1The East German Parliament, meeting in a special session, has held its first secret ballot and unexpectedly elected the leader of the Democratic Peasants' Party as its new Speaker and reformist Hans Modrow is expected to be the country's new Prime Minister. Over the past two days, more than four million East Germans have crossed into the West, but most were content to look, shop and then return home. This is a relief to East German authorities who have found the loss of skilled workers is affecting even the most basic services in East Germany. Many people are now openly speculating about the possible reunification of Germany. However, the devastation caused by the Nazis in World War Two still cuts deep in some parts of the world.

2Army commanders in Sri Lanka have shot dead the leader of the left-wing People's Liberation Front after a gun battle during a raid on a rebel hideout.

3Seventy miners are trapped in a coal mine in West Bengal, India.

4Former Prime Minister David Lange has confirmed plans to remain in politics, and has hinted that he may remarry.

5El Salvador has declared a state of siege after intense fighting between Government troops and leftist rebels in San Salvador. Around 125 people have been killed in the worst fighting in the country's civil war.

6Maoist guerrillas in Peru have tried in vain to disrupt local elections over the past few days.

7Latest quarterly figures have slumped to their lowest level in over seven years, and for retailers, this Christmas season is expected to be grim.

8British experts fear the United Kingdom's economy is dangerously close to recession after a dramatic drop in consumer spending.

9An Auckland jury will today deliver its verdict in the attempted murder trial of Les Skerritt, charged with shooting gang member Joseph Tangimatua, who was allegedly stealing petrol from a car.

10A crewman the British Whitbread Round the World yacht Creighton's Naturally has been swept overboard to his death in the South Atlantic.

11Tourists in South Africa are being invited to participate in day trips to hunt and kill wildlife - much of it endangered - to the fury of conservationists.

12A British schoolboy who was expected to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, has made an amazing recovery thanks to an operation in the United States.