1The New Zealand cricket tour of Sri Lanka has been abandoned in the wake of a horrifying bomb blast near their hotel yesterday.

2The Economic Policy Network, a fringe Labour Party economic policy group, criticised by the Party hierarchy, is continuing to attract public support for its alternative economic policies.

3Parliament's Speaker Dr Gerard Wall has decided to retire this year.

4South African police opened fire on striking Black railway workers today, killing six people. The incident is said to be indicative of the Government's hardline against the six-week long strike.

5It is almost a year since the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster. Today Soviet experts held a news conference to explain what has been done since the disaster.

6Headline News 1. Greenpeace International is seeking US$17 million in damages from the French Government for the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior in 1985. 2. The Nationalists are stepping up their campaign to topple Fiji's new Government by closing down the civil service tomorrow. Amid calls for calm, Fiji's Governor General has agreed to accept a petition demanding Constitutional changes to give Fijians political power over Fijian Indians. 3. The Government has approved the use of part-time police officers

7The Government is celebrating the Budget deficit having narrowed to its lowest in ten years. The tax reforms of last October have produced a financial bonanza for the Government. However, one bank raised interest rates today. The Opposition has attacked the credibility of the figures.

8Sr Lankan Government planes have bombed what is claimed to be a Tamil stronghold in the north of the country, killing around eighty people. A look at what are the causes of the sectarian conflict in Sri Lanka. Interview with a spokesman for the United Sri Lanka Association and Ganeslingan Nellailingam, a Tamil supporter.

9Seventeen year old Rachel Hunter, one of New Zealand's youngest and most successful models, left New Zealand to take advantage of a big career break in New York.

10Worldwatch South African police opened fire on striking Black railway workers today, killing six people. The incident is said to be indicative of the Government's hardline against the six-week long strike. However, President PW Botha is on the campaign trail and has chosen to overlook the fact that he faces stiff opposition in the run-up to the election by the hardline far right Conservative Party and moderates from his own party.

11Worldwatch Opponents of capital punishment have been dealt a crushing defeat today by the United States Supreme Court,, which has ruled that the death penalty does not discriminate against Black people.

12In South East Asia, the extinction of some of the world's rarest birds has become a very real possibility, as a result of illegal trading. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has established a special team to try to combat the problem in nations such as Thailand. However, the Thai Government says it is powerless to prevent the trading of rare species.

13Worldwatch It is almost a year since the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster. Four separate items look deeper into the disaster and its long-term impact on Europe: 1. The impact in the immediate area and its effects in Europe 2. The first at the scene of the disaster 3. Treatment of the victims 4. The impact of the nuclear fall out finding its way into the food chain. In one instance, it has caused political problems for the West German Government