Morning Report for Tuesday 10 March 2020

6:06 AM.The next three rounds of Japan's Top League rugby competition have been suspended following the arrest of a New Zealand player for alleged illegal drug use. Read more Audio

6:17 AM.The union representing lab workers has hit back at accusations from the director general of health that it's using the coronavirus situation as leverage in an industrial dispute.

Some laboratory… Read more Audio

6:20 AM.A trial has heard a couple was responsible for lighting two separate fires in the tinder-dry Tasman region during a complete fire ban.

Benjamin Durrant and Abigail Page are accused of lighting a fire… 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

6:40 AM.A price war has wiped billions from the market value of the world's biggest oil companies after oil markets recorded one of the biggest price slumps in history.

Saudi Arabia's decision to increase… Read more Audio

6:47 AM.The government is facing criticism for not moving fast enough on a package to help businesses impacted by the coronavirus.

Yesterday Cabinet approved the development of a business continuity package… Read more Audio

6:51 AM.The National Party is calling for more urgency when it comes to supporting businesses affected by Covid-19, describing the government's attempts so far as "startlingly flat footed".

Yesterday Grant… Read more Audio

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

7:15 AM.Trading in US shares was briefly suspended after sharp falls led to an automatic halt in the selling and buying of stocks.

Once trading resumed, the three major US stock indexes were down over 6… Read more Audio

7:20 AM.The financial world is still in turmoil due to Covid-19.

BNZ is warning a recession is on the way, the cost of oil is crumbling and regional workers are struggling as business dries up.

The… Read more Audio

7:26 AM.An airline analyst is predicting more airlines could go bust as the industry struggles with the disruption caused by Covid-19.

The editor of AirlineRatings.com Steve Creedy says the sudden and… Read more Audio

7:35 AM.Andrew Coster has been named the new commissioner of the police.

He replaces Mike Bush, who retires at the end of the month.

RNZ police reporter Ben Strang has more details about the new… Read more Audio

7:43 AM.New Zealanders have been stocking up on rubber gloves and pasta in the wake of Covid-19.

While Aussies are scrapping over toilet paper, figures show New Zealanders are also stocking up on cleaning… Read more Audio

7:46 AM.As the country and Christchurch prepare to mark the first anniversary of the mosque attacks, many of those who survived are still struggling with the impact of that day.

A psychologist helping… Read more Audio

7:50 AM.Anti-smoking group ASH is decrying what it calls a deplorable waste of money by Quit Group - the charity originally commissioned to run Quitline.

Yesterday RNZ revealed that five years after Quit… Read more Audio

7:54 AM.The government is considering changing the rules to allow people to ride bikes up 15 kilometres an hour on the footpath.

Riders would have to give way to pedestrians and people in wheelchairs.

It's… Read more Audio

8:06 AM.Hockey New Zealand has cancelled a trip by the Black Sticks Men and Women's teams to play Pro League games in the Netherlands and Germany due to the coronavirus. Read more Audio

8:10 AM.BNZ's economists say it is probable not just plausible New Zealand's economy will enter a recession as the economy struggles with the coronavirus outbreak.

In a market update the bank advised it was… Read more Audio

8:16 AM.Markets around the world suffered dramatic losses on Monday as a new oil war sparked by the Covid-19 outbreak sent crude prices plummeting.

Just after markets opened, crude prices briefly dropped as… Read more Audio

8:18 AM.If you find yourself working from home to avoid the coronavirus - you might unknowingly be at risk of another virus altogether.

An expert in the IT sector is warning of an increased risk of cyber… Read more Audio

8:30 AM.A brief update on the movements in the financial sector. Read more Audio

8:36 AM.Some rain may have fallen in the north, but fire restrictions remain in place.

Last week a fire threatened at least 10 houses. Investigations are ongoing, but time, location and conditions point… Read more Audio

8:40 AM.Less than a third of Hurunui district's buildings red-stickered after the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake in have been fixed or demolished.

That leaves more than fifty that are still too unsafe to enter.

… Read more Audio

8:44 AM.A Japanese political scientist says his government's response to the coronavirus outbreak has been "staggeringly incompetent" and is warning about the country hosting the Olympics in July.

Koichi… Read more Audio

8:47 AM.After more than two years of research, a South Island company has developed the country's first plastic-free, biodegradable coffee cup.

Christchurch-based Glopac wants to go a step further and make… Read more Audio