1Heart transplant patient Des Tucker is under life threatening stress, according to his doctor, following the sudden withdrawal of a $30,000 pledge yesterday by the Belinda Trainor Fund.

2A ten year old South Auckland girl has been hospitalised after what her family claims was police harassment. However, Police strenuously deny the allegations and say they treated the girl with crae when her home was raided.

3Former Race Relations Conciliator Hiwi Tauroa believes it is time to decide the future of Maori seats in Parliament. Overnight he convincingly won the National Party nomination for the key Auckland seat of Eden.

4Dumped National MP Neil Austin may campaign against his party in an effort to retain his Bay of Islands seat.

5The wife of one of the New Zealanders being held on Reunion Island on drugs charges plans to fly out to see her husband next week. French officials on the island have issued a communique outlining why charges have been brought against the Australian skipper and crew of the sunken trawler Southern Raider.

6A pay dispute involving around sixty people at the Wool Testing Authority could stall all wool exports from Lyttelton and Napier ports.

7Plans to unite the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches have moved a step closer. The Presbyterian General Assembly, currently meeting in Palmerston North, has voted in favour of the merger. Next week, the move will be discussed by Methodist Church leaders.

8The Government's half-yearly financial report released today shows the deficit is slightly smaller than expected. However, Finance MInister Roger Douglas has warned that the outcome for the rest of the year will be less certain.

9A self-sufficient Christian community in Canterbury has come to the aid of a farmer faced with dumping milk after salmonella caused a local dairy factory to close. He has donated the milk to the community who then turn it into biogas

10Winston Pratley, a New Zealander involved in relief work, has been expelled from Sudan after asking anti-Government rebels to help distribute food and emergency supplies.

11The dismissal of Saudi Arabia's long-standing Oil Minister Sheikh Yamani is causing worldwide concern that oil prices may rise. Saudi Arabia's new Acting oil Minister Hisham Nazer has called for an urgent meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) price-fixing committee.

12The British Embassy in Syria has officially closed its doors, following the severing of diplomatic relations between the two countries. However, instead of supporting Britain's stance, France appears to be moving even closer to Syria.

13Legal arguments over State Coal's attempts to get onto a private piece of land in Huntly West to drill have highlighted a section of the law that no one seems to be able to interpret accurately. The issue is over when daylight officially begins.

14Two six year old Vietnamese Siamese (conjoint) twins have been released from hospital in Tokyo after being in intensive care for four months.

15Trampers along the famous Routeburn track in the Mount Aspiring National Park may soon be able to use a new high-tech solar powered toilet.