INCIS: The minister of finance wants computer giant IBM to complete the work it has agreed to do on INCIS - and if it doesn't it may take legal action. Bill Birch says he does not accept the reasons given by IBM.

GE MAIZE: A US company wanting to hold field trials in NZ with GE maize - Pioneer - says the experiment will be highly controlled. Research in the US shows pollen from the maize can kill monarch butterflies.

PATIENT SAFETY: Patient safety is to become a factor in Hospital business plans. Health Minister Wyatt Creech says there needs to be a culture of safety following two cases of lapses.

RUSSIAN PM SACKED: Russian President Boris Yeltsin has named a former KGB spy as his preferred Prime Minister. Russian and German sources say the nominee worked as a KGB spy in Dresden East Germany. Former Russian PM Stepashin said his government was not corrupt.

FISHERIES COMMISSION: The question of what is an Iwi will be back before the Court of Appeal today as the Maori Fisheries row continues.

DIY BANK: Another small Northland town Manganui is setting up a do-it-yourself bank. The community lost its only bank in March when the ANZ closed.

© 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.

CONTACT ALASTAIR THOMPSON

• Mobile - 021707044
• Twitter - @althecat
• Google+

• Linkedin
• Facebook
• Email - alastair@scoop.co.nz