HEADLINES & NEWS
PARLIAMENT RUCKUS OVER SAMUELS SACKING
There have been rowdy scenes in Parliament this afternoon during a snap debate [illegible] sacking of the Māori Affairs Minister, Dover Samuels.
Mr Samuels refused to resign over the allegations made against him, including that he had a relationship with a teenager who subsequently had an abortion.
However, the Prime Minister Helen Clark decided that he could no longer be an effective Minister while surrounded in controversy. Mr Samuels sat in his new seat at the back of the debating chamber during the first half of the debate, while his children sat looking on from the public gallery. Political reporter Clare Pasley followed the debate. PKG
MILITARY TIGHTEN CONTROL IN FIJI
Fiji's military is tightening its cordon around the coup plotters at parliament, establishing an exclusion zone around the complex where the rebels are holding 27 members of the Chaudhry government hostage. The move comes after lengthy negotiations failed to end the crisis, which began six weeks ago when the rebels, lead by George Speight, seized the hostages at parliament in Suva. Our reporter Shona Geary is in Suva - she joins me now. LIVE
BUSINESS NEWS with CATHERINE WALBRIDGE
DRAFT REPORT RECOMMENDS COMMISSIONER NEEDED
A draft report of a ministerial inquiry into the telecommunications sector has recommended the appointment of a Commissioner to oversee a largely-self-regulating industry. The inquiry team headed by the former Chief Executive of Fletcher Challenge, Hugh Fletcher, has been examining the sector for the past four months. The report recommends an Electronic Comminications Commissioner should be appointed to decide on which services should be regulated and have the power to intervene if negotiations between companies break down. Mr Fletcher says it would be mandatory for certain designated services where Telecom or anyone else has market power, to be provided in a [illegible], efficient and non-discriminatory way. PREREC
CUBAN CASTAWAY RETURNS TO COMMUNIST HOMELAND
Elian Gonzalez is back in Cuba. The six year old boy was greeted by cheering school children when he arrived at Havana airport from the United States. He left Washington three hours earlier after the US Supreme Court refused to intervene to make him stay in the country - our Washington correspondent Steve Mort filed this report. PKG
5.30 NEWS HEADLINES
SPORT with CHRIS REID
CORONER BLAMES GOVERNMENT
In Australia - a coroner's report into the Thredbo ski-field disaster is blaming government agencies for the tragedy. 18 people - including a New Zealand woman - were killed when a landslide swept into the Thredbo ski village in July 1997. Thredbo is in Kosciuszko National Park and the coroner Derrick Hand has found that government authorities failed to ensure that the village was safe. Our Australia correspondent Kerry Anne Walshe joins me now. LIVE DISCONTENTED DOCTORS AT HOSPITAL
A survey at Wellington's Capital Coast Health showing high levels of staff discontent is indicative of a nationwide problem, according to doctors. The survey found that junior doctors, in particular, are unhappy with Capital Coast management, which they see as ignoring severe problems of staff recruitment and retention. But as Jane Patterson reports, other hospitals, too, are experiencing similar difficulties. PKG
SILENT DISASTER GROWING
The Red Cross is warning that the international spread of infectious disease such as TB is growing worse. The Red Cross's annual World Disasters Report says there's been an upsurge in the spread of infectious disease and that has produced a death toll 160 times greater than those killed in all of last year's natural disasters. And the report warns that the situation is getting worse. David Easson from the International Federation of the Red Cross describes the problem.
ANTI HOMOPHOBIA CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED
The Aids Foundation is targetting teachers and doctors with an anti-homophibia [illegible]. The foundation believes gays' health can be adversely affected by a lack of appreciation of sexuality issues by some health and education professionals. Sally Wenley reports
KASHMIR WANTS GREATER AUTONOMY
In India, a political crisis has flared after the Kashmir state assembly asked for greater autonomy. Kashmir is part of India but Pakistan also claims ownership and the dispute has seen a long-running border war between the two countries. Our correspondent in New Delhi, RanJan Gupta, joins me now.
CLOSE & THEME