1Pope Benedict XVI has shocked the world by announcing his resignation. Reaction from NZ and around the world. A look back at the highs and lows of Pope Benedict XVI's seven years in office. A look at the possible front runners for the position of Pope.

2North Korea is suspected of carrying out a nuclear test within the past few hours.

3Housing New Zealand may evict the tenants of a house in Howick which hosted a party that spiraled out of control and ended in riot Police having to shut it down. Police stand accused of brutality after teenager Ella Eketone suffered facial injuries.

4New Zealand First MP Richard Prosser is in trouble for making anti-Muslim comments in his Investigate magazine column. Prosser said Muslims came from a country called 'Wogastan' and that young men who looked like Mulsims should be banned from flying.

5Paul Dally, the man who abducted, raped and murdered Lower Hutt school Karla Cardno in 1989 will stay in jail for at least another year, having been denied parole today.

6A coroner has blamed excessive Coca Cola consumption for the death of Invercargill mother of eight Natasha Harris. Harris died in 2010 aged 30 from a heart attack after drinking several litres of Coke each day for several years.

7Telecom is reviewing its links to internet giant yahoo following the hacking attack on its email service.

8Prime Minister John Key says he has received intelligence that if New Zealand did not allow a boatload of asylum seekers into New Zealand, Australia would shepherd them here regardless.

9Four people have been hospitalised after a bus crash on Khyber Pass in Auckland.

10As construction on Christchurch's cardboard cathedral began today, it was revealed that cardboard strong enough to support the structure could not be found so timber beams had to be used.

11"The Hobbit" has won a visual effects Oscar at a pre-awards ceremony. Simon Clutterbuck, James Jacobs and Dr. Richard Dorling picked up a technical Oscar at the Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards in California overnight.

12Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully has admitted he played a part in blocking West Papuan freedom fighter Benny Wenda from speaking in Parliament.

13A mystery illness is killing endangered Yellow-Eyed Penguins on the Otago coast.

14Struggling Northland farmers say the Government is leaving them high and dry and that tinder-try conditions are compounding an already dire situation in the region.

15A swarm of tornadoes has swept through seven Mississippi counties.

16British doctors say the one month old baby that was dragged from his cot by an urban fox is recovering well.

17The removal of the famous earthquake-damaged 'Twisted Bridge' in Christchurch has been bittersweet for residents.