1Parliament looks set for its second all-night sitting. The Government has rejected an Opposition ofer to postpone the passing of the Budget's tax laws.

2The Electrical Workers' Union is pressing ahead with a wage claim of up to 20% in spite of Budget relief for the lower paid.

3The Department of Statistics has noted a significant rise in food prices during the past year.

4There has been an uproar in reaction to a British pathologists' opinion that most cot deaths are due to the parents smothering their children.

5John Charles Nicholson of Gore has been murdered in Israel while on anh extended overseas holiday.

6Tension between the United States and Nicaragua remains high, with each side accusing the other of aggressive intentions.

7Sydney is still recovering from the effects of yesterday's record rainfall, which caused widespread flooding.

8The space shuttle Discovery has launched from Cape Canaveral today. For the first time ever, the crew will try to recover two satellites currently drifting in space.

9Six thousand workers at a large oil extraction plant near Johannesburg have been sacked for participating in a two-day strike over apartheid.

10Israeli and Lebanese negotiations have begun talks on a withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied Lebanese territory.

11There is uproar in the United States over the new horror movie "Silent Night, Deadly Night", which fears a homicidal maniac dressed as Santa Claus.

12The sharemarket has reacted positively to last night's Budget announcement.

13Analysis of the way the Government is trying to sell the Budget to the public. New commercials explaining the new Family Care Programme have been criticised as being political propaganda. Minister of Finance Roger Douglas has been busy explaining his reasoning behind the Budget to various pressure groups.