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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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A former university tutor accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend has described to a court the last moments of her life.
Clayton Weatherston denies murdering Sophie Elliott, who was stabbed more than 200 times, but has admitted manslaughter.Katy Gossett is at the High Court in Christchurch. LIVE
There's been, what the Minister of Social Development is describing, as a dramatic increase in the number of people going on the dole. The number getting the unemployment benefit has almost doubled in the last year and now tops 50 thousand but Paula Bennett says there's been a big increase in the last six weeks.The head of the Employers and Manufacturers Association, Alasdair Thompson says for many small and medium sized businesses redundancy is the last step. CLIP But the chief executive of Business New Zealand Phil O'Reilly says it's very difficult to know what will happen in the coming months. CLIP Meanwhile Paula Bennett admits the figures could mean current forecasts are too optimistic. PRE-REC
So how hard is it for people trying to find a new job and living without a regular salary? Kaye Brereton <Brare-ret -on> is from the Wellington People's Centre which gives helps people on Work and Income Benefits. She joins us now
LIVE
An unexpected rush to buy warm winter woollies has delivered the largest increase in sales since November 2007.
In May New Zealanders spent an massive 25 million dollars on clothing. But car sales plunged by by the same amount and future tourism spending is also looking weak.Steve Wilde has been looking at the latest figures from Statistics New Zealand. PKG
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1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH
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Auckland's 430 million dollar Victoria Park tunnel and roading project is being fast tracked - again.The date for work to begin has now been brought forward by a year - with hopes it will now be completed in time for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.Construction on a three lane northbound tunnel beneath the park and four southbound lanes on the existing viaduct will now get underway before the end of this year. It's expected to generate more than a thousand jobs and may even come in under budget. Laura Davis reports. PKG
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17.30 HEADLINES
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An overwhelming majority of investors with money in ING's frozen funds have accepted an offer that will see them waive their rights to any future legal action against the company. Eight-thousand investors are currently locked into two frozen ING funds. 85 per cent of them have chosen to take about 60 cents per unit and invest that money in a special on-call ANZ account paying 8 point 3 percent over five years. The other two options open to investors were to take their cash out now at about 60 cents per unit and forgo any future efforts to recover their money or to remain in the fund. Helen Troup is the chief executive of ING - she joins us now. LIVE
Members of the remote Bay of Plenty community of Kaingaroa say they fear someone will be killed if a long running family feud is not sorted out.Yesterday a 21-year old man was shot in the hand and an 18-year old shot in the shoulder, and another teenager was later stabbed.A 20 year old and 16 year old have been charged with attempted murder.The owner of the Kaingaroa Forest Dairy, Pamela Taitapanui, says the mother of one of the boys who was shot came into her shop to call an ambulance and police. CLIP Pamela Taitapanui says locals are afraid that if the feud isn't sorted out, someone will end up dead. CLIP Kaingaroa Forest Dairy owner, Pamela Taitapanui
Police put more officers into Kaingaroa as they investigate the shootings - here's Inspector Greg Sparrow: PRE-REC
Peter Biddle is a local elder who's lived in Kaingaroa since 1960. He says yesterday's violence is no surprise. PRE-REC
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17.45 TRAILS
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WAATEA
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The former Labour MP Taito Phillip Field denies given any workers a blank cheque to work on his properties in Samoa. Mr Field is in court facing 35 criminal charges related to work it's claimed he had done on his properties in return for immigration assistance to Thai nationals. Belinda McCammon was at the High Court in Auckland and joins me now: LIVE
Top ranking Democrat politicians in the US are in uproar over revelations that former Vice President Dick Cheney ordered the CIA to keep Congress in the dark about a counter-terrorism programme. Set up after 9/11, its existence was hidden for eight years and even now its nature remains unknown.Democrat Senator Kent Conrad says he believes Mr Cheney may have broken the law. CLIP Former presidential candidate Senator John McCain says Congress should have been told, but is urging caution before throwing Mr Cheney to the wolves. CLIP Meanwhile, intelligence officials are reacting angrily to weekend disclosures that Obama's own attorney general , Eric Holder is considering investigating alleged torturers in the Bush administration. Former CIA agent Michael Scheuer says its very damaging to the organisation as agents are now afraid to take part in covert operations: PRE-REC
The number of people in Britain who support the country's war in Afghanistan has jumped sharply to nearly a half.
That's according to a new poll commissioned by the BBC and a British newspaper, the Guardian. The rise in support comes despite the fact the human cost of the war is really beginning to be felt in Britain, as Alan Johnston now reports. PKG