POLICE say speed played a part in the death of three teenagers when a BMW hit a tree at a Perth intersection overnight.

POLICE chased a man onto the roof of a hotel in north Queensland overnight after he allegedly stole a bottle of alcohol.

POLICE say they have arrested a man responsible for a string of armed hold-ups in hotels and clubs across Sydney.

US President George W Bush has declared a state of emergency in Louisiana and Texas in the face of Hurricane Gustav, freeing up aid from Washington three years after Hurricane Katrina.

US President George W. Bush's speech to the Republican convention will not define his legacy, will not bid farewell to the US public, and will not attack Democratic nominee Barack Obama, the White House said overnight.

A 16-YEAR-OLD boy has been badly burnt when the jetski he was riding on the Nerang River at the Gold Coast exploded, police say.

EUROPEAN stock markets closed higher overnight, holding on to modest gains despite losses on Wall Street after US consumer spending figures dented hopes the economy was nearing recovery.

WALL Street took a tumble today as weak economic data and a disappointing earnings report from computer giant Dell weighed on the markets and Hurricane Gustav churned toward the Gulf of Mexico.

A COURT in Finland today sentenced a teenage girl to five years in custody for hiring a hitman to kill her mother.

TWO explosions rocked a state-owned gunpowder factory in central Turkey today, killing three people and injuring 26.