1The Government has been forced into hasty negotiations as legal action threatens the birth of its new State corporations. Maori Trust Boards have warned they may take court action to stop the transfer of disputed Crown land to the State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). At the same time, Comalco wants an injunction to stop the Manapouri Dam being handed over to the new Electricity Corporation (Electricorp).

2The Government has taken urgency in Parliament to push through the latest new law needed to set up the State corporations. The huge amount of legal work involved in the state services corporatisation is unprecedented in New ZEaland's Parliamentary history.

3A Mozambique man has made an appeal for political asylum in New Zealand, after tearing up huis documents on board an Air New Zealand flight from Singapore.

4Greg Newbold, a former Paremoremo Prison inmate, says the Justice Department's report on the recent suicides at the prison is superficial, and does not deal with the real issues.

5A Christchurch truck driver was lucky to escape today when the booby trapped cab of his ruck exploded in flames. Police remain mystified over the motive for the attack.

6Fire fighters in the lower North Island held their second one-hour strike today. However, botht the Fire Services Commission and the Insurance Council have warned that they fire fighters may become personally liable for any damage incurred through fire while they are on strike.

7A chemical fire at a factory has forced the evacuation of the entire city of Nanticoke, Pennsylvania.

8Irish Republican Army (IRA) gunmen shot a prison instructor dead in his car in Londonderry, then booby trapped the vehicle, knowing the police would have to examine it. Two detectives were killed as they tried to recover the body.

9A World Health Organisation (WHO) expert said today that AIDS has spread to almost every country on earth, and at least five million people are thought to be affected. He predicts a worldwide epidemic, the proportions of which will be unknown. The New Zealand Health Department is to hold a national survey to gauge the public's awareness of AIDS, and will use the results to determine what further steps to take to prevent the disease spreading in New Zealand.

10The first plane to cross the finish line in the Singapore to Christchurch Air Race touched down in Christchurch today.

11The Auckland High Court has ordered the Northern Storepersons' Union to pay almost $1.7 million in damages to the Ford Motor Company because of a dispute at Ford's Wiri Assembly Plant.

12The New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (BCNZ) has controversially cleared the way for widespread liquor advertising on radio and television.

13New Zealand has become one of the first countries in the world to register TPA, a new drug for heart attack victims.

14The European Community (EEC) is trying to improve its image in New Zealand after being portrayed for years as the villain of international trade.

15The opening of a new hide and pelt processing plant in Auckland today has highlighted the record prices New Zealand is receiving for sheep and cattle skins, thanks largely to a world shortage of leather.