Morning Report for Thursday 24 January 2013

8:55 AM.Beyonce delivered what critics have called one of the best renditions of the American national anthem ever, at President Obama's inauguration. However some have claimed that she was lip-synching. Audio

8:51 AM.The retiring All Whites captain and 2010 World Cup star Ryan Nelsen is being described as the best football player New Zealand has ever produced. Audio

8:48 AM.Ratana Church members will receive more visitors today including the Maori King Tuheitia and other important dignatries; A Ngati Rangitihi iwi member wants a suffering multinational paper mill to pack… Read more Audio

8:42 AM.A new study has found overweight people are twice as likely to die in a car crash. Audio

8:39 AM.To the Australian Open where more nail biting action is expected as the first of the men and women's semi finals get underway as the contest narrows to the final few. Audio

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

8:30 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Audio

8:27 AM.Two years after the Christchurch earthquakes, the city council has only finished detailed assessments of about half its community facilities, and nasty surprises are still cropping up. Audio

8:23 AM.The Green Party has announced a new housing package it says would put home ownership within reach of tens of thousands of low- and middle-income families. Audio

8:20 AM.The first students from a new style of teacher training are about to start work in schools after just eight weeks of pressure-cooker preparation. Audio

8:17 AM.The Government's earmarking an initial 80 million dollars in this year's Budget for irrigation projects. Audio

8:12 AM.A Christchurch-based consultant says people will die if Pharmac decides not to fund a wonder drug used to treat a very rare blood disease. Audio

8:08 AM.Pita Sharples will remain the Maori Party's co-leader until the party can figure out how to handle a challenge from the Waiariki MP, Te Ururoa Flavell. Audio

7:52 AM.The Defence Force says yesterday's fire near Christchurch may result in a review of the way it conducts grenade training. Audio

7:48 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

7:43 AM.More than 40 firefighters will continue tackling the fire on Great Barrier Island today, before the winds pick up again tomorrow. Audio

7:41 AM.A search is underway for a missing plan carrying three Canadian men, reported missing on a flight from the South Pole to the Italian base in Terra Nova Bay. Audio

7:37 AM.The first of the funerals for three New Zealanders, killed in a mini van crash in Kenya last week, will take place in Tauranga today. Audio

7:26 AM.The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton has taken responsibility for the security failures that led to the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi in Libya on September the 11th last year. Audio

7:23 AM.Eight patients with a rare blood disease are calling on the drug-buying agency Pharmac to fund what they say is a life-saving medicine. Audio

7:17 AM.The Prime Minister, John Key, says it's likely another report will be commissioned into whether David Bain should be paid compensation for the nearly 13 years he spent in jail for murdering his… Read more Audio

7:13 AM.The leader of the, Mana movement, the former Maori Party MP Hone Harawira, says on-going spats within the Maori Party are destroying it from within. Audio

7:08 AM.Pita Sharples will remain as Maori Party co-leader for the time being after the party's national council said its rules do not allow the Waiariki MP, Te Ururoa Flavell, to challenge for the job. Audio

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

6:38 AM.In one of the most important speeches of his career the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has promised a referendum on the whether the UK should stay in the EU. Audio

6:36 AM.Pita Sharples will remain the Maori Party's co-leader until the party can figure out how to handle a challenge from the Waiariki MP, Te Ururoa Flavell. Audio

6:27 AM.A Ngati Rangitihi iwi member wants a suffering multinational paper mill to pack up and leave the eastern Bay of Plenty - saying it employs few if any tribal members; Ratana Church members will receive… Read more Audio

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

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

6:14 AM.More than 40 firefighters will be tackling the fire on Great Barrier Island today, in a bid to dampen down hotspots before the winds pick up again tomorrow. Audio

6:00 AM.Maori Party co-leaders keep jobs despite challenge, Harawira says Maori Party leadership row destroying party, Another Bain report likely over compensation claim, Patients with rare disease demand… Read more Audio