National Radio Midday Report

Files Found – Middle East Talks – Terms Of trade – US Election – Telstra Saturn Expansion Held Up – Wairarapa Toddler – Unsupervised Children – Sawmillers Refuse To Work – GM Commission – Peace Prize – Flash Flood – Man Shot – Christmas Tree

- FILES FOUND: Dozens of confidential medical files have been taken away from the site of a closed private Auckland hospital. Dozens of abortion authorization forms with the names and addresses of women were found in a room in what was the site of the Rawhiti Trust Hospital in Mt Eden.

- MIDDLE EAST TALKS: United States officials say their peace envoy Dennis Ross and the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat will meet in Morrocco in a few days to assess the Middle East situation. This comes against the backdrop of the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barac and former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing his candidacy for Prime Minister in the general elections.

- TERMS OF TRADE: New Zealand’s buying power in the world has improved sharply in the year to September, despite our weaker dollar, new figures from Statistics New Zealand show.

- US ELECTION: The outcome of the US presidential race could be settled in the country’s highest court, The Supreme Court tomorrow. It will consider whether the manual recount of disputed ballots in the State of Florida should be counted, as ordered by the Florida Supreme Court.

- TELSTRA SATURN EXPANSION HELD UP: Telstra Saturn’s plans to expand its cable TV and phone services around the country have been put on hold. The company had planned to lay an undersea cable linking Christchurch and Auckland next year, but a Wellington Resident’s association has objected to the cable coming ashore through a petrified forest at Titahi bay in Wellington.

- WAIRARAPA TODDLER: A lawyer representing one of the three people charged in relation to the death of a Wairarapa toddler has asked the district court to suppress all evidence to be given in a preliminary deposition hearing, saying it would prejudice her client’s right to a fair trial.

- UNSUPERVISED CHILDREN: Two boys found alone in a suburban Christchurch mall on Saturday are being looked after in a Child Youth and Family Home while an investigation is carried out.

- SAWMILLERS REFUSE TO WORK: Workers at a sawmill in Tokoroa owned by Carter Holt Harvey are refusing to work nightshifts despite the company stopping dayshifts at the plant. The workers say they are angry at them and their families having to put up with night work while the plant lays idle during the day.

- GM COMMISSION: Auckland Health Care says the training of health professionals and treatment of patients would be compromised if Gene technology was not available. Auckland Health Care was making its submission to the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification.

- PEACE PRIZE: The President of South Korea has accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, saying it belongs to all those who have worked toward s reconciliation between North and South Korea.

- FLASH FLOOD: People in Whangarei are mopping up after a flash flood.

- MAN SHOT: Police are looking into an incident when a man was shot when pig hunting. Police say the man was shot while knifing a pig. They say his dog jumped on the rifle, setting it off.

- CHRISTMAS TREE: The Norfolk Pine Christmas tree outside premier house will be lit up after all if the Prime Minister takes up a charitable offer from a Thorndon resident. Miss Clark said the $2000 cost of lighting up the tree is not in keeping with the current Government’s ascetic approach.

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