1Two people have been critically injured in an explosion at Orewa College, north of Auckland and they've been airlifted to Auckland Hospital. The explosion happened in the school's boiler room just after 1430.

2The Crown has described the horrific injuries inflicted on Sophie Elliott, saying her attacker focused on the parts of her body that represented her beauty. 33-year-old Clayton Weatherston denies murdering his ex-girlfriend, but has pleaded guilty to her manslaughter.

3New Zealand peacekeeping troops in Afghanistan have come under fire during a gun battle with insurgents. No one was injured, but it was the first of its kind for New Zealand troops in Afghanistan.

4Business News

5A man accused of being at the centre of a passport scam has appeared in court, with his supporters saying the scheme will continue to operate. Gerard Otimi is being charged with deception and will appear in the Manukau District Court tomorrow.

6The jackpot for tonight's Big Wednesday Lotto draw may increase beyond the 35 million dollar jackpot tonight, as ticket sales soar. Last week ticket sales reached 3-million.

75:30pm News

8The Prime Minister John Key says the number of apprentices is continuing to rise, despite the recession putting more and more people out of work.

9The Minister of Education is threatening to set maximum fees for integrated schools if they don't, in her words, "smarten up their act". Anne Tolley told an integrated schools conference in Wellington today that she'd had reports that some are demanding large 'voluntary' donations from parents on top of the compulsory fees.

10Tasers have been ruled out for prison guards for now, but officers will be getting batons, pepper spray, stab proof vests and spit hoods to help deal with inmate violence.

11There's been a big change in the fraught relationship between the Corrections Minister and the department boss Barry Mathews with Judith Collins now enthusiastically expressing confidence in the chief executive. This follows conflict earlier in the year where Miss Collins refused to express confidence in Mr. Matthews after a critical report from the Auditor General.

12Waatea News

13The crisis in Iran has seen a flurry of diplomatic activity. There's been argument after two British officials were deported by the Iranian government.

14The Commerce Commission says it doesn't expect to finish its investigation into two frozen ING funds for at least six months. That's well after next week's deadline for investors to accept a $400-million offer from the insurance giant.

156:00pm News

16A staff member and a contractor have been critically injured in an explosion at Orewa College, north of Auckland and they've been airlifted to Auckland Hospital. The explosion happened in the school's boiler room just after 1430.

17The The Minister of Health is warning District Health Boards to step up their delivery of a nine million dollar pre-school health programme, or else pay back the money that's been set aside for it.

18A housing advocacy group is wary of the government's promise to build new state houses, as it sells off older ones to existing tenants. The Minister of Housing is proposing that tenants be allow to buy their current houses at market rates.

19The police in Hamilton are asking the public for help following a spate of bank robberies in the city, including one involving a man wearing a high visibility jacket. Two banks were targeted today and one last week.

20A summit on the global financial crisis gets under way in New York late tonight. It's the first time rich and poor countries will come together to discuss the worldwide economic downturn.

21Business News

22The Police Commissioner Howard Broad has assured MPs that a case where a Queensland man died after being tasered up to 28 times would not happen here.

236:30pm News

24A review by the Department of Corrections has recommended that batons, pepper spray and stab resistant body armour be made available to prison officers. The Department says the equipment will not be standard issue, but will be available for use in high-risk situations.

25The Commerce Commission says it doesn't expect to finish its investigation into two frozen ING funds for at least six months. That's well after next week's deadline for investors to accept a $400-million offer from the insurance giant.

26Waatea News

27Thousands of children raised in institutions in Australia over the past century are known to have been abused and neglected and have given themselves the name of the Forgotten Australians.

28The government of the West Indian island of Antigua has sacked its top financial regulator Leroy King over allegations that he took part in a multi-billion dollar fraud.