National Radio Midday Report

Corrections Accountability – Budget 2001 – Warehouse Bank – Fire – Bush Meets Llama – Middle East – Missing Boat – Poison Spill – Cricket Corruption – Local Elections – Republican Defection – Kashmir – Gone With The Wind

- CORRECTIONS ACCOUNTABILITY: The Howard League for Penal Reform is calling for greater accountability from the Corrections Department after three members a now disbanded special team of prison staff were found guilty of misconduct.

- BUDGET 2001: Labour and Alliance backbenchers are due to go into a joint caucus shortly where they will get an early look at the 2001 budget.

- WAREHOUSE BANK: The Warehouse and WestpacTrust have announced joint plans to provide financial services including a credit card, but will stop short of providing full banking facilities. The company will be called Warehouse Financial Services Limited.

- FIRE: The Far North community is rallying to support a family that lost three children in a house fire.

- BUSH MEETS LLAMA: US President George W. Bush has offered strong support to exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Llama and his efforts to initiate a dialogue with the Chinese Government. China has accused the US of interfering with its affairs in receiving the Dalai Llama. China has also summoned the top US diplomat in Beijing and strongly protested the US Decision to allow Taiwan’s president to stop over in New York.

- MIDDLE EAST: There has been more violence in the Middle East in Palestinian territories just 24 hours after Israel PM Ariel Sharon called a cease-fire. An Isreali has been killed and at least 25 Palestinians inured.

- MISSING BOAT: The search for fishing boat missing around the Wairarapa Coast is continuing. A 13 metre long fishing vessel with two crew was due back two days ago, but there is no sign of the boat. The last contact was by cell phone on Thursday night.

- POISON SPILL: Staff from Canterbury Regional Council say they have not seen any signs of dead fish in the area where rat poison was spilled into the sea after a truck crashed on the coast.

- CRICKET CORRUPTION: NZ cricket says it will not consider the recommendation of the ICC corruption report at a national level but will consider the report along with other countries.

- LOCAL ELECTIONS: A system of proportional representation can now be used in local body elections and candidates will face spending restrictions in campaigns with the passage of a the Local Electoral Bill in Parliament.

- REPUBLICAN DEFECTION: The Democrats in US are on the verge of taking control of the US Senate, with a Republican Party senator expected to announce his defection tomorrow, becoming an independent backing the Democrats.

- KASHMIR: The Indian Government ended unilateral cease-fire in the province of Kashmir, but tempered the decision by saying it will meet with the Pakistan leader.

- GONE WITH THE WIND: 1930s novel Gone with the Wind is in the limelight again, as a court decides whether to allow the publication of a novel which is a parody of the book from a black slave perspective.

© Scoop Media