1Farmers in Otago and Southland continue to count their losses after the weekend's snowstorms and freezing temperatures which killed thousands of sheep and lambs.

2Heavy snow blanketed the central North Island overnight, blocking the Desert Road and stranding a number of vehicles.

3Finance Minister Roger Douglas has released previously confidential Government reports relating to July's devaluation, which show that former Prime Minister Sir Robert Muldoon ignored two years worth of Treasury and Reserve Bank reports advising him to devalue the dollar.

4Prime Minister David Lange has concluded his visit to Britain with a call to businessmen in the United Kingdom to invest in New Zealand's future. London's Fleet Street journalists have rated Lange's performance while in the United Kingdom highly, giving him high praise for his attitude towards reporters.

5Ten people have appeared in court in Auckland yesterday linked to the Trans Tasman drug ring which was broken by Police yesterday following a two-year investigation. Another man appeared in court in Wellington.

6Critics who warned that buying an old British frigate and refurbishing it for the New Zealand Navy, say their fears have proven correct. The Navy says the work on HMNZS Wellington will cost almost $34 million, and take until 1986 to complete.

7The United States Secretary of Labour, Raymond Donovan, has taken temporary leave of absence after being indicted by a grand jury in connection with his past business dealings as a construction executive.

8Smash and grab raiders have stolen $2.5 million worth of gems from a London jewelers today,

9Atlantic shipping has been asked to look out for a ship said to be involved in major gun running operations for the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

10A jailed mafia boss has revealed the identities of dozens of mafia members, both in Italy and the United States.

11Over the past year the United States Congress has placed tight limits on American involvement in Central America. However, many Americans are working in places such as El Salvador in an unofficial capacity, boosting the growing number of mercenaries in the region.

12An industrial dispute which has been delaying the delivery of bitumen supplies, has flared up again, putting millions of dollars worth of roading projects scheduled for the summer in doubt.

13Groups monitoring the ale of alcohol are angry that supermarket chain Woolworths is selling imported low-alcohol beer. The Temperance Alliance and the Alcoholic Liquor Advisory Council believe it will encourage young people to drink, and fear this is the beginning of a campaign to have alcohol available for sale in supermarkets.

14The Government has amended the rent-freeze regulations to close loopholes that have allowed some landlords to increase their returns.

15A team of engineers at Lincoln College have developed an unusual way to study river control for flood prevention and irrigation - they have built the world's first scale model of a braided river.

16Taronga Park Zoo's lonely polar bear Ingrid arrived in the New Zealand Naval ship HMNZS Monowai today en route to her new home at Auckland Zoo.