Russian Sub – Super – Floods – Doctors Strike – Speed - Postal Competition – Spy – US Election – Wild Fires
RUSSIAN SUB: Norwegian Divers are examining the Russian Submarine the Kursk on the bottom of the Barrents Sea. The
Norwegians think that it will be possible to get into the rear outer hatch.
SUPER: The Finance Minister Michael Cullen says Labour will only enter multi-party super talks if National guarantees
that it will not cut the pension in the future. Jenny Shipley says National admits it made a mistake in the late 1990s
on super. She says National has an open mind. The CTU says there are two key qualifications on its support for
multi-party talks – one of which is that there is a commitment not to cut entitlements, secondly political parties must
be confident they can deal honestly with one another.
FLOODS: The Mayor of Selwyn says it will take weeks to repair damage from floods over the weekend.
DOCTORS STRIKE: Junior doctors in four hospitals will strike this week and there is a danger the strike will spread
nationwide. The doctors want a 20% pay rise.
SPEED: The Police Association is concerned at the increased availability of the drug speed. The drug causes memory loss,
aggression and psychotic behaviour.
POSTAL COMPETITION: Two private postal companies are taking on NZ Post in Wellington. National Mail is offering a
business service. Another service from the provinces is also arriving in the capital.
SPY: The former British Spy who has made allegations against the British secret services – including that they plotted
to kill the Libyan leader - is about to return to the UK to be arrested.
US ELECTION: In the latest polls Democrat Al Gore has taken a small six point lead over Republican George Bush in the
race for the US Presidency.
WILD FIRES: The number of large files blazing across the US has grown to 98. The area affected has increased by a third
in the last week.