1Wellington has been virtually cut off due to torrential rain affecting road and rail links and bringing the airport to a standstill.

2The Government has unveiled a $30 million drought relief package for the East Coast.

3Farmers in the South Island are about to be hit by disruption in the meat industry, with meat workers employed by the Alliance and Waitaki companies voting to strike over redundancy talks.

4A manhunt is underway in Australia following two unrelated incidents that have left five New Zealand expatriates (expats) dead.

5Mongolia, which has been under Communist rule since 1921, is now considering ending the Communist Party's monopoly on power.

6The Thai Government has sided with Australian Veterans' Associations, which condemned plans to turn the notorious Thai-Burma Railway into a tourist attraction.

7Soviet troops have begun leaving Hungary under an agreement which will see all Soviet troops return home by the middle of 1991.

8Lithuania's bombshell declaration of independence yesterday has left Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev trying to consolidate his position in Moscow.

9An arson attack on Murray's Bay Intermediate School last night is the latest in a spate of arson attacks on schools, which are costing the country millions of dollars each year, and disrupting children's education.

10Dr Eric Foretich, the father of disputed child Hilary Morgan, may have met his daughter today in Christchurch.

11Haiti has a new interim President this evening after former President Matthieu Prosper Avril was helped to leave the country by the United States. Ertha Pascal-Trouillot is the first Haitian woman to serve as President.

12Prison officers will find out tomorrow whether or not they can proceed with planned strike action.

13The Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) has upheld a complaint about a Bluebird Lites potato chip advertisement that it agrees is sexist and dehumanizes women.

14The Michelin Guide has given top score to a restaurant in Monte Carlo.

15Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist Christy Moore is currently visiting New Zealand.