REIGNING ironwoman champion Naomi Flood and heir apparent Hayley Bateup almost came to blows in a thrilling round-four encounter at the Sunshine Coast yesterday.

18a Billyard Avenue, Elizabeth Bay

THE search for bodies resumes today as hundreds of people are feared dead in Samoa and American Samoa after towering tsunami waves swept across low-lying southern coastlines yesterday.

FIFTY billion dollars ("Money talks in China deal", The Age, 19/8). How many black balloons? Forbes Sprawson, Hampton

This exciting, unpredictable, edgy week crackles with fiery promise after the weepy emotionality of recent times. It's neither tepid, tame nor entirely drama free.