1Diplomatic relations between France and Australia continued to deteriorate today, after Australia's Consul General was ordered out of New Caledonia. New Zealand Foreign Affairs officials are keeping a close eye on developments.

2The French and New Zealanders are working alongside each other in the Cook Islands to provide cyclone relief in the wake of Hurricane Sally.

3The first stage of the Government's Access Training Scheme for the unemployed began today. it will replace most subsidised Public Employment Programmes (PEP). This first stage aims to assist long-term unemployed Maori.

4New Zealand plans to help Japan towards assuming a higher profile in the South Pacific, acting as an interpreter, explaining Japan's interests to smaller, often cautious Pacific nations.

5From August 1st this year, police will no longer attend burglar alarm call-outs in the three main cities, handing over that responsibility to security firms.

6Food prices jumped by an almost monthly average of almost 12% in the three months after Goods and Service Tax (GST) was introduced.

7The United States National Science Foundation (USNSF) has denied claims by Greenpeace that the Americans are not giving weather information to the Greenpeace Antarctic expedition.

8A report by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research concludes that school students in New Zealand have a poorer understanding of mathematics than they did in the 1970s.

9Europe and the Soviet Union are in the grip of one of the coldest winters on record.