Priest's paint splatter protest condemned
An Israeli support group has condemned a Catholic priest who splattered a memorial plaque, dedicated to former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, with red paint during a protest in Wellington today.

Man dies diving in Whangaroa Harbour
A man died while diving at the mouth of Whangaroa Harbour in Northland this morning. Police said the 45-year-old man was in a party of seven. They were diving near the Whangaroa Big Gamefishing Club, near Kaeo. more »

Fatal accident prompts harbourmaster safety message
More tragedies like last night's double fatality on the Kawarau River will happen if people do not heed basic safety rules, Queenstown Lakes harbourmaster Marty Black says. more »

Israel ignores calls for cease-fire
Israel ignored mounting international calls for a cease-fire on Monday and said it won't stop its crippling 10-day assault until "peace and tranquility" are achieved in southern Israeli towns in the line of Palestinian rocket fire.

Australia wife charged for setting husband on fire
An Australian woman has been charged with murder after allegedly setting her husband's genitals on fire because she thought he was having an affair. more »

Fire rips through US homeless shelter, killing five
A fire fuelled by donated clothes ripped through a homeless shelter in northeastern Texas early on Monday, killing five residents as some tried dousing the blaze with pans of water. more »

Khan to battle Wightman for women's singles glory
International discard Marina Khan and North Auckland's Sue Wightman have battled their way into Friday's final of the women's singles at the national open bowls championships being held in Auckland.

Erakovic to face top seed Dementieva
Local favourite Marina Erakovic will take a nothing-to-lose approach when she faces the daunting task of trying to get past top seed Elena Dementieva in the ASB Classic tennis tournament tomorrow. more »

Underwhelming practice returns not ideal - Vettori
Daniel Vettori hopes the failed experiment to give his top order a confidence boost in the domestic limited overs competition will not have compounded any psychological damage heading into tomorrow's must-win third one-day cricket international against the West Indies. more »

GM says China '08 sales up but growth slows
General Motors Corp. said on Tuesday its 2008 sales in China rose six percent to 1.09 million vehicles, but the growth rate slowed as consumers held back amid the economic downturn.

Philippine December inflation eases
Inflation in the Philippines slowed in December to eight percent as fuel and other basic commodity prices continued to decline, the government said on Tuesday. more »

Toyota to suspend production for 11 days in Japan
Toyota is suspending production at all 12 of its Japan plants for 11 days over February and March, a stoppage of unprecedented scale for the nation's top automaker as it grapples with shrinking global demand. more »