1Australia has sent a tough new message to Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum seekers announcing it has stopped processing all new refugee claims.

2The Government's proposals to replace the Foreshore and Seabed Act have run into opposition at the first in a series of hui at the top of the South island.

3The Minister of Finance, Bill English, says there are promising signs in the latest Treasury data that the public service is keeping tighter control of spending.

4Fiji's military leaders have granted themselves immunity from prosecution for their 2006 coup and for the one in 2000.

5Business News

6Specialist investigations teams are being set up to examine corporate and markets fraud, bribery, corruption and Police linked cases as part of a restructure of the Serious Fraud Office.

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8In what it's describing as a landmark reform, the Family Court is speeding up the way it deals with child custody disputes, particularly where they involve the risk of violence or abuse.

9Some two hundred people are now feared dead after another landslide in Rio de Janeiro, following the heaviest rains in decades.

10Meridian Energy says it will compensate a West Coast iwi for disrupting a river's life force if it builds a $300-million hydro dam near Westport.

11Waatea News

12$5-thousand and three Otago skinks have been transferred to new homes at a wildlife reserve in Christchurch as part of a captive breeding programme to stop the native species from being wiped out.

13The manager of a privately owned crematorium is defending plans by the New Plymouth District Council to almost double its fees.

14The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has cancelled a planned visit to Washington next week where President Obama is to hold an international summit on nuclear security.

15The Kyrgyz President is refusing to admit defeat after his political opponents dissolved parliament and demanded his resignation following violent protests.

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17Australia has sent a tough message to asylum seekers announcing it has stopped processing all new refugee claims from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

18Some two hundred people are now feared to have been buried by a landslide in Rio de Janeiro, following the heaviest rains in decades.

19Christchurch City Councillors have voted to extend a proposed bylaw that bans boy racers from cruising in parts of the city.

20People living in some of the North's drought stricken regions are finding the dry conditions are wrecking havoc on their gardens.

21The former Chief Justice of the Family Court in Australia has challenged politicians to come up with new laws to crackdown on cyber bullying.

22Business News

23Scientists researching the link between UV radiation and vitamin D levels say early results suggest that in winter those in the south of the country are getting less than their required daily vitamin dose.

24The Governor of Alabama is trying to crack down on electronic bingo, saying the slot machines are essentially pokies and illegal under state law.

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26Focus on Politics: One of the Maori Party's key policy goals is becoming a reality, with Tariana Turia named as the Minister of Whanau Ora this week, and a group named to run the controversial new programme. It's being touted as a revolutionary new way of delivering social services to at-risk families. But political opponents say they're frustrated by the lack of concrete information, and claim New Zealanders are still in the dark about exactly how this policy is going to work.

27Waatea News