1Residents living near the site of the fatal multi-vehicle crash on Auckland's southern motorway say they have been campaigning for years to have the road changed.

2Ten people, including eight students, are still in hospital tonight, recovering from yesterday's fatal bus accident near Napier. Police and Ministry of Transport (MOT) officials continued to scour the wreck of the bus today, searching for the cause of the accident.

3Fletcher Challenge Chief Hugh Fletcher has lashed out at the Reserve Bank after this week's hike in interest rates.

4Retailers are disappointed at the latest figures, which show a decline in the amount shoppers are spending this summer. However, the survey also showed that many shoppers are disenchanted by the customer service they receive in shops.

5Michael Rowan Young, who escaped from Waikeria Prison on Thursday, remains on the run tonight after seriously assaulting a Te Awamutu couple and stole their car.

6Big crowds jammed vantage points near Wellington today to witness an historic crossing of Cook Strait. More than 100 Maori paddlers worked throughout the night to bring a huge waka taua (war canoe) over from the South Island.

7The exiled leadership of the African National Congress (ANC) has announced it wants to hold talks with FW De Klerk's Government as soon as possible, raising hopes of a negotiated settlement between Blacks and Whites, allowing the ANC to once again operate legally within South Africa.

8Huge crowds have rallied across Lithuania to mark the day the republic declared its independence in 1918. Now, both the ruling Party and Opposition are calling for total economic and political freedom from the Soviet Union.

9A 43-year old American mother, whose teenage daughter has leukaemia, is expecting a baby in the hope that the child will become a bone marrow donor.

10A British decision to allow female Naval personnel to go to sea has prompted fears of illicit affairs among some Royal Navy wives.

11A 100 year old piece of New Zealand's rowing history was relaunched on the Avon River today.