1A hostage drama in the French city of Nantes has entered its twentieth hour. Three armed men continue to hold several people hostage in a courtroom.

2New Zealand's 5000 police officers say they are prepared to take limited industrial action to force their wage claim. However, they say public safety will not be compromised.

3Armed robbers have robbed an Auckland Savings Bank (ASB) branch in Torbay and a Post Office in Oratia.

4Police say the shooting of the Assistant Manager of the Pukekohe Hotel last night could be gang related.

5The nurses' pay claim was settled today, with most receiving an increase of around 14-15% on top pf the annual general adjustment.

6The Government is to bail New Zealand Steel out if a huge loan commitment on the long-running Glenbrook mill expansion project.

7A group of North Island freezing workers today staged a protest in Timaru against the planned export of live sheep to Mexico.

8A paper released by the Government says the controversy over the Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty (ANZUS) has forced New Zealanders to think more realistically about defence and security.

9Three prisoners escaped, and a guard was shot, during a prison break in South Carolina today. It is thought that the escape may have been inspired by the Charles Bronson film 'Breakout'.

10The families and friends of six Afrikaan South Africans, killed when their Jeep hit a landmine, have called for revenge against the African National Congress (ANC).

11This year's international relief effort for African raised nearly $600 billion and saved at least three million lives, according to the United Nations (UN). However, it says another $200 billion is still needed. The last of several shipments of food, organised by British schoolchildren, is on its way to Africa.

12A nine year old boy has died, a day after being pulled from freezing water in Madison, Ohio.

13A new group has been formed in Auckland to cope with the growing number of New Zealand schoolchildren who are misusing drugs and alcohol.

14A severely polluted lake at Omapere, north of Kaikohe, is threatening the future of a small Northland community to whom it supplies water.

15Greenpeace says it accepts the Government direction that the Rainbow Warrior can not be sunk until after an agreement with france regarding compensation has been reached. However, it is upset the decision was left so late in the piece to be announced.

16The Hairdressers' Association says salons throughout New Zealand are being forced to close down because of a shortage of qualified hairdressers. They are calling on the Government to allow vacancies to be filled by overseas recruits.

17The Tourist Hotel Corporation is to brief the Minister of Tourism about its future in Queenstown on Monday. This follows a decision by the Planning Tribunal to uphold an appeal by conservation groups opposed to the building of a $51 million hotel on reserve land.

18The Government is to help fund a publicity campaign promoting water safety because of concern over the high number of drownings in New Zealand.

19The Air Force (RNZAF) plans to circumnavigate New Zealand in a pair of small powered boats to raise funds for an Air Force museum at Wigram.

20David Fagin, a young King Country shearer, has broken the World Lamb Shearing record.

21The American Museum of Natural History in New York today unveiled its latest acquisition - the world's largest cut gem, a topaz known as The Brazilian Princess.