West Coast Rimu – Waitara Shooting – School Firearm Incident – Mayday2k: London, Zimbabwe, Korea, Cuba and Elsewhere –
Nuclear Weapons – Austria – Car Commerce – Rainfall Wets
WEST COAST RIMU: The Green Party is seeking an urgent meeting with PM Helen Clark on West Coast Rimu contracts. Rod
Donald says that Clark has previously said that the contracts should be cancelled. Damien O’Conner says the contracts
were signed will before the Labour Party policy was announced.
WAITARA SHOOTING: Extra police are being sent to Waitara to try to ease tension in the town following the shooting of
Stephen Wallace. Police say they are in regular contact with the Wallace family who are very angry about the way their
son died. Police are also talking to Maori leaders in the community.
SCHOOL FIREARM INCIDENT: The board of trustees of a Whangarei school say they are happy that there was an attempt to
report a firearm incident at the school to the police. The boy involve
MAYDAY2K LONDON: Anti-capitalist demonstrators have clashed with police around the world last night. Tony Blair has
called the protest in London an absolute disgrace. 22 were arrested and seven injured.
MAYDAY2K ZIMBABWE: In Zimbabwe the opposition party has held a rally of around 8000 people outside the capital Harare.
The trade union movement is threatening to organise a general strike unless the intimidation of opposition supporters
finishes.
MAYDAY2K KOREA & CUBA: In South Korea Thousands of students hurled fire-bombs protesting the sale of Dae-Woo. In Cuba there have been
rallies for the return of Elian Gonzalez. There have been riots as well as peaceful protests in many other cities.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS: The five main nuclear powers have pledged themselves to support the elimination of atomic weapons. The
pledge does not attempt to set a timetable however.
AUSTRIA: Jorge Haider has accused the EU of trying to practice Medieval Exorcism in trying to hound his Freedom Party
out of Austrian office.
CAR COMMERCE: Car dealers are to come under increased scrutiny from the Commerce Commission following the end of a focus
by the commission on the furniture business. The MVDI is welcoming the new attention.
RAINFALL WETS: New rainfall figures show that rain recharged soil moisture levels in the North Island recently in
Manawatu, Waikato and elsewhere. Meanwhile Southland was sunier than normal.