1The Maori Party has agreed to back the National-led Government's proposal to replace the contentious 2004 Foreshore and Seabed Act with a new law. Prime Minister John Key says the new law should be in place by the end of the year. The Maori Party and the Iwi Leaders' Group held a last minute meeting with Mr Key this morning in an effort to change his views before Cabinet considered the matter.

2Political Editor Brent Edwards discusses the new foreshore and seabed agreement.

3The disgraced Labour MP Shane Jones says he's won't be making any rash decisions about quitting parliament after being dumped from the front bench for misusing his credit card when he was a minister.

4Parliamentary chief reporter Jane Patterson discusses the shake-up within the Labour Party following revelations about ministerial credit card spending.

5Business News

6The United Nations says it is urgently assessing the humanitarian needs of southern Kyrgyzstan, where tens of thousands of Uzbeks have been forced to flee their homes following days of ethnic violence.

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8More than 170 Canterbury meatworkers have been told they could lose their jobs with the head of the country's largest meat processor and exporter predicting a bleak future for the industry.

9Chinese authorities have detained a 23 year-old-man, Xiao Zhen, wanted in connection with the death of Auckland taxi driver Hiren Mohini in a frenzied knife attack.

10The International Committee of the Red Cross says Israel's blockade of Gaza is a clear violation of international humanitarian law. In an unusually critical statement, the traditionally neutral Red Cross describes the situation in Gaza as 'dire' and says the only sustainable solution is lifting the blockade.

11Waatea News

12The Maori Party has agreed to back the National-led Government's proposal to replace the contentious 2004 Foreshore and Seabed Act with a new law.

13The Sikh Council of New Zealand is looking at ways to test the rules of the Manurewa Cosmopolitan Club which has voted to continue to ban patrons from wearing turbans.

14Authorities in Hong Kong have launched a series of raids on gambling syndicates since the Football World Cup tournament kicked off on Friday.

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16The Government has come to an agreement with the Maori Party and the Iwi Leaders Group over who owns the foreshore and seabed. Under changes unveiled this afternoon, the current legislation will be repealed and replaced with a new law that allows Maori to claim customary title and puts the foreshore and seabed in public domain -- meaning no-one would own it. Prime Minister John Key says repealing the existing legislation was an important part of National's confidence and supply agreement with the Maori Party.

17The chair of Ngati Porou Runanga, Api Mahuika, comments on public statements made today by Prime Minister John Key and Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples, noting that Ngati Porou are 'ecstatic' with the repealing of the existing legislation.

18More than 170 Canterbury meatworkers have been told they could lose their jobs with the head of the country's largest meat processor and exporter, Silver Fern Farms, predicting a bleak future for the industry.

19Business News

20The Governor of the Reserve Bank, Alan Bollard, says the country could face severe punishment from international markets if it doesn't tackle its overseas debt.

21Israel is setting up its own investigation into a deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid convoy two weeks ago. The internal inquiry falls short of a United Nations proposal for an international investigation, and was decided on after consultation with the United States.

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23Conservation groups say a crucial International Whaling Commission compromise aimed at reducing the number of whales killed may founder without the chairperson's personal leadership. The commission's chair, Cristian Maquieira, has withdrawn from next week's meeting in Morocco, putting the deal at risk.

24A report into the death of Air Force Sergeant Andrew Forster at Waiouru Military Camp in November has found the rules for marking unexploded ammunition were not strictly followed. But the report says it is unable to pinpoint exactly why things went wrong.

25Police figures show nearly half of those who are the targets of tasers are suffering mental health problems. Mental health advocates say there is a risk that tasers could become the default option for dealing with people in distress.

26Waatea News

27Biosecurity New Zealand has been forced to give up the fight against the Mediterranean fanworm - a pest that can smother native marine species and alter underwater ecosystems. The worms were first detected in Lyttelton port in 2008 and the government funded a $3.5 million treatment programme to try to eliminate them, but they have now been found in the Waitemata Harbour.

28The United Kingdom defence secretary says the shape and size of the armed forces has to change, in light of the threats the country faces.