MEDIA around the world regaled their audiences with stories of stretched French presidents and bisexual James Bonds yesterday, proving the tradition of April Fool’s jokes was alive and kicking.

Prime minister John Howard has dismissed as “ridiculous” claims that his warning of a possible terrorist attack on Australia was timed to deflect attention from two controversial pieces of legislation.

The family of an Australian engineer being held hostage in Iraq offered a “donation” to the Iraqi people today, as Australia’s top Muslim cleric left for Baghdad in a last-ditch effort to win his release.

Rioters in an Aboriginal ghetto of Sydney pelted police with petrol bombs and bricks, leaving 40 officers injured, after a nine-hour street battle sparked by allegations that police chased a local teenager to his death.

A strong earthquake struck offshore just north of Papua New Guinea early today, reportedly killing at least two people and ripping seaside homes from their foundations.