0600 NEWS/WEATHER
0609 NZ NEWSPAPERS
0611 NEWS STORY LEBANON - ISRAELI planes bomb suspected Hizbollah targets in Lebanon for 2nd time in 24 hours in retaliation for killing of soldiers. (BBC) SRI LANKA - EMIGRATION - continuing conflict leads to growing number of people prepared to gamble money and their lives to escape to another country, some turning to human smuggling rings. (BBC)
0620 RURAL NEWS APPLE AND PEAR BOARD - PAYOUT - Board's decides to renege on $25 million cash payout to growers and will drip-feed money instead as $1.20 a carton extra illegible to growers who supply fruit to it this season. Only growers supplying ENZA will get the payment. Board chair John McCliskie says Board is protecting itself and suppliers against impact of losing estimated 14% of business this year to independent exporters who've been granted permits. Independent grower representative John Bostock says decision will have serious financial impact on some growers who were relying on the payment; Agriculture minister Jim Sutton sees decision as another attempt to put pressure on Export Permits Committee. (q). (Kevin Ikin) TROPICAL GRASS WEBWORM - Far North farmers, plagued by the pest last year, says early signs are that it won't return in same numbers. Eric Wagener, member of farmers' action group, etymologist employed by the group has found only insignificant numbers of larvae since December, although too early to rule out risk of further problems. (Diana Leufkens) MODIFIED SHEEP - Green Party wants AgResearch to withdraw application for new field trial of genetically modified sheep until after Royal Commission of Inquiry is held. Minister for Crown Research Institutes, Pete Hodgson, says he can see no reason for AgResearch to withdraw application. (q). (Kathryn Ryan)
0625 SPORTS STORY: U.S. SPORTS - live i/v with Paul Witteman, "Sports Illustrated". (Tiger Woods wins 6 tournamants in row, trying for number 7 this week in San Diego; for baller Derek Thomas, paralysed in car accident, dies suddenly aged 33).
0630 NEWS/WEATHER
0635 NEWS STORY: DNA SAMPLES - Police minister George Hawkins calls for legislation to allow poice to take DNA samples from people as they are arrested. Justice minister Phil Goff says idea has some merit but will have to be carefully studied. Police welcome idea but civil libertarians are worried. Comment from Mr Hawkins, Mr Goff, Police Assn president Greg O'Connor, and Kevin McCormack, president of nZ Council for Civil Liberties. (Corinne Ambler) INTERNATIONAL PAPERS MANA NEWS TRAFFIC REPORT
0648 BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL NEWS ASB BANK defends place among 5 main trading banks despite study last month showing ASB the only one not reaching 1% benchmark return on assets. That was put down to costs associated with expansion. Comment from managing director Ralph Norris. (Helen Matterson) APPLE AND PEAR BOARD - PAYOUT - growers supplying independent exporters angry they're missing out on Board payout even though they're still shareholders. Board chair John McCliskie says ENZA staying loyal to those staying loyal to it. (Helen Matterson) INFLATION - Reserve Bank Governor Don Brash tells Melbourne audienve about inflation-taming over past decade, says Reserve Bank expects to keep inflation within
0-3% band in medium term despite currency weakness. Dr Brash says bank wants to avoid big rises in exchange rate in future and one way of doing it is not to allow inflationary pressures build up before moving on monetary policy. (Helen Matterson) FINANCE/MARKETS BUSINESS BRIEFS EBANZ LAUNCH - new organisation to help firms wanting to do business on internet arrives. Electronic Business Assn, EBANZ, set up by Telecommunications Users Assn. TUANZ chair Judith Speight explain what businesses contemplating e-commerce have indicated they need. (Helen Matterson) FINANCIAL PLANNING - visiting US writer says industry in NZ too conservative and would be more successful if it took more aggressive approach. Larry illegible specialises in helping financial planners raise their profile and has been brought to NZ by fund managers Armstrong Jones. (Helen Matterson) CYBER ATTACKS - some of world's most popular websites overwhelmed with repeated electronic requests, technique known as denial of service, barring any other users from accessing site. Websites affected include Yahoo and CNN. British computer industry commentator Barry Fox says attack is more than vandalism, it's sign of the future, cyber war. BUSINESS BRIEFS
