Auckland Health – Northland Cancer Inquiry – Pepper Spray Coma – Bomb Fears - Olympic Meeting – Northland Housing – Keith Murdoch – Canterbury Sewage – Jonah Lomu

AUCKLAND HEALTH: Staff at Auckland’s Star Ship hospital say there is no room to cut staff at the hospital. The DHB has announced a freeze on hiring new staff in an attempt to deal with a $62 million deficit.

NORTHLAND CANCER INQUIRY: A new inquiry is to be launched into the treatment of Northland cervical cancer cases against the advice of Minister of Health Annette King.

PEPPER SPRAY COMA: A man who fell into a coma after police used pepper spray on him remains in a stable and serious condition at Waikato Hospital. Police say there is no evidence it was the pepper spray that put him into the coma.

BOMB FEARS: Police sealed off King’s Cross railway station in London following reports of an explosion. It now appears there was no explosion, but the station remains closed.

OLYMPIC MEETING: Beijing, Toronto and Paris are the front runners in the race to hold the 2008 Olympics. The IOC is meeting in Moscow to make the decision on the location for the games, and to elect a new President.

NORTHLAND HOUSING: A meeting is being held in Kaikohe today called by Dover Samuels MP to discuss the safety of Northland houses.

APPLE WARS: The pip-fruit exporter ENZA meets with Crown Law again today to discuss its dispute with growers over $50 million of forex losses. Meanwhile protests are planned by growers in the Hawkes Bay today.

KEITH MURDOCH: Australian Police have tracked down missing All Black Keith Murdoch on a remote Northern Territory cattle station. Murdoch told police he did not know they were looking for him. He is wanted to give evidence on a coroner’s hearing.

CANTERBURY SEWAGE: The Canterbury Chamber of Commerce is seeking to stop discharges of treated waste water into the Avon and Heathcote estuary in Christchurch.

JONAH LOMU: Sydney papers are reporting that Jonah Lomu is considering switching codes to Rugby League to join the Auckland Warriors.

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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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