1North Island fire fighters south of Taupo walked off the job for an hour today to push for a pay rise. The Fire Service Commission warns that lives will be lost if they continue with their strike action.

2The watersiders' strike looks set to worsen as does that of the Harbour Board workers. With no end in sight to the action that has paralysed a number of major ports for more than a week, the cost to New Zealand is climbing.

3The international conference of Trade Ministers ended this evening, with delegates welcoming the fact that for the first time, agriculture was at the centre of discussions.

4The United States Assistant Secretary of Defence Richard Armitage has accused New Zealand of seriously weakening the Western Alliance. Studio interview with International Analyst, Dr Stephen Hoadley.

5British Prime MInister Margaret Thatcher today called for caution in arms control negotiations with the Soviet Union. Today she travelled to Europe to meet with French President Francois Mitterand ahead of her trip to Moscow next week.

6A huge car bomb exploded at an allied military base near Dusseldorf in West Germany, injuring at least thirty people and causing significant damage to property.

7Former United States Secretary of State Alexander Haig has announced his intention to run for President in 1988 on the Republican ticket.

8The spending power of most full-time workers has increased slightly, despite the big impact the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has made on the cost of living.

9The Government has ordered changes to all vents, lights and door fittings at Paremoremo Maximum Security Prison after three prisoner suicides in the past month.

10Firefighters converged on Auckland Airport's Domestic Terminal this afternoon after the discovery of what appeared to be a leaking container of radioactive material. Yesterday, firefighters attended a fire in a Government laboratory containing radioactive substances.

11Four Hamilton school girls were taken to hospital today after they were hit by a car while waiting at a bus stop.

12Retiring Invercargill MP Norm JOnes says he is quitting politics because physically he is not well enough to carry on following treatment for an inoperable brain tumour.

13The State Service Commission is on the counter-offensive over what it calls bad news stories about changes in the public sector. It says the media has virtually ignored the positive aspects of corporatisation.

14Despite being hit hard by redundancies in the coal mining sector, the people of Huntly are determined their town will survive. They have launched a flurry of initiatives in a mission being called Operation Bootstraps.