1Five people are known to have died in fierce storms that have wreaked havoc across Britain and Europe.

2A London newspaper is reporting that British police have enough evidence to charge several suspects over the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie.

3Tens of thousands of mourners are making their way to Moscow to pay their final respects to Nobel Peace Prize winner Andrei Sakharov.

4The Redoubt Volcano in Alaska has erupted again forcing residents in Anchorage to stay indoors to avoid ash and grit.

5The United States is considering its response following the shooting of an American officer by Panamanian soldiers after a confrontation yesterday.

6Britain is expected to give aid to Vietnam after a breakthrough with Hanoi over returning boatpeople against their will from Hong Kong.

7Brazilians will go to the polls today to vote for a President for the first time in almost 30 years.

8Islamic militants in Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip have spurned the latest peace efforts by the United States and Egypt.

9The political freedom won by the people of Poland has not been reflected in the country's economy. The population face tougher monetary reforms in the immediate future, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) demanding new austerity measures.

10Philippines President Corazon Aquino has ordered the immediate trial of leaders of this month failed coup and vowed to show them no mercy.

11Czech students have vowed to keep up the pressure for further democratic reform in Czechoslovakia.

12The changes underway in Eastern Europe are being watched with some concern by the leaders of the Communist giant China.

13A federal judge in Alabama has been killed by a mail bomb which exploded in his home.

14The Tomorrow's Schools shake up has left some school so strapped for finances that they have been forced to turn to the charitable trust JR McKenzie for help.

15The Peter Plumley-Walker murder trial will begin to conclude today.

16Amateur fishermen in Akaroa are planning to undertake a major survey of the dolphin population around the peninsular next month to see if the set netting ban aimed at protecting the Hector's Dolphin can be lifted.

17The Leaning Tower of Pisa will be closed to the public for the first three months of 1990 so it can be restored and strengthened.

18Scientists have discovered that sea coral can be used even more effectively than human bone in reconstructing faces during surgery.

19American Christmas shoppers are being serenaded by baby grand pianos being played in stores and malls this year.