1The Soviet Union says it is ready to sign the protocols of the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty once Pacific nations ratify the agreement. Soviet Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Karpitsa has left New Zealand after a brief visit to discuss trade and to stress Soviet support for a nuclear free South Pacific.

2At least 1500 people have been killed by poisonous gas from an underwater volcanic explosion in Cameroon, West Africa. Some reports put the death toll at as many as 2000, and Cameroon's President has appealed for international help.

3The National Party has announced its new superannuation policy which involves scrapping the tax surcharge Labour introduced, and gradually increasing the age of eligibility from 60 to 65.

4A South Auckland court has committed Otahuhu Borough Council traffic chief David Seath for trial on twenty charges of willfully endorsing false statements of service in traffic prosecution notices.

5A Christchurch family are to be the first in New Zealand to take a court case against the American manufacturers of anti-nausea drug Debendox, which they blame for birth defects in their son.

6Libya is reportedly preparing another terrorism offensive against American targets in Europe. Meanwhile, the United States and Egypt have begun a week-long military exercise in the Mediterranean.

7Soviet dissident Anatoly Sharansky has been reunited with his brother and mother after waiting six months for the Soviet Union to honour its promise to allow his family to join him in the West.

8At least five people have died in France's worst forest fire in ten years.

9The Government is preparing for a major fight with the Labour Party over its proposal to restructure the public service. This fight looks set to dominate this weekend's Labour Party conference.

10Last week Eyewitness News reported on an Oxford academic who has accused the United States Government of deliberately manipulating the ill-fated Korean civilian airliner Flight KAL 007, which was shot down by Soviet fighters in September 1983 with the loss of 269 lives, onto its disaster course. Now there is another theory, by American journalist Seymour Hersh, who also believes the United States Government knows more about the disaster than it has been telling.

11Early last year, twelve year old Garvan Byrne died in London as a result of a rare bone marrow disease. During his final months, he recorded his thoughts as he courageously faced up to his death.

12The Australian Federal Government has become so concerned about community attitudes towards sport that it is launching a public education campaign aimed especially at youngsters. Thousands of leaflets are being distributed to sporting bodies to reestablish a sporting code of behaviour suitable for all forms of sport.