1Southland and central Otago have experienced a day of heavy flooding, with people evacuated from their homes, communications lost and some stock losses. There has been bitter criticism of the Government for failing to provide sufficient flood protection to the region. Tonights a flood warning has been issued for west Southland and parts of Otago.

2Firefighters are trying to work out how to clean up around 50,000 litres of herbicide, caught in a blaze which destroyed an Onehunga warehouse. The depot was a furniture removal company and hundreds of families have lost all of their possessions.

3A Japanese squid fishing boat is making its way into Wellington tonight, after a collision with a Taiwanese boat off the North Otago coast> The Taiwanese vessel capsized and sank, but all sixteen crewmen were safely transferred onto the Japanese boat.

4The Dutch company that is trying to salvage the sunken ferry Herald of Free Enterprise off the Belgian port of Zeebrugge says the ship may be righted within a week if the good weather holds.

5The United States Congress and the Special Prosecutor in the Iran Arms Inquiry are embroiled in a tug-of-war about the value of getting immunity from prosecution for former National Security Advisors Oliver North and John Poindexter, so they can provide the Inquiry with additional evidence.

6Fourteen Pan American (Pan Am) employees have been arrested at New York's JFK Airport, and charged with smuggling more than $1 billion worth of cocaine.

7Headline News 1. The giant, multi-national company Comalco says its offer to organise a joint venture to buy the Manapouri Power Station from the Government is genuine, and not just a political ploy. 2. Electricity workers are threatening industrial action over a dispute involving union bargaining rights with the new Electricity Corporation. 3. Trading bank staff around New Zealand are divided over a union recommendation that they accept a 7.9% pay increase.

8Finance MInister Roger Douglas has delivered a blunt warning to New Zealand's business leaders today - they are mistaken if they are expecting an election year handout from the Government and if they do not do more to control prices, they are risking both their firms and their employees.

9Police Minister Ann Hercus and the Police Association are currently at loggerheads over a new Bill which would establish an independent authority to deal with complaints made against the police. Who polices the police?

10Waikato dairy farmers have experienced a tough season, compounded by drought. With an average income cut of around $30,000, some believe they would be better off financially on the dole.

11Worldwatch The Roman Catholic Church has released a major policy statement on the subject of artificial conception, saying that everything from in vitro fertilisation (IVF) to surrogate motherhood is unacceptable. The Vatican says "scientists should not be doing God's work". Two reports: 1. A look at the details of the Vatican's report 2. How the Vatican's ruling will affect an American couple wanting a third child

12Worldwatch In Britain, some babies suffer from a rare bone disease, which makes their bones brittle, Sadly, the resultant injuries they sustain have often been misinterpreted as signs of abuse, and the babies taken into care.

13Worldwatch Drug testing for many Government employees in the United States came a step closer today, following the arrest of fourteen Pan American (Pan Am) employees at New York's JFK Airport, who were subsequently charged with smuggling more than $1 billion worth of cocaine.

14Worldwatch American drug dealers have become increasingly sophisticated and organised - right down to the street gang level. Los Angeles hoodlums have recently been looking for business further afield.

15Worldwatch South Africa is preparing for a Whites-only election in eight weeks time. The ruling National Party has suffered a series of setbacks, including the defection of three prominent reformers. However, the pro-apartheid right wing could pose the biggest threat to the Government. Today, South Africa's biggest daily newspaper, The Johannesburg Star won a small victory when the Supreme Court prevented seizure of newspapers carrying anti-apartheid advertisements. State-owned broadcasting in South Africa is also having problems.

16Worldwatch In the United States, the giant CBS network has recently sacked more than 200 people from its news production teams, leading to allegations that CBS is prioritising profit over its reputation as America's finest news-gathering organisation.

17Worldwatch A music historian in New Jersey has uncovered hundreds of unknown works by some of the United States' best songwriters stored away in a Warner Brothers theatre.