1Cabinet has rejected an offer of resignation by Maori Affairs Minister Koro Wetere over the Maori Affairs loans scandal, and has affirmed full confidence in him.

2The New Zealand Government will give $100,000 to cyclone battered Vanuatu, where around 3000 people have been left homeless by Cyclone Uma. The death toll in the cyclone has now reached four.

3Islamic Jihad says Israel must release 400 Palestinian Muslim prisoners by tomorrow, or they will execute the four Western hostages they are holding captive.

4A radical Protestant group called the Ulster Freedom Fighters has claimed responsibility for planting eighteen bombs that exploded in the Irish Republic today as a protest over the Anglo Irish Agreement. Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, the head of the Catholic Church has called for an end to the feud within the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA)

5Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and her husband Prince Henrik will arrive in Auckland in a few minutes to begin a five-day State visit.

6Former Greytown commune leader, Andy Narain has lost an appeal to the Australian Federal Court against his extradition to New Zealand.

7South Island sheep farmers are being offered large bonuses for their lambs, as meat companies compete for scarce supplies of suitable stock.

8The Auckland Acclimatisation Society says it cannot hope to destroy all of the undesirable fish which have been released into waterways near Auckland by a group of fishing enthusiasts.

9International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War are holding their first-ever Asia-Pacific Conference in Auckland, having identified the South Pacific as a key area on which to focus the anti nuclear group's work.

10Art thieves have raided the prestigious school of Auckland Grammar, stealing thousands of dollars worth of paintings.

11The Wildlife Service is trying to find out why so few endangered Takahe eggs have successfully hatched this year.