Torrential rain battering southern China has forced more than 150,000 people from their homes, toppled hundreds of houses and punched a dangerous hole in the spillway of a dam, Xinhua news agency reported.

The cold air affecting the southeast has made its way into QLD in yesterday's strong southwest winds.

The strong winds that have been affecting parts of the southeast have been easing throughout the day.

After some days of gale force winds, blizzards, heavy rain and snow the southeast can look forward to some calm at the end of the storm.

CIGARETTES could cost more than $20 for a packet of 30 and come in plain wrapping if radical proposals now under consideration by the federal government are accepted.

THE notorious Skaf brothers have been permanently banned from sharing a prison cell with each other.

DETECTIVES in Melbourne have charged ten men over a assault outside a nightclub two years ago that left an 18-year-old man with a permanent brain injury.

A MOTORIST is believed to have stolen produce spilled at the scene of a fatal truck accident.

A GROUP of sailors from HMAS Success has been sent home and an inquiry is underway after they allegedly plotted a challenge to have sex with as many female crewmates as possible.