1People are being told to stay off Hawkes Bay beaches from Waipatiki to Waimarama after the biggest swells in 12-years.

2A Catholic priest has told a jury that his attack on a dome at the Waihopai spy base was done to protect others from serious injuries. Otaki schoolteacher Adrian Leason, Auckland Catholic priest Peter Murnane and Hokianga farmer Sam Land are before the Wellington District Court charged with intentional damage and entering a property with intent to commit a crime.

3The Prime Minister says he cannot say how many public servants will lose their jobs as a result of restructuring of the public service. John Key says a number of proposals to merge a number of government agencies will be considerd by Cabinet's business committee tonight before going to full Cabinet next week.

4The police in West Auckland are investigating a serious assault that has left a young couple with what detectives describe as horrific injuries.

5Business News

6Despite two police investigations, the mystery of who stole Don Brash's emails remains unsolved. The leak of hundreds of Dr. Brash's emails formed the basis of Nicky Hager's book 'The Hollow Men.'

7The construction industry says it may never get cheaper than it is now to build a new house, with many firms competing for jobs.

85:30pm News

9The New Zealand visual effects company Weta Digital won an Oscar at the 82nd Academy Awards this afternoon.

10Initial forecasts show voter turnout in Iraq's general election was at least 50-percent in most areas, despite bomb and grenade attacks that killed 38-people.

11The High Court in Auckland has heard evidence of how primary school teacher Nicholas Baldwin groomed and manipulated a young boy into performing a number of sexual acts.

12An inquiry into the tobacco industry and its affect on Maori has been told smoking has invaded every part of iwi life and should be banned.

13Waatea News

14A massive clean up is in full swing after a weekend of wild weather in the Australian state of Victoria.

15The Far North District Council is reinstating its drought alert because water levels have reached dangerously low levels again despite recent rain and people conserving the supply.

16A Christchurch man who stole childrens' presents in the early hours of Christmas morning has been jailed for two years and five months.

17Orion New Zealand is investigating who's liable for damage caused when a tree fell on a power line in Banks Peninsula causing a major power surge.

186:00pm News

19Pakistani security officials claim they've captured an American al Qaeda spokesman wanted in the United States for treason.

20The Afghan President Hamid Karzai has visited the former Taliban stronghold of Marjah for the first time since it was retaken in a major offensive last month.

21Civil Defence authorities in Hawkes Bay have lifted an alert sparked by huge sea swells, but are warning residents may again be asked to evacuate coastal areas overnight.

22The 82nd Academy Awards are just wrapping up in Los Angeles with the film the Hurt Locker talking out Best Picture.

23Business News

24The sister of a rest-home patient who's been missing for nearly three weeks, says she's upset and disappointed he was able to leave the home when staff knew he had dementia.

25A study which found that some people can detect tiny amounts of fatty acids in food could hold the key to reducing obesity.

26For the first time a genetically modified potato developed by a German company has permission to be grown in Europe.

276:30pm News

28News from the United Kingdom, including: seven men seeking damages against UK government over ill treatment by security personnel;

29Waatea News

30There are reports that up to 11 people have been killed in a large explosion outside a Federal Investigative Agency in Lahore in Eastern Pakistan.

31The politically fraught subject of people smuggling is expected to be high on the agenda when the Australian prime minister meets Indonesia's President in Canberra this week.