A stunning backflip by Summit Resources is set to deliver the uranium hopeful to Paladin Resources, casting doubt over a $292 million alliance with French nuclear giant Areva.

Regional TV baron Bruce Gordon has upped the ante in the pursuit of Channel 9 Perth by raising his bid for the Sunraysia Television subsidiary to $163.2 million, almost $27 million above a rival offer from James Packer's PBL Media.

Alinta suitor Babcock & Brown has added fresh sweeteners to its $7.4 billion takeover offer for the WA energy giant to woo the formidable level of shareholder support required to nail the deal.

Michael Chaney, president of the powerful Business Council of Australia, has launched a scathing attack on Kevin Rudd's policy of setting greenhouse gas targets, warning the ambitious plan could plunge the nation into recession.

Perth house prices are likely to drop about 3 per cent later this year despite a slowdown in the construction of new homes, leading economic forecaster BIS Shrapnel says.

WA's publicly owned power stations and transmission lines should be sold off as part of a multi-billion dollar strategy to privatise the State's electricity system, a report by a high-powered task force has urged.

Page 1: Kevin Rudd's popularity has survived the furore over plans for a false Anzac Day dawn service. The top health bureaucrat axed for allegedly failing to warn Victoria's Health Minister about attempts by several men to spread HIV was involved in a similar bungle in South Australia. The nation's most gifted Year 12 students will have their HECS debts met and be offered cash bonuses to study at the re-modelled US-style Melbourne University. Witnesses in search aircraft looking for five people missing after the Immigration vessel Malu Sara sank in the Torres Strait reported seeing people alive in the water the day after the tragedy.

Page 2: Kevin Rudd will co-host the Nine Network's Mornings with Kerri-Anne program tomorrow, just two days after being forced to dump his weekly Seven Network Sunrise spot.

World: (Los Angeles) Paul Wolfowitz is not falling on his sword yet but an unprecedented public rebuke yesterday from the world's leading finance and development ministers has loosened his already tenuous grip on the presidency of the World Bank.

Business: The consortium favoured by Alinta's board has again bent to market whim, saying it will now offer shareholders an improved cash component in its $7.4 billion bid for the Perth utility.

Page 1: Stockbroking firms and investment banks face an eightfold increase in penalties for serious professional misconduct under a controversial Australian Securities Exchange proposal opposed by the industry. The head of Australia's biggest uranium producer believes renewed interest in nuclear power and burgeoning demand from China and India will underpin the surging uranium price. Melbourne University has signalled the start of an interstate bidding war for the country's best and brightest students with the introduction of a $100 million scholarship scheme.

Page 3: The federal government will curb the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's ability to directly disqualify directors that it considers unfit to run a superannuation fund.

Page 5: Business confidence has rebounded to its highest level in a year, led by smaller companies which are being buoyed by good profits, firm sales and robust business conditions.

World: Embattled World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz was fighting to keep his job last night as pressures for his resignation over his role in securing a high-paying job for his girlfriend showed little sign of dissipating.

Markets: Continued merger and acquisition activity and strength in the resources sector propelled the local sharemarket to a record close yesterday.

Page 1: Secret figures reveal that 45 per cent of Australian workplace agreements have stripped away all of the award conditions that the federal government promised would be "protected by law" under Work Choices. Milton Orkopoulos befriended a 16-year-old boy and plied him with alcohol, cannabis and heroin while he sexually abused the teenager over three years, police allege. A giant open-cut mine on the outskirts of Goulburn is slowly filling with Sydney's waste, but this super tip is also a new source of green power. The contribution of Aboriginal soldiers will be recognised in Sydney's first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anzac Day parade.

Page 2: The former police minister in the Wran Labor government, Peter Anderson, has offered to speak to police concerning what he knows about the alleged assaults by the MP Paul Gibson on his former partner Sandra Nori.

Page 3: Traffic delays could increase by 40 per cent and the social cost of Sydney's gridlock blow out to $7.8 billion within 15 years, a federal government report says.

World: (Washington) Paul Wolfowitz, the former No. 2 at the Pentagon and a chief architect of the Iraq war, has vowed to stay in his job as World Bank president despite mounting pressure from European countries for him to resign.

Page 1: Prime Minister John Howard faces an open revolt from within Coalition ranks over his backing of a plan to pump water from northern NSW to Queensland; Frustrated NRL chief executive David Gallop last night led a chorus of complaints against Bulldogs and Australian forward Willie Mason over his boorish off-field behaviour.

Page 2: Australians are spending $16.9 billion a year from their own pockets on healthcare despite a Medicare safety net meant to cushion them from health costs.

World: (Washington) Vice-President Dick Cheney yesterday said the US could still win in Iraq - and accused Democrats pushing for a troop withdrawal of being "irresponsible".

Business: The Australian stockmarket closed in record territory yesterday, driven by strong gains from BHP and the big banks after a solid lead from Wall Street overnight.

Page 1: Kate Middleton's mother has been blamed for her daughter's split with Prince William. ACT government warns there could be stricter water restrictions unless there is rain soon. Another Monday night win for the Canberra Raiders at Canberra Stadium.

World: World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz wants to stay on in his role, despite controversy about allowing his girlfriend's lucrative promotion. Tensions over this weekend's presidential poll in Nigeria claim 21 lives. US Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign for president has raised $US36 million in the first quarter, the highest of any other candidate to date.

Page 1: Victorian Health Minister Bronwyn Pike sacked Victoria's chief health officer after becoming concerned that he was impeding police efforts to protect the public from potential HIV infection; Every VCE student who achieves a university entry score above 98 will be offered $2,500 to enrol with the University of Melbourne as it targets the nation's brightest scholars next year.

Page 2: By Sunday night, the pressure on Kevin Rudd and Joe Hockey to pull the pin on their appearances on Seven Network news program Sunrise was immense.

Page 3: Victoria's gaming giants have been stung by a 43 per cent poker machine tax increase under a state government plan to boost public hospital funding by $39 million a year.

World: Paul Wolfowitz, the former number two at the Pentagon and the chief architect of the war in Iraq, has vowed to stay in his job as president of the World Bank despite mounting pressure on him to resign.

Finance: Legal woes facing a Coles Group executive sacked over a business deal with a supplier have compounded, with the retailer now accusing Peter Scott of leaking damaging information.

Page 1: Explosive allegations of sledging by an AFL West Coast star against the six-year-old daughter of his Fremantle rival will be dealt with by the AFL Tribunal.

World: Film-maker Michael Moore has caused a furore by taking ailing Ground Zero emergency workers to Cuba to show the US health care system is inferior to Fidel Castro's.

World: World Bank chief Paul Wolfowitz to stay in his job despite controversy over the handling of his girlfriend's promotion (Washington). Storm kills eight and grounds airlines in the United States (New York). South Korea considers holding off on rice aid to North Korea over nuclear issues (Seoul).

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