Morning Report for Thursday 19 July 2012

8:55 AM.A Dunedin university student is willing to pay four-thousand dollars to a government-funded genetics service and become the first New Zealander to buy a map of his own DNA. Audio

8:51 AM.The Court of Appeal ruled that, in Christchurch in 2007, the Takamore whanau had acted illegally in removing the body of a family member, but this week their lawyers told the Supreme Court they were… Read more Audio

8:49 AM.Evidence at the inquest for the missing Auckland woman, Iraena Asher, has concluded and the coroner will deliver his findings on her presumed death later this morning. Audio

8:48 AM.East Coast iwi makes another legal bid to stop deepwater oil prospecting off its coastline; Corporal Willie Apiata is joining ranks of South Auckland outdoor pursuits centre, after yesterday… Read more Audio

8:40 AM.New Zealanders with birth defects caused by the drug Thalidomide, who have never received compensation, could now do so after a ground-breaking settlement in Australia. Audio

8:37 AM.Judge David Harvey has removed himself from the case after what could be interpreted as an anti-American joke at an internet conference. The district court's chief judge Jan-Marie Doogue says Judge… Read more Audio

8:35 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

8:28 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Audio

8:22 AM.The Maori Party and the Prime Minister have agreed the Government should negotiate with iwi over the vexed question of Maori claims to rights over water in lakes and rivers. Mana Party leader Hone… Read more Audio

8:12 AM.Former US state department adviser, Aaron David Miller, is now a Public Policy Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and he says the assassinations in Syria won't bring a… Read more Audio

7:57 AM.The New Zealand Olympic track cycling squad is the biggest and arguably the strongest ever with a 15-strong team, plus reserves, heading to London. Southland's Eddie Dawkins will again be the heart of… Read more Audio

7:52 AM.The chairman for Air New Zealand, John Palmer, says the company would have found it more difficult to replace its incumbent chief executive, Rob Fyfe, were the airline totally owned by the Government… Read more Audio

7:48 AM.Legal experts say Judge David Harvey was right to step down from hearing the Kim Dotcom extradition case after making a controversial quip about the United States being the enemy. Audio

7:45 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

7:40 AM.Health authorities in Hawke's Bay have issued a warning today about an outbreak of listeria that's caused one death and contributed to another. Audio

7:36 AM.Tributes are flowing for New Zealand's only living Victoria Cross holder, Corporal Willie Apiata, after his decision to leave the Defence Force after 23 years. The Minister of Defence, Jonathan… Read more Audio

7:28 AM.Radio NZ Political Editor Brent Edwards was listening to Dr Sharples in the previous interview and makes some observations. Audio

7:25 AM.Prime Minister John Key has promised the Maori Party there'll be no foreshore and seabed-style legislation that extinguishes Maori claims to water. The Maori party's co-leader Dr Pita Sharples talks… Read more Audio

7:16 AM.A founding member of the main Syrian opposition group, the Syrian National Council, who is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Arkansas in the United States, Najib Ghadbian, says the… Read more Audio

7:10 AM.In what some observers are calling a turning point in the conflict in Syria, three senior figures in President Assad's government have been killed in a suicide bomb attack in Damascus. Correspondent… Read more Audio

6:47 AM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

6:39 AM.Corporal Apiata, who's been a soldier for 23 years and a member of the New Zealand Special Air Service for the past 10 years, wants to pursue other goals and spend more time with his family. The… Read more Audio

6:37 AM.Their differences stemmed from Prime Minister John Key's comments about the Government's ability to ignore the Waitangi Tribunal's ruling into a hearing over water rights. Audio

6:27 AM.An East Coast iwi is making another legal bid to stop deepwater oil prospecting off its coastline; Corporal Willie Apiata is joining the ranks of a South Auckland outdoor pursuits centre, after… Read more Audio

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

6:18 AM.The latest from the Pacific region. Audio

6:00 AM.The latest from Syria and the suicide bombing that's killed three senior government figures; were Fijian politicians lives at risk in NZ?; water rights and the Treaty of Waitangi; Corporal Apiata… Read more Audio