Melbourne, Apr 6 : Modern women''s penchant for high heels is putting them at a higher risk of acute and chronic problems.

With the increasing popularity of high heels shortening of the Achilles tendon, heel pain, pain in the balls of the feet, bunions, calluses, soft corns between the toes, fractures, and sprains have also become quite common.

Podiatrist and spokesperson for Australian Podiatry Association (NSW), Brenden Brown said that wearing stiletto heels brings a raft of acute and chronic problems.

Sydney  - The motorcycle gang boss who was present when a rival was bludgeoned to death in the arrivals hall of Australia's busiest airport last month was charged Monday.

Comanchero boss Mahmoud Hawi, 28, is the sixth gang member arrested over the death of Hell's Angels member Anthony Zervas in front of horrified travelers.

The March 22 slaying sparked fears of an all-out war between motorcycle gangs over control of the illicit drug trade and protection rackets.

Sydney  - Australians have tried all sorts of ways to stop the continent's coastal fringe being colonized by cane toads. There's cane toad golf, there are cane toad fences and even cane toad bounties.

But the South American imports, introduced into north Queensland in 1935 to control beetles infesting sugar cane fields, seem unstoppable.

They have hopped into the tropical north and are working their way west in their millions.

Sydney, Apr 5 : Australian Prime Minister Kevin Michael Rudd''s ill behaviour with a flight stewardess on a VIP flight from the Pacific Islands Forum in Port Moresby in January has been linked to a possible iron deficiency.

Rudd specially took out time from the G-20 summit in London to apologise for blowing up at the woman after he did not receive the non-red-meat meal on the flight, Sydney Morning Herald reported.

"All of us are human, I''m human, I''m not perfect," he said.

Sydney- The recession has made beefy blokes like Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig more appealing than scented metrosexuals like Hugh Grant and Leonardo DiCaprio, an Australian sociologist said Sunday.

Demographer Bernard Salt said that as the global financial crisis wore on, lots of women would eye a motor mechanic for a life partner rather than an investment banker.

Melbourne, April 5 : NSW Institute of Sport experts have warned sportspersons against drinking beer after training, as it may take cause them to take more than 60 hours to physically recover from.

Kenneth Graham, the chief scientists at the institute, has revealed that this suggestion is based on the findings of a study conducted at Massey University, New Zealand, and presented at the European College of Sports Science annual conference last year.

"The results of this study are absolutely stunning," the Courier Mail quoted Graham as saying.