Middle East Summit – UK Train Crash – Kiwi Dollar – People’s Bank – Heart Surgery – Home Detention – Swiss Mudslide –
Fiji – GE Inquiry – Lotto – Computer Bashing
MIDDLE EAST SUMMIT: Israel and the Palestinians have agreed at a crisis summit to a halt in violence. However violence
is continuing hours after the accord. US President Bill Clinton announced the agreement which has not been signed by
either side. The US and the UN will set up a fact finding mission. Palestinian spokesmen say that peace is up to the
Israelis.
UK TRAIN CRASH: Police are keeping an open mind as to the cause of a British high-speed train crash which killed 4 this
morning. They are not ruling out terrorism.
KIWI DOLLAR: The Kiwi Dollar dropped to a new low of 39.32 US Cents over night.
PEOPLE’S BANK: Deputy PM Jim Anderton says he hopes to have his business case for a People’s Bank approved by cabinet
shortly. He says that the bank will be a fully fledged bank and not just a cash depository.
HEART SURGERY: The Health Funding Authority is giving extra money to Greenlane Hospital to help it clear a backlog of
heart bypass surgery. Auckland Healthcare’s CEO says a one off payment will not solve the problem however.
HOME DETENTION: Rape Crisis says that allowing violent offenders who have come to the end of their sentence to continue
in custody on home detention may help protect the public.
SWISS MUDSLIDE: Two more bodies have been found in the mud slide at a northern Swiss town near the Italian border.
FIJI: Fiji’s former PM Mahendra Chaudhry has arrived home in Fiji promising to help the poor.
GE INQUIRY: Three Crown Owned Research Institute will today make submissions to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into
Genetic Engineering.
LOTTO: The Lotteries Commission is trying to track down a Lotto winner who bought a ticket at Rangiora at Labour Weekend
last year but has not yet claimed the $426,000 prize.
COMPUTER BASHING: Police responding to a call-out in Lower Hutt last night found a computer was the victim. A man who
was having trouble with his computer threw it out the door.