National Radio 8am Bulletin

Wednesday, 18 October 2000, 8:14 am
Article: Alastair Thompson

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.

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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.

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.

Contact Alastair Thompson

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