**** CKPT FOR TUESDAY NOVEMBER 28 *******
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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FIJI CRISIS: Fiji's Prime MInister flies into Wellington in a few hours time for a high stakes meeting with his mutinous military commander, after the Government here brokered an agreement for the two men to finally come face to face. Commodore Frank Bainimarama was due to return home today amid fears another coup was imminent. He will now stay in Wellington for talks with Laisenia Qarase tomorrow at Government House. Foreign Minister Winston Peters will attend the discussions. Prime Minister Helen Clark says the immediate economic and social future of Fiji depends on the result. Mr Qarase touches down in the capital at around eight this evening on board a New Zealand Airforce Boeing. I spoke to him shortly before he left Fiji. PREREC
At a news media conference a bit over an hour ago the Prime Minister Helen Clark said New Zealand's focus has been on easing the way for a meeting between the two men in an effort to pull Fiji back from the brink. But she says reaching a compromise will be difficult. CUT
Our political editor Brent Edwards was at the media conference, which also included the Foreign Minister Winston Peters, and joins me now. LIVE
STABBING SENTENCE: The family of a woman who was stabbed to death by her husband, a former top police officer, says the accused has manipulated the judicial system. In a frenzied attack, 55 year old David McSweeney killed Suzanne McSweeney by stabbing her 30 times at the couple's Auckland textile business in April. He was jailed at the High Court in Auckland today for at least 15 years for the murder of his wife. Joy McArthur was there. LIVE
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1720 BUSINESS NEWS WITH BADEN CAMPBELL
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SPRAY DEATH: A man who was subdued using pepper spray after a scuffle with police at the Hamilton District Court yesterday has died. 46 year old Johnathan Ripia died in Waikato Hospital this afternoon after being taken off life support. He had allegedly assaulted a police officer at the court and during a struggle to arrest him, he collapsed and stopped breathing. Andrew McRae reports. PKGE
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1730 HEADLINES
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SPORTS NEWS WITH STEPHEN HEWSON
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AIR NZ CUTS: The row over 17-hundred ground staff job cuts at Air New Zealand is heading to court. Two unions want the Employment Court to stop the 58-day consultation process they are going through with the company. The move is part of a wider campaign being launched today. Jean Edwards reports. PKGE
FIJI CRISIS (2): Back to Fiji now - for reaction to the New Zealand brokered crisis talks between the Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase and the military chief Commodore Frank Bainimarama. Mr Qarase touches down in Wellington this evening - talks between him and the Commodore will be held at Government House tomorrow. Our correspondent in Suva Vijay Narayan says there are still major hurdles in terms of getting any agreement between the two men. PREREC
ICEBERG SHREK: Shrek the sheep who stole headlines a year or two ago is back in the news again - this time celebrating his tenth birthday on ice. The wily merino who evaded the shearer for six years by hiding out on the rocky mountain tops on Bendigo Station in Central Otago, has been filmed getting a hair cut on one of the icebergs floating off the Otago coast. Owner John Perriam says Stephen Jaquiery from the Otago Daily Times who's been visiting the icebergs regularly, came up with the idea. PREREC
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WAATEA NEWS WITH ERU REREKURA
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PRESCRIPTION:Two-and-a-half million prescriptions are not being dispensed correctly, according to figures from the Government's drug buying agency, Pharmac. And of those that get out of the pharmacy - only half are being taken correctly. But as Chris Bramwell reports, the pharmacists' body disputes the data. PKGE
NUTRITION ELDERLY: A Christchurch dietician's setting out to stop the elderly becoming malnourished. She's to carry out a study looking at the level of poor nutrition among the over 70s. The Canterbury District Health Board has also teamed up with 'SuperGrans' to help teach elderly people who eat alone the skills needed to stay healthy. Nadine Chalmers-Ross reports. PKGE
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