1The Canadian judge who wrote the report on David Bain's compensation claim has hit back at the Justice Minister's criticisms of the report.

2A court has heard gruesome details of the murder of Rotorua woman Michelle Hoffman-Tamm.

3The daughter of a Council engineer who tried to stop construction of the doomed CTV building is demanding a personal apology from Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker.

4Prime Minister John Key has supported plain packaging of cigarettes and tobacco products. Government officials are also considering banning smoking outside public buildings.

5Telecom has been dealing with broadband outages and thousands of angry customers for the past 48 hours.

6Police are investigating the suspicious death of a 23 year old woman in a sleep-out in Papakura.

7The Government has decided to allow more Afghan interpreters, who assisted the New Zealand Defence Force, and their families to settle in New Zealand.

8The Government could face a large legal bill for an investigation into Labour MP Shane Jones by the Auditor-General.

9A judge has found the Education Minister's decision to close Salisbury School for Special Needs Girls in Nelson is unlawful. Parents and students have been celebrating the news that the school will remain open.

10North Korea has successfully launched a long-range rocket.

11Former South African President Nelson Mandela has suffered a recurrence of a lung infection and is spending a fourth night in hospital.

12Thousands of demonstrators are gathering outside the Presidential Palace in Cairo, ahead of this weekend's constitutional referendum.

13British MPs will vote on same-sex marriage before the next election in 2015.

14The Chair of Environment Southland is on leave after making a prank call to Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt live on local television.

15500 negotiators have ended a week of Trans-Pacific trade talks in Auckland. Were any agreements reached?

16Other news.