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National Radio 8am Bulletin
National Radio 8am Bulletin
Fiji Coup x 2 – Work For The Dole – Suspended Sentences – Lunar Eclipse – Springboks Test – Middle East – Sierra Leone – Formula One
FIJI COUP: In Fiji the curfew has been shortened by two hours and schools have been reopened as the country awaits the . Life is starting to return to normal. Military however has stepped up security following threats from George Speight who remains at the Parliamentary compound.
FIJI COUP: The deposed Agricultural Minister says that Speight discussed abolishing Parliament and the Great Council of Chiefs at a recent meeting with chiefs. The Minister says the coup was caused by an indigenous power struggle not by anti-Indian entiments.
WORK FOR THE DOLE: Minister of Employment Steve Maharey says the Government is scrapping the Work-for-the-dole scheme. Maharey says forcing people into employment does not work. The changes are all about good practical policies, he says.
SUSPENDED SENTENCES: Justice Minister wants suspended sentences to be scrapped. He says they have largely failed. This is because some people should be jailed from the start and others are getting longer suspended sentences
LUNAR ECLIPSE: This morning’s spectacular lunar eclipse has stunned astronomers around the country. In Auckland they could only see a few minutes of the eclipse. It will be seven years before another eclipse and the year 3000 before another long eclipse like last night’s.
SPRINGBOKS TEST: Canterbury Rugby Union says there are still tickets available to a Springboks first test at Jade stadium in Christchurch.
MIDDLE EAST: The Middle East Peace talks are entering their sixth day amid conflicting reports on progress. The pace of the talks appear to have moved up a gear. Of the three key issues the main problem seems to be the future of refugees and of Jerusalem.
SIERRA LEONE: Nearly 200 UN peace-keepers have reached the safety of a UN base in Sierra Leone following a dramatic rescue. UN forces say rebels who tried to ambush the rescue column suffered casualties.
FORMULA ONE: Mika Haakinen has won the Austrian Grand Prix but is being investigated for an electronic box found in his car.
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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