1The forced sale of a Waikato farm was called off today, less than 24 hours after angry farmers effectively stopped the auction of a Manawatu farm.

2The scrapping of minimum prices for petrol has cleared the way for a petrol price war, however so far no one has made any price reductions.

3One hundred and forty Soviet dissidents have been released from prison, and authorities say they may free more.

4Following yesterday's embarrassing bank robbery in Marseilles, French police are beginning to realise how easily they were duped by the robbers.

5The New Zealand America's Cup Challenge crew will arrive home tomorrow to a ticker tape parade in Auckland, despite being unsuccessful in winning the Cup. Today, thousands of people turned out in New York to welcome home Dennis Conner and the crew of the victorious America's Cup challengers, Stars and Stripes.

6Headline News 1. Israel said to be having secret hostage negotiations with Islamic Jihad 2. Cult leader Andy Narain allowed to remain in Australia pending appeal against extradition 3. Official death toll from Cyclone Uma in Vanuatu rises to 17

7One of the Justice Department's most pressing problems is the rate at which high security prisoners are committing suicide in prisons. One solution on the table is the establishment of a special jail for prisoners with mental health issues. However, in the meantime, the deaths are continuing at an alarming rate. Nineteen prisoners have killed themselves in prison since 1984.

8Three Wanganui men who charged the Police with assault and unlawful arrest in 1984 have reportedly settled for a record sum of $100,000 each plus legal costs. The men were allegedly rough handled by police in a case of mistaken identity.

9Cheap medical care for low-paid members of some trade unions has been criticised by the Medical Association, who are calling it favoritism.

10Worldwatch The Council of Organisations for Relief Service Overseas (CORSO) is launching a nationwide appeal for funds to help stricken Vanuatu in the wake of Cyclone Uma.

11Worldwatch The International Red Cross has reportedly received correspondence from the Lebanese kidnappers, holding four Westerners hostage in Beirut. While Israel considers Islamic Jihad's demands for the release of 400 Palestinian prisoners, the United States says it discourages such an exchange.

12Worldwatch It has been confirmed that former United States National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane - a key figure in the Iran Arms scandal in the United States - tried to commit suicide by taking an overdose of Valium yesterday. A look at the possible reasons for his distress - was the Congressional investigation into the Iran Arms deal over-zealous?

13Worldwatch Sources within Nicaragua suggest that the Contra rebels are planning a major offensive against the Sandinista Government in the next few weeks.

14Worldwatch New York police are holding six White teenagers in connection with the death of a young Black man, who was chased out onto a busy street, where he was hit by a vehicle and killed. Today in court, two of the teenagers had charges facing them changed to murder. The nationally televised talkshow, The Oprah Winfrey Show, has shone the light on racial issues in Forsyth County, a small county in Georgia which excludes Blacks from living within its boundaries. It has also gained notoriety as a stronghold for the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).

15Worldwatch Famine threatens the lives of millions of people in Mozambique, with international aid agencies fearing it could be worse than the tragedies in Ethiopia and Sudan. The famine has been caused by successive crop failures and a growing guerrilla war between the Mozambique Government and the National Resistance Movement (NMR), which has displaced rural farming communities and has escalated since the death of President Samora Machel last year.

16Worldwatch President Yoweri Museveni ascended to power in Uganda a year ago, determined to leave behind the corruption and violence of the regimes of Idi Amin and Milton Obote. A lok at the problems and promises of Uganda in the hands of its new leader.