Morning Report for Thursday 15 April 2021

6:11 AM.In less than 100 days, the delayed Tokyo Olympics will begin and Japanese officials are determined to make the games a success.

However, a nationwide torch relay has been derailed by a surge in… Read more Audio

6:16 AM.The speaker of the Afghan parliament, Mir Rahman Rahmani has warned that the withdrawal of foreign troops could lead to civil war.

US President Joe Biden is expected to announce the removal of all US… Read more Audio

6:21 AM.Hutt Valley High School remains hopeful the Education Ministry will demolish and replace a major classroom block that has been closed after the discovery of black mould.

Yesterday, all 1700 students… Read more Audio

6:26 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Read more Audio

6:28 AM.News from the rural and farming sector. Read more Audio

6:40 AM.The planned rollout of the government's vaccination programme is being labelled chaotic and poorly organised.

Late last night, the Ministry of Health published its immunisation targets out until the… Read more Audio

6:43 AM.The long-awaited inclusion of Pacific Island teams in Super Rugby is closer to reality after Moana Pasifika and Fijian Drua were granted conditional licences to compete next year.

New Zealand Rugby… Read more Audio

6:47 AM.The government's decision to phase out livestock exports by sea has been met with despair by some in the agricultural industry.

There are fears the ban, which has a two-year transition period, will… Read more Audio

7:12 AM.Covid-19 testing for workers in managed isolation is again under scrutiny with revelations dozens of staff may not be getting regular swabs.

Ministry of Health records show that a security guard who… Read more Audio

7:14 AM.The government is refusing to say what will be done about the failure of some border staff to have required Covid-19 tests.

It's been revealed that a border guard had not been tested since November… Read more Audio

7:21 AM.The Christchurch mosque shooter will represent himself in a fresh legal challenge at the High Court in Auckland this morning.

RNZ understands the killer wants to initiate a judicial review of the… Read more Audio

7:25 AM.The government is being asked to consider appointing an independent person to review how counter-terrorism laws are operated in New Zealand.

Justice Minister Kris Faafoi introduced the… Read more Audio

7:26 AM.Tests on truck handbrakes have found high rates of failure, and concluded that routine vehicle inspections are ineffective. The tests were triggered by three people being killed in the last four years… Read more Audio

7:37 AM.A white police officer who shot and killed a black man in Minneapolis will be charged for his death. Kim Potter fired her gun instead of her taser when trying to arrest Daunte Wright at a traffic stop… Read more Audio

7:46 AM.Rugby fans are cheering plans for Moana Pasifika and Fijian Drua to join a new professional competition next year.

New Zealand Rugby has announced both teams have been granted conditional licences to… Read more Audio

7:48 AM.Councils are frustrated they can't get rid of pokie machines, saying current law gives them no power to do what's best for their communities.

Under the Gambling Act, the most local councils can do is… Read more Audio

7:49 AM.Family doctors are feeling left out of planning for the crucial national rollout of vaccinations to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The College of General Practitioners has surveyed its members… Read more Audio

7:55 AM.The World Health Organisation is telling Pacific Island countries using the AstraZeneca vaccine that they should continue with their rollouts.

That's despite several European countries and Australia… Read more Audio

8:07 AM.All Blacks midfield back Jack Goodhue will be sidelined for the rest of the year. Read more Audio

8:11 AM.An ex-truckie from Mosgiel whose friend's truck ran away, killing a pedestrian, lays the blame on police and transport agency Waka Kotahi.

The death in 2010 in Dunedin, was followed by a similar… Read more Audio

8:16 AM.Medsafe is expected to announce its decision on whether to approve the use of Johnson and Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine today.

The government has an agreement to buy up to 5 million doses of the jab… Read more Audio

8:22 AM.The long-awaited inclusion of Pacific Island teams in Super Rugby is closer to reality after Moana Pasifika and Fijian Drua were granted conditional licences to compete next year.

They're not across… Read more Audio

8:30 AM.The detailed business case for the new Dunedin Hospital is due to finally reach Cabinet.

But New Zealand's most expensive hospital build was meant to be underway by October's election.

… Read more Audio

8:39 AM.Border workers will spend the next month testing wearable technology that can detect whether they might have Covid-19 before the user experiences symptoms.

Up to 500 volunteers will be involved in… Read more Audio

8:43 AM.A former Olympic cyclist says Whanganui will miss a huge opportunity if it chooses a "tin-shed" option for roofing the city's velodrome.

Closed since February over track-safety concerns, the council… Read more Audio

8:50 AM.Midwives in the Bay of Plenty hope the introduction of free ultrasound scans for pregnant women in their district will pave the way for the rest of the country.

The region's DHB has been partially… Read more Audio

8:52 AM.Before Covid-19 threw cold water on international travel, we were agog at pictures of traffic jams on the peak of Mount Everest.

Overcrowding was a major problem during the 2019 climbing season… Read more Audio