Foot and Mouth – East Timor Death – Interest Rates – Beehive Timber – PM’s Husband’s Friends – Fiji – Kiwi SAS Bombing – UK Unemployment – Police Cellphone Deal

FOOT AND MOUTH: The European Union is concerned that NZ and other countries are over-reacting to the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in France. NZ, Australia, Canada the US and Japan have all banned all EU animal products.

EAST TIMOR DEATH: The leave center in East Timor where a NZ private died of drowning has been in use since late last year.

INTEREST RATES: The decision by the Reserve Bank to lower interest rates has gone down well with a wide range of lobby groups. The exception is Age Concern.

BEEHIVE TIMBER: The head of the commission overseeing the Beehive refit is calling for an immediate report on the use of African native timber.

PM’S HUSBAND’S FRIENDS: The PM has told her husband not to send email through her office after accusations that Peter Davis exerted undue influence over an appointment to a Pharmac review.

FIJI: Fiji’s President Iloilo will be sworn in again today. Yesterday Iloilo swore in a caretaker Prime Minister.

KIWI SAS BOMBING: The man chosen to head the military inquiry into the accident in the Gulf that killed a Kiwi SAS Major has left the US for Kuwait. Investigators are expected to concentrate on communications. Meanwhile the body of John McNutt is being returned to NZ.

UK UNEMPLOYMENT: Around 995,000 people are out of work in the UK. The first time unemployment has been under 1 million in a long time. At one stage under Margaret Thatcher there were 3 million unemployed in the UK.

POLICE CELLPHONE DEAL: The police have signed a cellphone deal with Telecom that will halve current cellphone costs for the force. Telecom will have digital (secure) phones available by the time the deal comes into force.

© Scoop Media

Alastair Thompson

Scoop Publisher

Alastair Thompson is the co-founder of Scoop. He is of Scottish and Irish extraction and from Wellington, New Zealand. Alastair has 24 years experience in the media, at the Dominion, National Business Review, North & South magazine, Straight Furrow newspaper and online since 1997. He is the winner of several journalism awards for business and investigative work.

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