Morning Report for Friday 16 April 2021

6:08 AM.The United States has announced sweeping sanctions against Russia, expelling ten of its diplomats and targeting forty-six companies and individuals.

The White House blamed Moscow for a range of what… Read more Audio

6:14 AM.In Myanmar, protestors have resorted to laying out flowers and using watermelons to hold up signs as escalating military violence has made active protest a fatal undertaking.

On Friday over 70 people… Read more Audio

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

6:41 AM.Front line police officers have been carrying guns on average once a week over recent months.

In the ten months to January this year police have issued 47 temporary arming orders where staff across… Read more Audio

6:43 AM.In Minneapolis, Derek Chauvin has chosen not to testify in his trial for the murder of George Floyd.

Both the prosecution and the defence have presented their cases and the closing statements will be… Read more Audio

6:47 AM.Environmental activists say the latest snapshot of New Zealand's land reveals widespread destruction caused by intensive dairy farming.

The Environment Ministry and Stats NZ report documents how land… Read more Audio

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

6:54 AM.Horticulture New Zealand wants urgent action to stop the country's most productive land being used for housing.

Mike Chapman is Horticulture New Zealand chief executive.

He spoke to Corin Dann. Read more Audio

7:09 AM.Front line police officers have been told to carry guns on average once a week in recent months, as fears around gun violence escalate.

Some of the "temporary arming orders" - where all front line… Read more Audio

7:15 AM.Concerns over safety in Auckland's CBD have been raised after a man fired a gun in the lobby of the Sofitel in Auckland.

The police are declining interviews and have not released much detail.

Police… Read more Audio

7:21 AM.The publicity campaign for the Covid-19 vaccine is being scaled up next week and the latest research shows there are still plenty of people who need convincing.

One in five adults say they are… Read more Audio

7:25 AM.Aucklanders may be able to get their Covid-19 vaccinations at a drive through - if the tricky logistics can be sorted.

Some doctors say the McDonalds type service will help make getting vaccinated as… Read more Audio

7:28 AM.The Finance Minister has told ACC it must speed up its divestment of fossil fuels.

The agency has almost met its target of halving what it calls "carbon intensive" investments by 2030 after dumping… Read more Audio

7:36 AM.A US watchdog of state surveillance says the advisers that New Zealand police are using on its facial recognition software will have a lot to keep an eye on.

The police have called in two outside… Read more Audio

7:42 AM.Māori academics say they're having to pull double-shifts - both as researchers, and as unpaid cultural guides for their non-Māori colleagues. 

That's from a new study which found that many Māori… Read more Audio

7:47 AM.New Zealand airports are preparing to throw open the gates on Monday to quarantine-free arrivals from Australia.

It's been a while since international terminals here have seen throngs of visitors -… Read more Audio

7:49 AM.The Federation of Islamic Associations says the Office of Ethnic Communities is being insensitive by scheduling community meetings during the holy month of Ramadan.

Eleven meetings will be held over… Read more Audio

7:53 AM.The counting is almost complete and the result of Samoa's general election should be known within the next 36 hours.

Preliminary results left the election result hanging by a thread, with both major… Read more Audio

7:57 AM.The Covid-19 enforced charter flights in and out of Auckland are over and netball is returning to the regions for the fifth season of the ANZ Premiership which starts on Sunday.

Import players from… Read more Audio

8:06 AM.Lydia Ko has taken the lead early in the second round of this week's LPGA Tour golf tournament in Hawaii. Read more Audio

8:11 AM.Large numbers of front line police officers have been told to carry guns on average once a week in recent months, as fears around gun violence escalate.

RNZ has obtained figures that show "temporary… Read more Audio

8:19 AM.A pair of prominent researchers say there's little hope the reforms proposed by the Heather Simpson report will make a difference.

A paper published in the New Zealand Medical Journal this morning… Read more Audio

8:25 AM.A landmark deal has been agreed with Amazon for the Lord of the Rings television series currently being filmed in New Zealand.

A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed, provisionally granting… Read more Audio

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

8:39 AM.Getting pinged for driving while using a cell phone will soon cost motorists nearly double.

Transport Minister Michael Wood this morning announced plans to increase fines to $150 from $80 from the… Read more Audio

8:45 AM.The Hamilton City Council has done a u-turn over Māori wards.

Two weeks ago it decided to strengthen Māori representation on council committees but to defer a decison on Māori wards until after the… Read more Audio

8:51 AM.Hawke's Bay mayors are divided over new water reforms, despite all of them singing from the same song sheet less than six months ago.

The breakdown comes as the mayor of an isolated rural district… Read more Audio

8:54 AM.New Zealand's finest netballers return to the court for the first round of the ANZ Premiership this weekend and there are signs we could see a changing of the guard.

The Central Pulse have claimed… Read more Audio

8:55 AM.It's Friday so we cross the ditch to Canberra to talk to our correspondent Kerry-Anne Walsh. Read more Audio