1The judge in the trial of Clayton Weatherston has told the jury that the defence claim he was provoked is pivotal. Justice Potter said the jury must decide whether Weatherston acted with murderous intent when he cut and stabbed Sophie Elliot more than 200 times. Weatherston denies murdering Sophie Elliot, but has pleaded guilty to her manslaughter.

2The driver of a bus that struck and critically injured a teenager in Auckland has been suspended and police are investigating why left the scene after only stopping briefly. The bus was a Waka Pacific branded vehicle operated by NZ Bus.

3The government has issued a fresh challenge to the public service - cut costs or face government intervention. This comes a day after Treasury Secretary John Whitehead gave a speech, citing that the public service must do more to reign in public spending.

4The Government is accusing the Labour Party of backtracking on its policy to make the unemployment benefit available to more people. Yesterday Labour announced changes to its welfare policy to include those people who've lost their job during the economic downturn, no matter what their partner earns.

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6Leader of the Labour Party Phil Goff says an opposition inquiry into bank interest rates is not a political stunt, despite National dismissing it as a meeting of supporters in a phone box. An enquiry is being led by the Labour, Green and Progressive parties after it was voted down by the Finance and Expenditure select committee by National and its support parties.

7One of the country's leading auctioneers Dunbar Sloane has withdrawn the sale of a contentious piece of wood believed to be a remnant of the flagpole cut down by the Maori activist Hone Heke.

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9In the first year that New Zealand's energy emissions levels have counted towards the Kyoto Protocol they rose four per cent. The Ministry of Economic Development has released its report comparing emissions output from 2008, to 2007.

10Opposition are unhappy at appointment of Don Brash as the head of a govt taskforce on closing the pay gap with Australia. The establishment of the 2025 Taskforce is part of the confidence and supply agreement National have with the ACT Party.

11Idyllic Arrowtown is being likened to a mining village from Northern England as thick smog chokes the air and authorities become increasingly worried about health risks. Residents are being asked to consider newer, cleaner heat sources as the town has had below standard air pollution ratings for 29 of the past 30 days.

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13Melbourne's gangland widow, Judy Moran, has appeared in court today charged with the murder of her brother-in-law, Des 'Tuppence' Moran.

14It's official, Lamingtons are from Queensland, pavlovas from New Zealand, or, so says the mayor of Ipswich, the, as yet un-official home of the world's largest lamington. To mark International Lamington Day a 1223kg lamington was made in Ipswich.

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16The Methodist church in Fiji says seven of its senior members are still being held by police for questioning. The interim regime is in conflict with the church as they refuse to drop political discussion from their meetings.

17There are signs the anticipated boost to the economy, from more people coming into the country than leaving, may be on the wane. Figures show the numbers leaving permanently rose for the first time this year in June, while the number of people arriving fell.

18Banks are reacting sceptically to plans by opposition parties to hold a special inquiry into interest rates charged to the public. An enquiry is being led by the Labour, Green and Progressive parties after it was voted down by the Finance and Expenditure select committee by National and its support parties.

19The widely tipped appointment of former National party leader Don Brash to lead a taskforce on productivity, has raised fears of a right wing agenda. Minister of Regulatory Reform Rodney Hide today announced the creation of the taskforce which will look at reasons for recent decline in New Zealand's productivity.

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21The American President Barack Obama has marked the 40th anniversary of the first lunar landing by praising the astronauts of the Apollo Eleven mission for inspiring a generation of scientists and engineers.

22Business groups are backing the Treasury's calls for a rethink of how the public sector works, and say the country would benefit from more public private partnerships. However the country's largest private sector union says that contracting out more services will not improve the productivity of the public service.

23A Wellington jury has heard that Wendy-May Connon, charged over the death of her son in a car crash was thrown on an electric fence after the incident, with electricity from the fence sending spasms through her body.

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25Japan's embattled Prime Minister Taro Aso has dissolved parliament's lower house, with a general election to be held late next month. The move comes as polls show Mr. Aso's ruling party could be in for an historic defeat.

26The Employers' and Manufacturers' Association says a Government proposal to give workers the choice of swapping existing public holidays won't work as law. The government is seeking feedback on its proposed changes to the Holidays Act, one which would allow employees to swap public holidays for days significant to another religion or culture.

27The United States and the European Union have stepped up pressure on the interim government in Honduras following the failure of talks to resolve the country's political crisis. Manuel Zelaya is still exiled from the country.

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29The American Defence Secretary Robert Gates has announced a temporary increase in the size of the United States Army. An extra 22-thousand troops will be needed in the next three years in Iraq and Afghanistan.

30Iran's former president Mohammad Khatami has called for a national referendum to resolve the row over last month's Presidential election which saw Mahmoud Ahmadinejad re-elected.