1New Zealand health authorities are now actively monitoring cases of Influenza A H1N1 'swine flu' in four centres, Auckland, Waikato, Nelson and Otago. The Nelson-Marlborough District Health Board says it is following 18 people who were on flights from North America on Saturday, and has 20 people in quarantine. Two groups of secondary school students and their teachers are also in quarantine in Auckland after returning from a trip to Central America.

2At a press conference at Parliament this afternoon, Prime Minister John Key said he's happy with the level of the official response, so far.

3The Waikato District Health Board is investigating two patitents with suspected Influenza A H1N1 'swine flu'.

4Business News

5The captain of Italian cruise ship MSC Melody with 62 New Zealanders on board, says an attack by Somali pirates in the weekend felt like war.

6In London the stars of the British television world have been out in force for this year's BAFTA Television awards.

75:30pm News

8Are we at the start of a swine flu epidemic. United States flu expert Dr. Michael Osterholm says Influenza A H1N1 'swine flu' cases are alarming.

9Former New Zealand brewing giant Lion Nathan looks set to be taken over by its major shareholder Kirin Holdings. Lion's head office moved to Australia nine years ago; Japanese firm Kirin Holdings already owns a 46% stake in the company.

10More details have emerged today of an attack and kidnapping of a real estate agent at a rural Wairarapa property by Nigel Whakarau in August last year.

11Waatea News

12Witnesses at a depositions hearing today described how Randell Brown and another youth with name suppression, told them they had stabbed taxi driver Abdulrahman Ikhtiari to death.

13The Government has agreed on a plan today to help drought stricken farmers in Hawkes Bay.

14Twice as many New Zealanders have visiting the Treaty grounds than the previous year. This comes after the Waitangi National Trust introduced free entry for New Zealand residents on to the Treaty Grounds.

156:00pm News

16New Zealand health authorities are now actively monitoring cases of suspected Influenza A H1N1 'swine flu' in four centres: Auckland, Waikato, Nelson and Otago.

17Fiji's lawyers are worried about a backlog of cases, with the senior courts having been out of action for two weeks. So far only eight magistrates have been reappointed and only two courts are operating in Suva and Lautoka. Messages from the interim government have been mixed and it is not clear when further judges will be appointed and whether cases will be continued.

18One of Fiji's ousted Prime Ministers says the country needs to get back to elections for the sake of the economy. Mahendra Chaudhry says political instability is affecting all parts of the country's financial sector.

19Business News

20A ceasefire declared by the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka has been rejected by government forces. The government is describing the offer as a joke and demands that the rebels surrender.

21Carbon emissions in the Thai capital Bangkok are now as high as in New York and higher even than in London. That's according to a United Nations funded report on climate change.

226:30pm News

23The United States has declared a public health emergency, to deal with the emerging threat of Influenza A H1N1 'swine flu' in the country. Officals have so far comfirmed cases in at least five states.

24Waatea News

25A New Zealand pro-choice group is calling for abortion to be legalised in Samoa. The Abortion Law Reform Association says the recent abandonment of a baby being abandoned on a recent flight from Apia to Auckland highlights the plight of some preganat women.

26The province of Shanxi in central China is one of the most polluted places in the world. According to the Chinese government, the rate of birth defects is six times higher than the national average.

27Scientists are warning that global warming is affecting the survival of the tiny creatures that are the basis of life in the sub-Antarctic.