Morning Report

Victims of bullying in the police are dismissing an independent review as a whitewash.

It was carried out by Debbie Francis, the consultant who investigated bullying and harassment at parliament.

She's told the police they should scrap the much criticised Speak Up complaints system and while victims are happy with that, they're angry Francis has also concluded there is no evidence of widespread bullying in the force.

The review was launched after RNZ reporter Ben Strang talked to more than 100 police staff members about what they called a bullying culture.

Ben speaks to Susie Ferguson.

The Black Caps cricket coach Gary Stead believes they're well placed to become the first New Zealand side to win a one-day series in Australia.

News from the business sector, including a market report.

A woman has been convicted and fined for smuggling Asiatic black bear bile from China - the first such case in New Zealand.

Litao Xu was fined $7500 after pleading guilty in Auckland District Court yesterday to illegally importing twelve vials of crystal made from the bile.

The bears are protected and any trade in the bears, or products made from them, is prohibited.

Dylan Swain from the Department of Conservation told RNZ reporter Amy Williams, the woman had previously tried to bring in seahorses and endangered plants.

School librarians want the government to protect their libraries and guarantee their funding.

They say survey results show that last year one in five schools cut funding to their library and that libraries often suffer when schools are over-crowded or short of money.

The president of the School Library Association, Glenys Bichan told RNZ education correspondent, John Gerritsen, it wants the government to step in.

A criminologist is questioning whether the police have actually started routinely arming some officers for day-to-day police work.

New figures show Armed Response Teams were sent to 75 jobs on average a day in the first few weeks of their six month trial which began in late October.

That's 50 times more often than Armed Offenders Squads, which average 1.3 a day.

The police admit some of jobs they go to are low risk like traffic-stops but say they can't have the teams sitting around idle.

Victoria University criminologist Simon Mackenzie says having roving officers with guns, for no specific reason, would meet many people's definition of routine arming.

The British government says up to a fifth of the workforce may be off sick during the peak of a coronavirus epidemic in the UK.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the government's plans for responding to the outbreak earlier this morning.

During that announcement, he told media he was still shaking the hands of infected people.

London correspondent Olly Barratt speaks to Susie Ferguson.

News from the rural and farming sector.

A brief update from the business sector.

Tennessee, which is voting in Super Tuesday, has been hit by a tornado.

Nineteen people have been killed in Nashville.

The director of Nashville's office of fire and emergency management, William Swann, told CNN Urban Search and Rescue teams were combing through destroyed homes.

Michael Patrick Leahy is the Editor-in-chief of The Tennessee Star.

He speaks to Corin Dann.