1The New Zealand cricket team has finished the day 17 runs ahead of the West Indies. Highlights of today's cricket action.

2Invercargill Airport is flooded and closed to all flights, after stopbanks burst today.

3The Government has ordered a flood study in Southland, which Minister of Works Fraser Colman says could lead to more protection in the worst-hit areas. The Government has given $150,000 to assist with the cleanup of the worst flood hit regions, such as Otautau.

4An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter Scale struck the West Coast of the South Island today. No damage was reported.

5Residents living near Carrington and Oakley Psychiatric Hospitals are demanding an inquiry after the brutal rape and assault of a local woman.

6A man who twice raped a Lower Hutt woman in her home has been sentenced to indefinite detention in the Wellington High Court.

7The Government and Opposition have clashed over the predicted size of the Budget deficit.

8Transport Minister Richard Prebble today unveiled a plan to change the way New Zealand's ports are administered. Under the proposal, ports will be run as private companies.

9Harbour Board workers will strike in support of a 7% wage claim, for 24 hours from midnight on Sunday, bringing all of New Zealand's ports to a standstill.

10The United States has taken a new initiative in the Geneva Arms Limitation Talks (GALT) and tabled a list of 'anti-cheating' measures. If accepted, the verification procedure could result in American and Soviet weapons inspectors being stationed in each others' country. The initial Soviet response has been positive.

11The United States Ambassador to New Zealand claimed today that the ANZUS rift between the United States and New Zealand, has much more far-reaching consequences than most New Zealanders are aware of.

12A north Waikato farm, which has become a symbol of the economic plight of farmers, failed to attract even one bid at a mortgagee sale in Hamilton today.

13The Government is establishing a $20 million fund to assist exporters to invest in research, exhibitions at trade fairs and travel to explore new markets.

14The British Government has approved a new generation of nuclear power plants, after a two-year inquiry which was completed before the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident. There has been, however, powerful opposition from environmental groups.

15Salvage experts are progressing well with their preparations to refloat the sunken Channel ferry Herald of Free Enterprise. However, divers have now abandoned any further attempts to recover bodies from the wreck until it is righted, as it is becoming too dangerous.

16Black protest continues in South Africa in the lead up to the country's Whites-only elections. Today, police broke up a peaceful demonstration of fifty Black youths in Johannesburg, who were marking National Detainees Day. The detention of thousands of Blacks is even drawing opposition from within South Africa's White community.

17Napier designer Trish Beach won three awards (including the Supreme Award) in the 1987 Benson & Hedges Fashion Design Awards held last night, and a seventeen year old schoolboy also won three major awards.