National Radio Midday Report

Israeli Govt – Frigate Replacement – Internet Drugs – GM Food – Golf Tournament – Sleepy Workers – Asian Healthcare – Border Control – Paid Parental Leave – Kalimantan – Lost City – Competitors Killed

- ISRAELI GOVT: Israel’s new Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and seven-party National Unity Government have been sworn in. Mr Sharon has offered peace to the Palestinians as long as they end their uprising.

- FRIGATE REPLACEMENT: Prime Minister Helen Clark is pushing for a new long rang surveillance patrol vessel to replace the Frigate Canterbury, saying it would be more useful and cheaper.

- INTERNET DRUGS: In the first case of its kind, Auckland pharmacist Kerry Bell has been given the maximum penalty for selling drugs over the Internet without ensuring they were safe and appropriate for buyers.

- GM FOOD: There has been a predictable range of reactions to the New Zealand and Australian food safety watchdog’s finding that four genetically modified foods that are currently available in supermarkets are safe.

- GOLF TOURNAMENT: New Zealand TV networks have expressed interest in a proposed golf tournament that it is hoped will feature Tiger Woods, but they are unlikely to cough up millions of dollars for TV rights.

- SLEEPY WORKERS: A union conference has been told that a lack of sleep is likely to make workplaces more dangerous than drugs or alcohol.

- ASIAN HEALTHCARE: The Government is being urged to provide healthcare services specifically for Asians. A survey found language barriers can be an impediment to Asian’s receiving services.

- BORDER CONTROL: The Ministry of Agriculture says a British farmer was not allowed to pass through Auckland Airport customs without being screened.

- PAID PARENTAL LEAVE: The Government’s position on paid parental leave has come into focus again at a breakfast to mark international Women’s Day. Labour wants six weeks leave, while the Alliance wants a minimum of 12 weeks. Neither party intends to rush negotiations, and it is unlikely to be ready for the budget this year.

- KALIMANTAN: The last major group of refugees has left the Indonesian province of Kalimantan in Borneo, after being driven out by violence and murder by the indigenous Dayak people.

- LOST CITY: A Japanese geologist says the lost city of the Incas in the Peruvian Andes is in imminent danger of being destroyed in a landslide.

- COMPETITORS KILLED: Tragedy has struck the London to Sydney air race, with two American competitors killed en route to the starting point.

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