Morning Report for Thursday 21 May 2020

6:07 AM.South Sudan's vice president, Riek Muchar and his wife, Angelina Teny have both tested positive for the coronavirus. There are now 290 cases of Covid-19 in South Sudan, and four people have died.

… Read more Audio

6:20 AM.A brief update from the business sector. Read more Audio

6:22 AM.News from the rural and farming sector. Read more Audio

6:37 AM.The Canterbury District Health Board is pushing ahead with a new medical block that its own doctors warn is the worst option available.

DHB minutes show the board was pressured to decide for fear of… Read more Audio

6:41 AM.The manager of small Taihape cafe fears the economic Covid-19 chaos will force him to lay off staff before any return of overseas visitors can begin.

Le cafe Telephonique, like most businesses in the… Read more Audio

6:48 AM.The head of NASA's human spaceflight programme has stepped down.

Doug Loverro resigned on Monday less than a year after his appointment. His resignation is just a week before two astronauts travel to… Read more Audio

6:53 AM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Read more Audio

7:08 AM.Christchurch Hospital is pushing ahead with a new $150 million medical tower block despite its own doctors pleading that it's far too small.

The five-storey tower will be over half empty because the… Read more Audio

7:12 AM.The glasses are being polished and the beer barrels tapped as New Zealand's pubs and bars prepare to re-open today.

Venues which primarily serve alcohol have had to wait an extra week to open after… Read more Audio

7:17 AM.The battle over who will lead the National Party into September's election will be decided tomorrow.

Leader Simon Bridges has summoned his MPs to Parliament for an urgent caucus meeting.

National MP… Read more Audio

7:26 AM.Small North Island towns that rely on the country's busiest highway to survive say their businesses have been devastated by a dramatic drop in people passing through.

Many fear their Government… Read more Audio

7:34 AM.The government's new Covid 19 app will not do what it's supposed to do.

That's the view of the Director of the Centre for Social Data Analytics at the Auckland University of Technology Dr Rhema… Read more Audio

7:38 AM.President Donald Trump has claimed it is "a badge of honour" that the US has the world's highest number of confirmed Covid-19 infections.

The US has 1.5 million coronavirus cases and nearly 92,000… Read more Audio

7:44 AM.New Zealand's largest construction company is set to reduce its workforce by 10 percent by cutting 1000 jobs in New Zealand and 500 in Australia.

The announcement came less than a week after the… Read more Audio

7:52 AM.Millions of people are hunkering down in India and Bangladesh as Cyclone Amphan makes landfall.

The cyclone is the worst storm to hit the Bay of Bengal in 20 years, bringing deadly storm surges… Read more Audio

8:08 AM.Tomorrow is Decision Day, with National Party MPs called to Wellington for a vote on the party leadership.

Will it be Simon Bridges or challenger Todd Muller?

Former National Party president… Read more Audio

8:15 AM.Bar operators are finalising their plans to reopen for the first time in eight weeks today - albeit under strict conditions.

The industry has been hit hard by the lockdown, with one in five… Read more Audio

8:22 AM.Sex workers say they're struggling to balance the privacy of their clients with the need to record contact tracing information, including real names and phone numbers.

They're doubtful the… Read more Audio

8:25 AM.The Mary Potter Hospice is facing a debt hole that its boss has admitted is unsustainable.

The charity's financial burden has grown after its charity shops were shut for two months and a major annual… Read more Audio

8:29 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Read more Audio

8:35 AM.A week on from the country moving to Alert Level 2, many of us are finding some relief in re-emerging into the 'new normal' by returning to work, takeaway coffee and quiet child-free homes.

But, the… Read more Audio

8:40 AM.As lockdowns ease New Zealand and Australia, the political fortunes of the leaders of both countries have soared.

While Jacinda Ardern's success in the polls has lead to a leadership coup in the… Read more Audio

8:46 AM.The future of rentable e-scooters in Wellington is on the line today.

Councillors will vote this morning on whether to allow companies such as Flamingo to continue to operate in the city.

A survey… Read more Audio

8:50 AM.The Prime Minister hasn't ruled out creating another public holiday, despite Winston Peters making it clear he does not support it.

The prospect has got lots of people excited, with many already… Read more Audio

8:57 AM.As calls grow for many more people to wear protective face masks, will there be enough to meet demand?

Well, one of New Zealand's oldest companies has already switched its production from headware to… Read more Audio