1Two bottles of wine have cost the National Party MP Phil Heatley his job in Cabinet. Today he resigned as Minister of Housing and of Fisheries after revealing he'd make a false declaration about spending on his ministerial credit card.

2A massive forest fire burning near the city of Dunedin has now doubled in size. The fire raging at Mt. Allen northwest of Dunedin is showing no signs of dying down after starting on Tuesday.

3The Crown has been putting its case to the Supreme Court seeking to have the acquittal of a Christchurch man charged with the rape and murder of his niece overturned. If successful, it would be a legal first for New Zealand.

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5The Australian government has issued a warning to Israel over forged passports and their links to last month's assassination in Dubai. It's been revealed that three of the people involved in the murder of a senior Hamas offical were travelling on fraudulent Australian passports.

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7Whangarei electorate and civic leaders have reacted with surprise and disappointment to the news that the local MP, Phil Heatley, has stepped down from his Cabinet posts.

8An opinion poll has found that nearly half of New Zealanders want to keep the MMP electoral system. The UMR survey asked people the same questions that they will be asked at the referendum to be held at next year's General Election.

9The president of Toyota formally apologised today for deadly vehicle defects that have driven the world's top carmaker into crisis, vowing to rebuild customers' shattered faith in the company.

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11Confidence among businesses has reached its highest level in more than a decade.

12The Government says electricity prices are not getting out of control and there's evidence of prices flattening out.

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14Two bottles of wine have cost the National Party MP Phil Heatley his job in Cabinet. Today he resigned as Minister of Housing and of Fisheries after revealing he'd make a false declaration about spending on his ministerial credit card.

15Ngati Whatua is reluctantly joining the Maori Advisory Board of the new Auckland Council but says it's not backing down from its fight for Maori seats. The Auckland Iwi is sticking by it's belief that the advisory board is lightweight and of no particular value.

16Argentina has taken its anger over the United Kingdom starting to drill for oil around the Falklands, which are known as the Malvinas in Argentina, to the United Nations.

17The Cuban president Raoul Castro has publicly expressed regret over the death of a leading dissident following a lengthy hunger strike.

18Three executives from Google have been convicted by an Italian court for allowing a bullying video to be posted on their internet site. The video showed a group of teenagers abusing a boy with autism.

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20India says three of its soldiers have been killed in clashes with militants in Indian-administered Kashmir.

21A Turkish court's charged seven top military officers with plotting to overthrow the government.

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23The Australian government has summoned the Israeli ambassador to explain how three people travelling with Australian documents were named as suspects in the killing of a senior Palestinian Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai last month.

24Workers with student loans will now be charged more if they default on their repayments. Currently errant borrowers have to pay 10-cents to the dollar, however a short time ago Parliament raised that to 15-cents.

25In Washington Toyota's chief has appeared for the first time at a congressional hearing which could help determine the car company's future in the United States.

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27Nigeria's ailing President Umaru Yar Adua has returned home after a three month absence but there was no grand official reception, no cheering crowds, because most Nigerians didn't even know he was back.

28British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has apologised for the lost childhoods of 130-thousand child migrants sent to the former colonies up until the 1960s.