Tornado – Monteith’s – Foot and Mouth – Fillited Dolphin – Spouse House Stoush – Hobbs and Samuels – German Nuclear Protests – Israel Bombing – East Timor Medal

TORNADO: A wild night for Greymouth as an early morning tornado wrecks a swathe of destruction. Three blocks in Cobden were hit by the tornado. Kids woke up screaming says one mum. A trampoline was picked up and dropped a block away. No one was injured. Residents are helping each other clean up.

MONTEITH’S: Greymouth residents are still smarting at the about turn by DB on Monteith’s. Workers met with their union today. They are concerned that the brewery will be gradually downgraded. Coasters are skeptical. DB has made no promises about the Greymouth brewery yet. Greymouth’s mayor is sticking up for DB in the interim.

FOOT AND MOUTH: Scientists looking for the cause of foot and mouth disease in the UK are blaming pig swill and a Chinese restaurant in north east England. The link has been made to illegally imported meat used in the restaurant, say scientists. Most pigs in NZ are fed grain but some are fed pig swill. Nearly 700 cases of foot and mouth have now been found in the UK.

FILLETED DOLPHIN: Green MPs are outraged about a Hector’s Dolphin photographed filleted on a Westport beach.

SPOUSE HOUSE STOUSH: Parliamentarians are finding it hard to kiss and make up after a meeting with the Speaker called to stop MPs slagging off each other’s wives and families. Jonathan Hunt does not want debates sanitised. There are signs that quite a lot of work yet needs to be done before the whips will agree about everything (or anything for that matter) however.

MARIAN HOBBS AND SAMUELS: Marian Hobbs and Dover Samuels were today sworn back into office, Hobbs as a minister, Samuels as an undersecretary.

GERMAN NUCLEAR PROTESTS: Germany has undergone its biggest ever post war security operation as thousands of protestors have tried to stop a train full of nuclear waste. The train has been moving very slowly. Germany has resumed nuclear waste dumping after a three year break. Tonight there have been clashes at the rail head where the train is headed.

ISRAEL BOMBING: Two bombs have exploded in Jerusalem within hours of each other killing a suicide bomber and injuring several.

EAST TIMOR MEDAL: A medal recognising the work of NZers in East Timor has been awarded to eight NZers today. One of the recipients was law lecturer Andrew Ladley who was working with the UN. Ladley recalls the mayhem following the referendum.

© 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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