National Radio Midday Report

Unemployment Down – Stadium Stampede – TVNZ Comments – Wine Raves - Tyler Stevens Trial – Northland Flooding – Hit And Run – Stabbing – Stock Exchange Membership – Maori health – Cheating Charges – Gaza Violence – FBI List

- UNEMPLOYMENT DOWN: Unemployment has fallen to its lowest in nearly 13 years. Seasonally adjusted Household Labour Force Statistics show the unemployment rate ha dropped to 5.4%. The Government says unemployment may be getting as low as it can go.

- STADIUM STAMPEDE: More than 100 people are dead and 150 injured after a stampede at a soccer stadium in the West African country Ghana, the third African stadium disaster in a month.

- TVNZ COMMENTS: Broadcasting Minister Marion Hobbs says too much is being read into a comment by TVNZ chairman Ross Armstrong about the departure of TVNZ news head Paul Cutler.

- WINE RAVES: A rave review of New Zealand sauvignon blanc wine in leading US Newspaper the Wall Street Journal is delighting the New Zealand wine industry.

- TYLER STEVENS TRIAL: The jury in the High Court trial of former police officer Tyler Stevens, who is charged with assault and sexual violation, is into its second day of deliberations after stopping at 10pm last night.

- NORTHLAND FLOODING: Heavy rain has brought flooding in parts of Northland. Some Whangarei streets are flooded. rivers in the area are rising.

- HIT AND RUN: Police say they expect to spend several more hours examining the scene of a fatal hit and run in Lower Hutt, that they suspect is linked to ‘boy racers’.

- STABBING: A 19-year-old man is helping police with their inquiries after a multiple stabbing in Auckland that left a man in critical condition and others injured. Police say it was a domestic incident. No charges have been laid.

- STOCK EXCHANGE MEMBERSHIP: The NZ Stock Exchange has been invited to respond to claims of unfair treatment of a woman whose membership was terminated when she took time off to look after her children.

- MAORI HEALTH: The Deputy Director of Maori Health says there has been positive acceptance of the new Maori Health Strategy.

- CHEATING CHARGES: A group of 19 law students at Victoria University may face charges of cheating after they handed in very similar assignments.

- GAZA VIOLENCE: Israeli troops and tanks have again gone into the Gaza strip after Palestinian mortar attacks on Jewish settlements there.

- FBI LIST: The FBI has given the Bush Administration a list of people it thinks were involved in the bombing of a US military complex in Saudi Arabia in 1996. The list includes several Iranian officials.

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