1700 to 1707 NEWS
The Northland Regional Council is pulling together an urgent report on the failing sewerage systems in the Bay of Islands, saying action is needed to stop the flow of human waste into the sea. Council Chairperson Mark Farnsworth says development along the east coast has outstripped the ability of existing sewage treatment methods to cope, and everyone is suffering. Ongoing pollution has already forced oyster famers into legal action against the Far North District Council after oyster beds were closed nearly three years ago. More farms have been closed this month after two spills from two sewerage plants, and Northland Health is putting up new signs warning people not gather or eat other shellfish for at least four weeks. Mark Farnsworth joins us now. LIVE
Roger Murray is chairperson of the Russell Ratepayers Association and has been battling for years over the local sewerage plant which Mr Murray describes as a [illegible]. The Association met today and fired off another letter to the Far North District Council demanding action. Far North Mayor Yvonne Sharpe was unavailabe to talk to us this evening. But Roger Murray joins us now. LIVE
A member of the Tongan rugby team that disappeared following a tournament in Auckland has been apprehended by Police and Immigration officials. Authorities have been hunting for the fourteen team members since last September, and found the young man hiding in a fridge in an Auckland house this afternoon. The Immigration Service National Manager of Borders and Investigation is Aaron Baker. He joins us now LIVE
Animal welfare officers have moved onto a Waikato stud farm removing 25 thoroughbred horses after ten animals died from being fed the wrong kind of food. The SPCA says it had been getting complaints about conditions on the property for at least the last 18 months but although there was little pasture for the horses and alot of mud the animals did not look underfed. The elderly owner had been told he should move the horses onto proper pasture. SPCA Manager Chris Woods says the situation changed dramatically when neighbours reported that some of the horses had died last month. PRE-REC
Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair is facing one of the most crucial days in his career today as an inquiry into whether British intelligence exaggerated the case for war against Iraq releases its findings. The five-member Review of Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction, led by former top civil servant Lord Robin Butler, is due to release its report later this evening. The BBC's Gavin Hewitt reports. PKG
1720 BUSINESS NEWS WITH PATRICK O'MEARA
The Land Transport Safety Authority says latest official figures debunk a common public perception that Asians are poor drivers. The police statistics show the nationality of Aucklanders injured in crashes is directly proportional to the overall population. Brad Markham has details. PKG
1730 HEADLINES
SPORTS NEWS WITH STEPHEN HEWSON
Many travellers passing through Wellington Airport this morning have thrown their weight behind the idea of changing the country's national flag. The airport company has decked-out the terminal with 30 flags depicting a silver fern - to welcome the Australian rugby team arriving tomorrow for Saturday's test match. The silver fern banners have been suggested as a new national flag, by a lobby group calling for a change. Craig Ashworth asked people what they thought. PKG
The tiny Banks Peninsula town of Akaroa is embracing its French connections proudly proclaiming it's first in the world to celebrate Bastille Day. On the 14th of July 1789 French citizens stormed the notorious Bastille prison - an event France now marks as the end of the monarchy and the beginning of the first republic. Akaroa was settled by French pioneers in the 1840s. It hasn't always publicly celebrated its heritage, especially after the Rainbow Warrior bombing but in recent years French pride has come to the fore. Our reporter Erina O'Donahue is in Akaroa - and she joins us now. Q + A
A unique approach to beating crime in central Wellington has now been transplanted to the streets of South Auckland. Dressed in bright yellow coats, [illegible] 'Walkwise Ambassadors' act as the eyes and the ears of the police. Jennifer Dann went to Manukau to meet them. PKG
The Philippines Government has announced it has begun withdrawing some troops from Iraq. It says the pullout is taking place earlier than scheduled because of the threat made by kidnappers holding a Filipino man hostage in Iraq. The soldiers had been due to leave Iraq on August the 20th. Islamic militants abducted the man last week and threatened to behead him unless the planned pullout was brought forward to July the 20th. Our correspondent in the Philippines Girlie Linao (lin-now) joins us now. LIVE
Nearly 70 Afghan refugees have flown into Brisbane on a charter flight from the Pacific island of Nauru, finally able to apply for immigration visas for Australia. They had spent 32 months in detention on Nauru. Their arrival follows an announcement by the Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone that almost ten thousand holders of Australian temporary protection visas can apply for mainstream immigration visas.
Joining us now is Howard Glenn, the director of the refugee lobby group - A [illegible] Australia LIVE
The FBI has revealed that in the lead-up to the Bali bombings two years ago it did NOT tell Australia that terrorists in South-East Asia were planning attacks against Westerners. The FBI says a month before the bombings it interrogated a young Al Qaeda suspect named Mohamed Mansour Jabarah, who told of a meeting with terrorist mastermind Hambali. At the meeting, Hambali said he wanted to bomb Westerners at soft targets like bars and nightclubs in several South-East Asian countries. 202 people died in the Bali attacks including 88 Australians and three New Zealanders. Neil Fergus, CEO of the private security firm "intelligent Risks" says Jabarah's information was critical. PRE-REC
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