National Radio Midday News Bulletin

Gang Intimidation - Pay For Dole - African Floods - No Split - Venison Abortion - GE Conference - Motua Celebrations - Two Bodies - WINZ Problems - War Crimes - Woman’s Death - Cup Village - Nato China Force - Argentine Ant

GANG INTIMIDATION: There are problems of gang intimidation of witnesses in a Gisbourne trial when witnesses failed to testify against four gang members charged with murder of a Tongan man. The case has been taken up by the Minister of Justice who has called for a report into the incident.

PAY FOR DOLE: Labour’s coalition partner the Alliance says it support Labour if it agrees to pay the Australian Government the full cost for New Zealanders living in Australia on the dole . Prime Minister Helen Clark visits Australia this week to discuss the matter with her Australian counterpart.

AFRICAN FLOODS: Exhausted helicopter crews are plucking people from roofs in the flood stricken country of Mozambique. Flood conditions have not reached their peak and hundreds of thousands of people are at risk from drowning and disease.

NO SPLIT: Labour MP John Tamihere says the media has hyped up the split between himself and the party when Mr. Tamihere refused to support a Government introduced bill which brings a Marine Park into the Hauraki gulf.

VENISON ABORTION: An American woman says she was forced to have an abortion after eating raw venison and took the New Zealand's Game Industry Board to court. The Board paid an out-of-court settlement to the woman.

GE CONFERENCE: A New Zealand delegation has gone to an international conference on genetically engineered and genetically modified food to see how other countries deal with these issues.

MOTUA CELEBRATIONS: A large crowd is at Motua Gardens to celebrate to commemoration of the 3 months Motua Garden’s occupation of 1995. Local Maori Ken Mair says Maori are planning a fun day with food music and talk about the land-ownership issue.

TWO BODIES: Two bodies, which are believed to be those of two boys killed cycling over a Wanganui Bridge, have been found in the Wanganui River and are awaiting autopsies to identify them.

WINZ PROBLEMS: Student organisation reports that over 1000 students still have not had their student loans processed after delays with student loan processing caused widespread public criticism of WINZ.

WAR CRIMES: The Council of Europe has reached an agreement with Russia to set up an office to investigate war-crimes by Russian soldiers in the Republic of Chechnya.

WOMAN’S DEATH: The Police complaints authority has said it will investigate a complaint relating to an Auckland woman who was killed by her husband allegedly in the presence of two police officers.

CUP VILLAGE: Retailers in the other parts of the Auckland region say the focus on racing in the Cup Village has caused a drastic downturn in their sales.

NATO CHINA FORCE: The commander of NATO forces in the Pacific is in China and will visit Chinese officials in the wake of their toughening policy on reunification with Taiwan.

COOK ISLANDS VISIT: The leader of the Cook Islands is here meeting with New Zealand’s political leaders today and tommorrow.

ARGENTINE ANT: A south-island scientist is concerned that an aggressive foreign ant from Argentina is spreading throughout the country and into native forest where it could displace indigenous species.

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