Property Relationships – Israel – One4B – Dunedin Babies – Global Warming – Auckland Rail – Overstayers – Foot and Mouth – Medical Complaints - Energy Efficiency

PROPERTY RELATIONSHIPS: The Law Society says that couples will be able to contract out of the new Property Relationships Act passed by Parliament yesterday, and it will not be too expensive.

ISRAEL: The Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat says the uprising against Israel will continue untill the Palestinian flag flies over holy Jerusalem. The UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and US President George Bush, both say they is deeply worried about the escalation of violence in Israel.

ONE4B: The dance party drug One4B is likely to be made an illegal drug shortly by an expert committee. In the future it will take weeks rather than a year or more to add a substance to the list of banned substances.

DUNEDIN BABIES: Auckland babies are being flown to Dunedin for treatment because of an acute shortage of places in South Auckland.

GLOBAL WARMING: US President George Bush says he will work with allies to reduce global warming but says he will not endanger his country’s economy in the process.

AUCKLAND RAIL: Auckland local bodies have welcomed moves by the government to take over negotiations to purchase rights to the Auckland rail lease.

OVERSTAYERS: A leader from the Samoan community believes many overstayers will miss today’s deadline for well-settled overstayers to apply for an amnesty. He says many overstayers were too scared to come forward. So far only 800 have applied for the reprieve.

FOOT AND MOUTH: The number of Foot and Mouth cases in Britain has climbed above 750 and the government is now considering vaccination. Meanwhile three new cases in the Netherlands have raised fears that the outbreak there is bigger than originally thought.

MEDICAL COMPLAINTS: A report by Helen Cull Q.C. into medical complaints is long overdue says Antonia Fisher. She says she has lots of clients that need Cull’s recommendations to be implemented swiftly.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY: The Government’s energy efficiency strategy says NZ homes are too cold and that this is costing NZ a fortune in health costs.

© 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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