*** Checkpoint FOR THURS 8 OCT 2009
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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There's been panic in the Pacific after two large earthquakes dubbed a 'double event' struck in quick sucession off Vanuatu. The quakes triggered tsunami warnings across the region, including here in New Zealand, where people were told to stay off beaches. The first, more powerful quake had a magnitude of seven-point-eight on the richter scale. It was centred 373 kilometres north-northwest off the island Santo, at a depth of 33 kilometres. While there are no reports yet of any damage, Mark Neil Jones from the Vanuatu Daily Post says the shake was alarming. CLIP New Zealand's High Commissioner to Vanuatu Jeff Langley says people in Port Vila moved quickly to higher ground. CLIP On several islands, including Tuvalu, Fiji and New Caledonia, people also fled to higher ground In Samoa, which was smashed only last week by a tsunami that destroyed whole villages,
there was widespread panic. Our reporter Leilani Momoisea was just in-land from Lalomanu CLIP
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii has now cancelled its regional watches and warnings. Stewart Winestein is its Assistant Director and joins us now LIVE
The parents of missing two year old, Aisling Symes, say the past few days have been the most harrowing of their lives. The toddler vanished from a property in Henderson on Monday evening. A thorough search of the area has found no trace of the little girl. Our reporter Laura Davis has been at a news conference with Aisling's parents Allan and Angela Symes and joins us now. LIVE
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1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH Naomi Mitchell
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New Zealanders wanting cold and flu tablets containing pseudoephedrine will no longer be able to buy them over the counter. Pseudoephedrine is a so-called precursor drug to methamphetamine, or P. Limiting its availability to prescription only is part of a range of moves announced today to tackle the country's P problem. But, pharmacists say restricting pseudoephedrine is draconian and an anti-P campaigner says none of the measures will make a big difference.
Here's our political reporter Liz Banas. PKG
The Employment Relations Authority has agreed to mediate in the Auckland Bus dispute, but there is still no end in sight for commuters facing disruption. The region's biggest bus company NZ Bus locked out workers early this morning, after they decided to work to rule - cutting most services indefinitely. With industrial action stilling the roar of the buses on Auckland's roads, commuters have been left scrambling. Eileen Cameron reports. PKG
Italy's highest court has overturned a law granting the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi immunity from prosecution. The ruling paves the way for prosecutors to take Mr Berlusconi to trial over three separate matters involving corruption, bribery and false accounting.
But Mr Berlusconi says he will NOT resign. The ABC's Europe correspondent Emma Alberici reports : PKG
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17.30 HEADLINES
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A powerful typhoon has left at least one person dead in Japan and prompted fears of landslides. Typhoon Melor, with gusts of nearly 200 kilometres an hour, has cut through central Japan ripping roofs of houses, uprooting trees and blocking roads and railways. One weather agency is reporting that it's the first tropical storm to make landfall there since 2007. Robin Powell is our correspondent in Tokyo - he joins us now. LIVE
The Westpac bank has been found guilty of almost a billion dollars of tax avoidance. The decision follows a seven week trial at the High Court in Auckland over so-called structured financial transactions involving cheap loans to foreign companies between 1998 and 2002.
Justice Harrison ruled Westpac must now pay 961 million dollars in back taxes and interest. The BNZ is already appealing a similar decision earlier this year. It's been ordered to pay back 654 million dollars. In total the IRD is seeking back taxes from banks totalling more than 2 billion dollars. Westpac wouldn't be interviewed but has issued a statement saying the judge's decision is disappointing and it's considering an appeal. Geof Nightingale is a tax expert with accountancy firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers. PREREC
While aid agencies say they're overwhelmed by the response to last week's Tsunami, people's generosity may actually be hindering relief efforts. The same aid agencies say the piles of goods New Zealanders have rushed to donate aren't actually what's needed.
Matthew Peddie reports. PKG
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17.45 TRAILS
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WAATEA
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A 23 year old's recovering in hospital after being held down and stabbed repeatedly with a pocket knife in central Wellington. The early morning attack left the man unconcious, and he was taken to hospital in a critical condition. Police say several people witnessed the attack, and they need to come forward. Wellington's Detective Sergeant Damian Murphy joins us now. LIVE
Scientists in Australia say they have found a way to double the time a donor heart can exist outside a patient. The research led by Professor Peter MacDonald fromVictor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in Sydney has come up with new protective solution which keeps a freshly donated heart viable for longer. The Institute's executive director Bob Graham the length of time it takes to transfer a heart from a donor to a recipient is a major problem in a country the size of Australia, and also for trans-Tasman donations. PREREC
Egypt's suspending all co-operation with France's Louvre museum until it returns four stolen pharaonic tombstones. Egyptians say the ancient stones were bought by the museum in 1980 even though the Louvre knew they were stolen. From Egypt the BBC's Christian Fraser reports. PKG