arrest of some 19 people last week, who reportedly remain in Toronto-area jails while an investigation into possible terrorist links is under way.
Berlusconi pulls out of opera
01:45 (AEST) ITALY'S Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has pulled out of a night at the opera with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, apparently to avoid being targeted by opposition protesters, Schroeder's spokesman said.
Truck falls from cliff, 15 dead
01:23 (AEST) A TRUCK carrying passengers and cargo plunged off a cliff in rural Bolivia overnight, killing at least 15 people, firefighters said today.
US accounts for captured soldiers
01:15 (AEST) TWO US soldiers an unknown group claimed to have captured in Iraq are safe and accounted for, a military official said yesterday.
Bomb kills nine in Chechnya
00:30 (AEST) NINE Russian federal soldiers were killed near the Chechen capital of Grozny when a remote-controlled bomb exploded close to their vehicle, Russian military officials told the Interfax news agency.
US soldier killed in Afghanistan
00:20 (AEST) A US special operations soldier has been killed in action in eastern Afghanistan, the US military said yesterday, while in a neighbouring province coalition troops arrested four people and seized weapons stored in caves by insurgents.
Islamic group captures US soldiers
00:00 (AEST) THE US military is looking into a reported claim by a previously unknown Islamist group that it has captured two US soldiers in Iraq, a spokesman said yesterday.