0700 INTRO/NEWS DNA SAMPLES - Police minister George Hawkins wants mouth swabs for DNA profiles to be taken as part of arrest procedure, along with fingerprints and photographs. Some concerns that taking samples on arrest could infringe civil liberties. Live i/v with Mr Hawkins; live i/v with Barry Wilson, president of AK Council for Civil Liberties; Criminal Bar Assn president Stuart Grieve QC believes if DNA testing introduced into arrest procedure then all people should be obliged to take it no matter what the alleged crime - i/ved live. HEALTH REPORT - 5-yearly report from Health ministry shows widening gap between rich and poor and between Māori and Pacific Islanders and non-Māori. Comment from Health director-general Dr Karen Poutasi, Tony Ruakere of Health ministry, illegible Glensor of Health Care Aotearoa, and Fran McGrath of Public Health Assn. (Mark Torley) AFGHAN HIJACK - negotiations continue at Stansted following escape from plan of both pilots and 2 other flight crew members. Live i/v with correspondent Paul Chapman. LEBANON - ISRAELI planes bombard Lebanon for 2nd time in 24 hours in retaliation for guerrilla attacks. Jerusalem correspondent David Horovitz says Hizbollah gaining upper hand in tit-for-tat standoff with Israel - i/ved. (Mng Rpt)
0730 NEWS/WEATHER NZ PAPERS FINANCE UPDATE: U.S. - PRESIDENTIAL RACE - conservtive publisherSteve Forbes abandons Republican camapgin after only coming 3rd in Delaware primary after spending millions of dollars in self-financed bid. Live i/v with correspondent Mary Tillotson. CYBER ATTACKS - for 2nd time in 3 days, some of internet's most popular sites paralysed for several house after being hit by hackers. Co-ordinated attacks pinpointed to 3 cities, highlight vulnerability of internet. (Nathan King, Feature Story) PUBLIC SMOKING - Public Health Assn calls on Health minister to extend planned outlawing of smoking in some public places to include bars and casinos, says many workers there exposed to high levels of toxic smoke. (Julian Robins) NORTHERN IRELAND - SUSPENSION - House of Commons passes Bill to allow govt to strip Northern Ireland's new power-sharing administration of its authority, following IRA's refusal to disarm. I/v with BBC political correspondent Johnny Diamond. SLEEPLESSNESS - Univ of California researches prove brain doesn't work properly after sleepless night, could be first step towards devising ways of alleviating effects of sleep deprivation and jet lag. (AAP)
0800 NEWS/WEATHER DNA SAMPLES - Police Assn welcomes Police minister's move to make it easier for them to take DNA smaples from suspects. Live i/v with Assn president Greg O'Connor; live i/v with Dr Ari Guerson, forensic scientists who helped clear David Dougherty who'd been wrongly convicted of rape. His conviction was based on DNA evidence, which later proved he could not have been the rapist. TRADE DEFICIT - December merchandising figures expected to show biggest trade deficit as proportion of exports since mid-70s. Finance minister Michael Cullen makes it clear he blames previous govt and outlines strategy to be used to deal with deficit. Exporters' Inst urges exporters to lift their game to reverse widening shortfall. (Stephen Harris) HEALTH REPORT - official report on state of countr's health urges govt to target health spending more effectively, says many health gains have been among better-off, while smoking, bad diet, obesity, diabetes increasingly concentrated in poorer neighbourhoods. Live i/ with Director General of Health Dr Karen Poutasi, Māori health researcher Dr Paparangi Reid, and Public Health Assn president Fran McGrath. TRAFFIC REPORT
0830 NEWS/WEATHER/SPORTS ILLEGAL FISHING - alarming increase in violent attacks on fisheries officers policing illegal fishing. 3 honorary officers at Port Waikato pelted withrocks by group fishing illegalyy with stake nets. Live i/v with Fisheries officer Rod McNamee. MICROSOFT facing another investigation, this time into new operating system platform Windows 2000. European Competition Commission considering whether it gives Microsoft unfair advantage over competitors. Live i/v with Marc ferranti, illegible editor of IDG News Services, worldwide information technology publisher. SAMOA - TRIAL - key prosecution witness days months spent in hiding in NZ allowed him to remember new evidence. Eneliko Visesio, allegedly hired to kill minister of Public Workd Luagalau Levaula Kamu, testifies that one of 2 cabinet ministers charged with murder offered him money to carry out the shooting. Live i/v with correspondent Alan Ah Mu. INTERNATIONAL PAPERS AFGHAN HIJACK - UN sends official from High Commission for Refugees as observer to Stansted, British newspapers running stories alleging hijack may be ploy by many on board to seek asylum in Britain. I/v with Stephen Simon, former White House counter-terrorism expert now with Inst of Strategic Studies in London, who says this hijacking not typical. (Mng Rpt) FRUIT AND VEG REPORT with Jack Forsythe.