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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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Fifteen passengers, on a flight from Timaru to Wellington, were told to get into the brace postion and prepare for an emergency landing this morning. The Air New Zealand Beechcraft headed for Blenheim after circling Wellington for almost an hour while the pilots battled unsuccessfully to get the wheels down for landing. At this stage Eagle Air, which operates the flight for Air New Zealand, says it has no idea what caused the problem. Passenger Marilyn Sewell-Simmons, says she became suspicious when the plane was circling the Capital, and then the pilot explained about the problems with the landing gear. PREREC
The fire crew from the nearby Woodbourne Airforce base had been alerted that the plane had a problem. The fire master, flight sergeant Chris Gee, and his team were waiting at the airport as the plane came in. CUT
Our Nelson reporter Geoff Moffett has been following the story and joins me now. LIVE
Melbourne police are hunting for a gunman who killed a man and critically injured two other people in downtown Melbourne this morning.The police have found a handgun at a city construction site near the scene. Some eyewitnesses describe what they saw. CUTS
Here's Melbourne police Inspector Glen Weir. CUT
Inspector Weir is appealing for the taxi driver involved in the incident to come forward to help with investigations. CUT
Georgia Main from 3AW radio station reports on the latest. LIVE
A wide-ranging review of New Zealand's relationship with Fiji is underway as the government considers how to react to the expulsion of New Zealand's high commissioner Michael Green.
The matter was discussed by Cabinet today, but it'll be next week at least before a course of action is decided.In the meantime, the Prime Minister is urging New Zealanders to think hard before they take advantage of holiday bargains and travel to Fiji. Our parliamentary chief reporter Clare Pasley joins us now. LIVE
The Securities Commission has hailed a 27 million dollar settlement over the Tranz Rail insider trading case, as the biggest of its kind in Australasia and evidence that insider trading is being policed in NZ. A former Tranz Rail director, David Richwhite, together with his investment company, Midavia Rail, have agreed to pay 20 million dollars but are not admitting any liability. They are the last two defendents in the case which goes back to 2002 when a group of six Tranz Rail directors, executives and major shareholders sold millions of dollars worth of shares for between 3 dollars 60 and 4 dollars 28 a share. A year later the share price had plunged to just 30 cents and the Securities Commission accused those involved in the 2002 sales of knowing the company was heading for trouble. Four other defendents have also settled, without admitting liability, for just over 7 and a half million. Joining us now is the Securities Commission Chairman Jane Diplock. LIVE
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BUSINESS NEWS
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Economists say the Reserve Bank's second apparent foray into the currency markets today will NOT do anything to stop the rise of the Kiwi dollar.The New Zealand dollar dropped sharply by about half a cent this morning following what market observers says was almost certainty an intervention by the Reserve Bank. A short time ago it had regained much of its lost ground and was trading at about 75.5 cents US. Last week the Bank confirmed that it intervened in the currency for the first time in 22 years. This time though the Bank is saying nothing, here's our Economics Correspondent Corin Dann PREREC
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17.30 HEADLINES
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We go live now to Melbourne where police are hunting for a gunman who killed a man and critically injured two other people in down town Melbourne this morning. Police Inspector Glen Weir joins us now live from Melbourne. LIVE
There may be a new Palestinian prime minister and a new government - but it's done nothing to ease the problems caused by the split between the rival Hamas and Fatah movements. Hamas fighters - who've seized control of Gaza - have rejected the emergency governments brought in by the president Mahmoud Abbas. And they've branded him and other senior Fatah figures as collaborators with Israel. The ABC's David Hardacre reports. PKG
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WAATEA NEWS
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A wide-ranging review of New Zealand's relationship with Fiji is underway as the government considers how to react to the expulsion of New Zealand's high commissioner Michael Green. The matter was discussed by Cabinet today, but it'll be next week at least before a course of action is decided. At the same time, the Prime Minister is urging New Zealanders to think hard before they take advantage of holiday bargains and travel to Fiji. LIVE
The Waitangi Tribunal has again heavily criticised the Government for the way it deals with tribes during the Treaty of Waitangi settlement process. In a fresh report into the Te Arawa or Rotorua tribes agreement, the Tribunal berates the Government for failing to safeguard the interests of groups who are yet to get round the table. Here's our Māori issues reporter, Natalie Mankelow. PKG
French President Nicolas Sarkozy's centre-right party has won a comfortable majority in parliamentary elections. UMP has taken three hundred and fourteen seats in the 577 member parliament. But the Socialist opposition fared better than expected. This report from the BBC's Alister Sandford in Paris PKG
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