**** CKPT FOR THURS 6 SEP 2007
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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After a battle with cancer the Italian opera star Luciano Pavarotti has died at his home in Modena. The 71-year-old tenor passed away late this afternoon. Simon Lauder looks back at Pavarotti's singing career, and his role in bringing opera to the people : PKG
Fiji's military coup leader Frank Bainimarama has declared a month long state of emergency, accusing the deposed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase of trying to destabilise the country. Commodore Bainimarama, has told Radio Fiji that he will not accept anyone who shows any sign of instability. The action follows increasing tension between Bainimarama and Qarase, who returned to Fiji's capital Suva last weekend for the first time since he was removed from power in December. We'll cross to our reporter there shortly.
Palmerston North has lost its only air link with Australia. The route's become a casualty of Air New Zealand's decidion to stop its budget Freedom Air service. It's a blow to Palmerston North whose mayor says the national carrier is fleecing the provinces with extortionate airfares. Lucy Cleary reports. PKG
Joining us now is our correspondent in Fiji, Matai Akauola who has just been at a media conference with Fiji's attorney general LIVE
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BUSINESS NEWS
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Bay of Plenty police may be faced with a tense situation as they try to organise the exhumation of the body of a Christchurch man from a marae near Opotiki. The man's partner of 25 years, Denise Clarke, has successfully applied for a licence to exhume the body of James Takamore who died of an anerysum in Christchurch last month. The extended Takamore family took the body from Christchurch against Ms Clarke's wishes and buried him at the family marae near Opotiki. This happened despite Ms Clarke gaining a High Court order to stop the burial going ahead on the day. Reporter Monique Devereux has been following the story. LIVE
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17.30 HEADLINES
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Key stakeholders in Auckland International Airport are sending a signal to its board to think before they leap into any further takeover deals involving foreign companies. The controversial 2-point-6 billion dollar bid by Dubai Aerospace Enterprise for the Airport was scrapped this morning. Today airport shares dropped 2 cents to 3 dollars and 7 cents.
Eileen Cameron reports. PKG
The Corrections Department has now got a rule about prisoners sending sperm to their partners - it's not allowed - although it could be at some stage in the future. An investigation into how convicted rapist Peter McNamara managed to father a child in jail last year, reveals that a Rimutaka Prison nurse collected the sperm and delivered it to the prisoner's partner who was waiting outside. The report says staff in the Health unit didn't think there was any problem because there were no written rules or policy about artificial insemination. Bridget White is the Assistant General Manager of Prison Services. PREREC
New Zealand First has slammed the local government minister Mark Burton for his treatment of the party, over the release of the Rates Inquiry report. New Zealand First, which is a Government support party, pushed for the inquiry to be set-up but did not get a briefing on its findings before they were released to the public. And as Julian Robins reports, the party is now accusing Mark Burton of ignoring the good faith and no-suprises provision of its Confidence and Supply Agreement with the Government. PKG
Meridian Energy's offer of carbon credits on the internet is being criticised as failing to provide any real protection for the environment. Meridian has been certified as a carbon neutral company and is offering carbon credits on TradeMe. The firm says people can buy its credits and use them to offset emissions from their household or business. But three leading climate scientists are questioning the company's claims. Eric Frykberg reports. PKG
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WAATEA
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More than 500 shareholders burnt in the collapse of the carpet manufacturer Feltex last year have said they're prepared to spend more money on a legal battle to recover their losses.
Over eight and half thousand shareholders lost 254 million dollars, and investment banker Tony Gavigan, who never bought shares, is organising a legal fight using the Fair Trading Act. Credit Suisse First Boston bought Feltex for around 20 million dollars in 1996 than sold it to CSFB Asian Merchant Partners which floated it on the sharemarket in 2004. Investors paid one dollar 70 a share - which was worth nothing just two years later. Tony Gavigon says the prospectus at the time of the float was misleading. PREREC
No-one likes red tape, and now its creators are looking at how to cut back on it. Parliament is considering a bill to reduce regulatory red tape, but as Chris Bramwell reports, it appears to require more rules. PKG
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