Prime Minister Helen Clark’s Labour Party beat the opposition National Party by a single seat in New Zealand’s cliff-hanger election today, but neither party won a clear majority in Parliament.

A man stole a light aeroplane and threatened to crash it into the landmark Sky Tower in New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, before plunging the craft into the sea today, police said.

New Zealand’s relationship with the US could enter a new era of co-operation if the country’s opposition National Party wins parliamentary elections tomorrow.