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National Radio 8am Bulletin
FIJI COUP – Speight Tours Suva Damage – General Strike – Samoan Reaction – Solomon Islands –OTHER NEWS Sierra Leone – St Stephens – Israel – Incis Mainframe – Tourism – Hamilton Sports – Barbara Cartland Dies
COUP: SPEIGHT TOURS SUVA: The leader of Fiji’s Coup attempt has returned to Fiji’s Parliament after a tour around the city in a police car. George Speight has denied he plans to kill the Parliamentarians. The capital is totally smashed – Speight said he thought this was a sign of public frustration. The Great Council of Chiefs will meet shortly.
COUP - GENERAL STRIKE: Fiji’s trade unions have declared a general strike today. Closure of every sector is expected.
COUP - SAMOAN REACTION: The PM of Samoa says his government is concerned about the fate of Samoan’s in Suva. He says the self-styled government of Speight has no legitimacy. The comments have been echoed by the Cook Islands PM.
COUP - SOLOMON ISLANDS: The crisis in Fiji is impacting on efforts to find peace in the Solomon Islands. Sitiveni Rambuka was to have visited the Solomon Islands to discuss reconciliation this week but has been delayed. The deployment of 40 Fijian police officers has also been delayed.
SIERRA LEONE: Another 54 UN Peace-keepers have been freed by Sierra Leone rebels and more are expected to be released. The total freed come to around 200 with 300 still unaccounted for.
ST STEPHENS: A report commissioned by the Ministry of Education has found that St Stephens school may be forced to close or shift to a new site and share resources with a girls school.
ISRAEL: Middle East Peace negotiators have been forced to stop negotiations following ongoing clashes between Palestinians and Israelis.
INCIS MAINFRAME: The mainframe for INCIS is now officially on the market. IBM pulled out of plans to develop the system nine months ago. The mainframe costs over $1 million a month to maintain and operate.
TOURISM: The Tourism Industry Association is upbeat about the prospects for the sector. The TIA also found concern about the ERB.
HAMILTON SPORTS: Hamilton rate-payers have voted to upgrade rugby and cricket facilities.
BARBARA CARTLAND DIES: The British romantic novelist Dame Barbara Cartland has died aged 98.
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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