1Former Labour MP John Kirk has been found in Los Angeles by New Zealand Police.

2Three babies have died and a fourth is seriously ill in Brisbane, after receiving blood suspected of being contaminated with AIDS.

3A young child was killed, and four others seriously burned today, when a car caught fire in an Auckland shopping centre.

4A Christchurch mother whose child was abducted bu his father two months ago, has now flown to Australia in a bid to find her son.

5Prime Minister David Lange has ruled out any changes to the law imposing extra tax on superannuitants and setting up the new Family Care package, despite pressure from beneficiary and superannuitants groups over apparent anomalies in the system.

6There was another strong hint from Sir Robert Muldoon today that he may again seek the leadership of the National Party, despite only receiving 9% of popular support in yesterday's Heylen poll.

7Four men involved in last month's Mangere Bridge Post Office robbery were sentenced in the Auckland High Court today.

8Four thousand tonnes of marijuana has been burned by Mexican authorities.

9Astronauts on the American space shuttle Discovery have successfully captured a second rogue satellite.

10Sixteen bombs have exploded in seven cities across Chile, in the latest action against President Augusto Pinochet's military government.

11Alleged Nazi war criminal Andrija Artuković (aka The Butcher of the Balkans), who has been hunted by authorities in Yugoslavia for over thirty years, has been arrested in Los Angeles.

12There appears to be a growing resentment towards the Labour Government over its policy on welfare benefits. Solo parents and sickness beneficiaries are angry that the Family Care package for low income families only helps people who are employed. Interview with the Minister of Social Welfare, Ann Hercus.

13As a result of the Budget, sales tax has been halved on records and cosmetics. However, many retailers stocked up for Christmas ahead of the Budget, paying the full sales tax, so they are entitled to pass the costs on to consumers.