real life
Slave girl's chilling love letter
THIS is the slave held captive by 'evil monsters' in a 'dark dungeon' of a council house for more than three decades.
More surgery for little Roona
DOCTORS will carry out more surgery on a two-year-old Indian girl to correct a rare disorder that caused her head to balloon.
'He sat on top of me and choked me'
TODAY is White Ribbon Day. This year people are being encouraged to speak up and uncover stories of violence against women. Suzanne is one of them.
Oh God, this is the funniest church in Australia
THE Central Coast might be an unlikely location for Australia's most progressive Church, but this NSW congregation is the talk of the town. Oh and the internet.
Inside the world of competitive eating
IMAGINE stuffing down 15 hot dogs in 10 minutes. Former competitive eater Maria Edible reveals what really goes on inside the punishing sport.
Thugs add extra-violent twist to Knockout game
IN A callous new twist, thugs who participate in the Knockout "game" have stepped it up a notch, conconcting yet another way to harm their unsuspecting victims.
Boy hits head, wakes up a musical genius
SPORTS-mad Lachlan Connors was heartbroken when a concussion on the lacrosse field meant he would never be able to play contact sports again. Then he discovered he suddenly had a new talent.
What freedom feels like after 25 years
INNOCENT man Derrick Deacon spent 25 years in jail for a crime he didn't commit. Yesterday marked his first day of freedom - here he explains what he did.
Meet Scientology's worst nightmare
LARRY Wright woke up one day this year looking like a demon. He had the Church of Scientology to thank for that.
How the 'Half-Ton Killer' shed 270kg
SHE confessed to killing her nephew with her own 450kg body but was later acquitted. Now Mayra Rosales refuses to be the world's fattest woman ever again.
Five things car thieves don't want you to know
IN AUSTRALIA, a car is stolen almost every 10 minutes. Ex-con Steve Fuller, who has been convicted six times for stealing cars, reveals all.
Five innocent crimes that will get you jailed
FROM seemingly innocent gestures, to being the wrong sex, these are some of the bizarre reasons used to jail someone. Sound far-fetched? It happens and for the oddest reasons.
'Why the hell are you so fat?'
THIS Australian woman is criticised constantly about her weight. She's come to the conclusion that it would be easier for most people "if I just didn't exist".
The craziest near-death moments
IT'S a moment no one wants to experience. Over 400 tonnes of steel hurtling towards you at up to 130km/h. These are the most amazing train death escapes you'll ever see.
Seven types of modern Aussie male
ACTION Man, Sensitive Cockatoo, Broadband Connector, Retail Ranger and Nurturing Knight: Meet the modern Australian male.
Why this woman lives like it's 1888
SHE wears a corset, doesn't use any modern technology and lives life exactly as it was in the Victorian era. Who is she ... and why?
The five most outrageous myths about rape
THEY were drunk. Women can't get pregnant through rape. These are just some of the myths surrounding sexual assault which blame the victim instead of the offender.
Neighbours' passive aggressive war over loud sex
A PERSON fed up with their neighbour's loud moaning tried to embarrass her by posting a note on her door. They didn't know "the girl in 517" would hit back twice as hard.
Waitress denied tip because of 'gay lifestyle'
THIS woman is a former Marine who was just doing her job, when a group of customers left her with a homophobic note instead of a tip.
Women 'hunted like foxes' in uni game
MEMBERS of an Oxford University drinking society were branded ‘repugnant and sexist’ yesterday for organising a pub crawl in which girls dressed as foxes have to ‘evade mauling’.
Fire killed everyone she loved
MADONNA Badger wakes every morning wondering if she could have saved her three daughters from the fire that killed them. She has been in hell but is on her way back.
Early Christmas for dying boy
DEVIN Kohlman died from brain cancer on Monday afternoon, but not before hundreds of people from his town gave him an early Christmas, complete with carols shaved ice, lights and reindeer cutouts.
'Iraq made you a threat to society'
THAT'S what a judge told this war vet while sentencing him to 10 years in jail. Andrew Chambers was haunted by demons during his two tours of Iraq ... and they followed him home.
City to turn sick boy into Batman
A FIVE-YEAR-OLD leukemia patient is set to become Batman for a day as San Francisco is turned into Gotham City.
My conversations with a cold-blooded killer
HIS name is Juice. He's been in jail since 1974. He's serving life for murdering a 19-year-old boy. Every year we drive out to see him. He doesn't say much - but I listen.
Did she push him to his death?
JORDAN Graham had cold feet. Then her new husband was found at the bottom of a cliff eight days after their wedding. The murder case against her is building.
The most tragic posters you will ever read
THESE heartbreaking placards reveal the horrifying truth about sexual assault, as brave victims recall their harrowing abuse by the numbers.
White supremacist finds out he's black on live TV
THIS is what it looks like when your whole world falls apart. Watch as Craig Cobb, who was trying to turn his town into a 'whites only' village, learns the truth about his heritage.
The 7 best Halloween costumes ever
THINK your Halloween costume was super awesome? Think again. These seven people totally killed it. Especially the naked one.
Is this the drunkest mess ever?
FILE this under low moments in history. A couple was caught having sex in a restaurant's car park. The woman, who was drunk, then tried to wear a hamburger as a shoe.
The touching story of the 12-fingered typist
A MAN who can type more than 100 words per minute says he is unable to get work because employers want "pretty women" and not someone with 12 fingers.
Man mistakes liquid meth for sports drink, dies
'I AM dying. I am dead.' Those were the panicked words of an innocent man after he accidentally drank $60,000 of liquefied crystal meth thinking it was a sports drink.
No, it's not OK: 5 signs you're a flake
SO YOU are always running late. You may think you're the best friend ever, but chances are you're just a total flake. But can you change your misguided ways?
From homeless man to sharply dressed exec
A PRODUCER has set out to prove that potential exists even in the people we ignore. Watch this incredible transofrmation, in footage that has quickly spread online.
Secrets of the execution chamber
AS death row inmates mount legal challenges against a new method of execution, we reveal what really goes on inside a lethal injection death chamber.
Mourner shocked as hand shoots out of grave
A MOURNER was left horrified after a hand surged out of a nearby grave. It turns out a man had been buried alive and was trying to get out.
Sleeping man picture goes viral
A SOCIAL media image of a black man sleeping on an Orthodox Jew's shoulder on a train and his reaction to passengers has gone viral.
Helpline: 'We didn't hang up on Laurie'
EXCLUSIVE: TWO days before he killed himself, a sobbing Laurie Fox told his wife a helpline hung up on him. The helpline is adamant it didn't happen.
'My week as a 1950s teenager'
ELLA Epstein, a 14-year-old high school student, decided to try out life as the "ideal" 1950s teenager. So was life back then better, worse, or just plain weird?
LIFESTYLE PHOTOS
Melbourne Cup Day fashions
WHO wore what and who looked hot? We have all you need to know about the fashion side of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
Cat-loads of personality
Catch up on the adventures of Instagram’s new favourite feline, Famous Niki, in her own words.
National Architecture Awards 2013: residential shortlist
Step inside the 10 best new homes in Australia, as decided by a jury of the industry's most discerning.
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What life's really like for immigrants in Australia
HE LOVES Italian food, cricket and hip hop. As far as Desh Amila is concerned he's as Aussie as meat pies. But he's the first to admit life isn't always peachy if you're different.