Checkpoint FOR MONDAY 19 JULY 2010
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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One of China's three biggest dairy companies has taken a controlling 82 million dollar stake in the Canterbury dairy company Synlait.
Bright Dairy and Food has agreed to invest the money in a new processing plant to produce infant formula for the Chinese market.
In return Bright Dairy becomes a 51 percent partner in Synlait's production arm - its farms in Canterbury are not part of the deal.
Synlait tried to raise the investment capital money on the stock market last year but failed to attract enough interest. CEO John Penno joins us now. LIVE
The police have revealed a man involved in an armed attack in West Auckland last night was shot several times by two officers. Eight armed police were attempting to catch the man being sought in connection with an arson. Laura Davis has been at a press conference at the Henderson Police Station this afternoon and joins us now. Q AND A
The Government is keeping its decisions on mining protected conservation land under wraps until tomorrow, but the indications are it has scaled back its ambitions. The Cabinet today took final decisions on the proposal to open up about seven-thousand hectares of Schedule Four land for mining, including parts of Great Barrier Island, Coromandel, and the Paparoa National Park. Prime Minister, John Key, is refusing to be drawn on the details ahead of tomorrow's announcement. TP Our political reporter, Julian Robins, was at Mr Key's news conference and he joins us now. Q AND A
A group of students from a Melbourne private school have been suspended after going on a six thousand dollar shoplifting spree in Queenstown. The sixteen boys, aged between 14 and 17, were part of a skiing trip organised by Xavier College. They stole ski clothing and souvenirsfrom at least seven different shops. The General Manager of Outside Sports, Elizabeth Cox, says they had a small item stolen, which was later returned. TP The principal of Xavier College, Chris Hayes, was at the airport to meet the students when they arrived home. TP The principal of Xavier College in Melbourne, Chris Hayes. PREREC
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1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH
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Many popular swimming holes around New Zealand are contaminated and unsafe for swimming. Water quality tests of rivers, lakes and coastal areas show high rates of E-Coli, or faecal pollution. Geoff Moffett reports. PKG
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17.30 HEADLINES
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A train crash in the Indian state of West Bengal has killed dozens of people. Reports say one passenger train ploughed into another waiting at a station in the town of Sainthia SANTIA, around 200 kilometres north of Calcutta. The BBC's Rahul Tandon is in Calcutta.
Rahul Tandon reporting. PKG
Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is under intense pressure to explain his position on labour laws after a series of media interviews today. The Government has already seized on his comments, saying Mr Abbott cannot be trusted on industrial relations. The ABC's Lindel Curtis has the story. Lindel Curtis reporting. PKG
Australia's satirical team "The Chasers" has kicked off its election campaign with a war on slogans. The comedians are the warm up act during the campaign for the ABC's current affairs programme Lateline. Over the weekend Prime Minster Julia Gillard announced the election will be on August the 21st saying under her leadership the country would be moving forward not back! She's repeated the phrase endlessly - The Chasers' Craig Reucassel (row cassle) says it's got to go. PREREC
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17.45 TRAILS
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WAATEA
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This afternoon the Government moved to quell fears every employee will be required to provide a medical certificate every time they are sick. The new sick leave provisions are among a range of planned changes to the labour laws which also include extending the 90-trial to all new workers, and making union officials get permission to visit workplaces. Here's our political reporter Danya Levy. PKG
The extent of damage following last night's earthquakes in Papua New Guinea is still unclear. Two quakes struck the island of New Britian, measuring magnitude 7.3 and 7.1, and were widely felt in the port town of Kimbe. (kim-bay) Radio New Zealand International's Megan Whelan has more. Megan Whelan with that report. PKG
A taser watch-dog group says arming every police officer would be too dangerous, because guns might be be used when it's not absolutely necessary.
The police were involved in an armed incident in Auckland last night and two officers were shot in Christchurch last week. There are already plans to increase access to firearms. But Marie Dyhrberg, a defence lawyer and a member of a taser watch-dog group, believes the Armed Offenders Squad should be more readily available instead. She joins us now. LIVE
Intense security is mounting in Kabul in the run-up to the international conference on Afghanistan starting tomorrow, which will be attended by representatives from more than sixty countries. The meeting will be hosted by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, and the Afghan president Hamid Karzai. The BBC's Ian Pannell is in Kabul. Ian Pannell reporting. PKG