1The dispute which has closed New Zealand's container terminals for the past eight days looks set to escalate. Waterfront employers are tonight considering an injunction to force striking watersiders back to work.

2The Chairman of the Inquiry into the Queen Street Riot, Peter Mahon has promised the Inquiry will be "short, sharp and without formality". Auckland City Councillors, Police and inner-city traders have gathered in Auckland tonight to discuss a ban on future open-air functions, such as the proposed New Year's Eve celebrations in Aotea Square.

3A baby girl found abandoned and wrapped in newspapers in an Auckland park last night is reported to be doing well. She has been named Helen by the nursing staff at the maternity hospital where she is being cared for.

4New Zealand Steel denies it is facing huge losses at its Glenbrook Steel Mill.

5Hugh Fletcher has been appointed the new Chairman of Air New Zealand, succeeding retiring Chairman Bob Owens.

6The Government has been accused of insulting Bahrain by comments it made about a New Zealand joint coolstore venture in Bahrain which has made consistent financial losses.

7Hundreds of thousands of people in Bhopal have been preparing to evacuate their homes following the Indian Government's announcement it will establish nine refugee camps for the survivors of the deadly Union Carbide gas leak.

8Three South African political dissidents who have been taking refuge in the British Consulate in Durban for the past three months left the building today, to be greeted by a huge crowd of supporters, as well as security officers.

9Demonstrators outside Georgia Prison in the United States have accused authorities of cruelty after a convicted murderer took twenty minutes to die in the electric chair.

10French farmers have demonstrated in the streets of Paris after being told they need to cut down on milk production to conform with European Community (EEC) guidelines.

11The latest Consumer Food Prince Index has shown an increase of 8% in the past twelve months. However, Opposition MP Winston Peters says the real increase is significantly greater.

12The Government has appointed Elizabeth Sewell to head the new Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

13The Government has confirmed there will be no increase in the cost of television license fees.

14A student at Otago University plans to sue the University and the University Grants Committee because his course at the Otago School of Mines has been suddenly transferred from the University of Otago to the University of Auckland's School of Engineering.

15The Patea Maori Club's hit record Poi E has sold more than 40,000 copies. However, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has earned more from the sales than the artists themselves.

16The indirect contribution of the New Zealand Navy to the Falklands War was commemorated today with the presentation of the British award, The Wilkinson Sword of Peace.

17For the second year in a row, some Marlborough cherry growers have had their crops virtually destroyed by rain.

18The paintings by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel are being painstakingly cleaned and restored, revealing far brighter colours than previously expected.