National Radio Midday Report

Murder Trial – Body Identified – Yugoslavian Elections – Council Apologise – Murder Trial – Faumuina – Shark Attack – Cervical Cancer Inquiry – Cinema Death – East Timor – Solomons Hjack – ERA – Sparrow Salmonella – Mad Cow Disease

- MURDER TRIAL: A Dunedin psychiatrist appeared in court today, charged with murder. Colin David Bower, 50, is accused of killing his wife.

- BODY IDENTIFIED: Police believe the body found in the Waitakere Ranges is Justin Robert Dine, a sickness beneficiary living in Henderson. He was a transient living in a caravan.

- YUGOSLAVIAN ELECTIONS: Riot police have formed a cordon between supporters and opponents of Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosovic as votes in the National election are being counted. Both Milosovic and his opponent say polls show they are winning.

- COUNCIL APOLOGISE: The Auckland City Council has made a public apology for its part in the death of a toddler who drowned in a private pool. The toddler got through a hole in a fence facing a public reserve. The Council acknowledged they failed in enforcing fencing requirements.

- MURDER TRIAL: The high court trial of man accused of murdering his wife and two children has begun. Robert Han has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder.

- FAUMUINA: New Zealand’s Beatrice Faumuina begins her campaign in the discus this morning at the Sydney Olympics.

- SHARK ATTACK: South Australian police say the beach and sand dunes around the beach where a New Zealander was killed by a shark in the weekend are being searched for his body.

- CERVICAL CANCER INQUIRY: The cervical cancer inquiry in Gisborne still hasn’t resolved the issue of whether the High Court should decide if the Ministry of Health must release confidential cervical cancer information.

- CINEMA DEATH: Occupational Safety and Health say the cinema where a teenager fell to his death does conform to OSH standards.

- EAST TIMOR: East Timor authorities are preparing themselves for an influx of Indonesians fleeing from militia violence across the border in West Timor.

- SOLOMONS HIJACK: There is still no word in the Solomon Islands of fate of a pilot being held hostage by militants on Guadalcanal who hijacked his plane nine days ago.

- ERA: The Council Trade Unions says Richard Prebble is out of touch with new attitudes which are being developed as unions and employers prepare for the introduction of the Employment Relations Act.

- SPARROW SALMONELLA: Cafes and outdoor eateries and supermarkets are being advised to keep sparrows well away from food, as there is a real risk of sparrows spreading a strain of salmonella they can carry.

- MAD COW DISEASE: Up to eight cows have caught BSE, known as mad cows disease, in an outbreak in Britain which scientists believe could be linked to the use of bovine blood in their feed.

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