IT'S MIDDAY. APPEALS FOR CLEMENCY AFTER A NZER IS SENTENCED TO TWO YEARS HARD LABOUR IN BURMA. FORCED TO DRINK SEAWATER. DESPERATION GROWS IN VANUATU'S REMOTE AREAS. AND WHY DO PENGUINS WADDLE? SCIENTISTS PUT THEM THROUGH THEIR PACES TO FIND THE ANSWER TO AN EVOLUTIONARY PUZZLE. DUE TO THE LIVE NATURE OF MIDDAY, WE APOLOGISE FOR THE LACK OF CAPTIONS FOR SOME ITEMS. PRESSURE FROM BUDDHIST MONKS MAY BE BEHIND THE HARSH SENTENCE IMPOSED ON A NZ BAR MANAGER IN BURMA, ACCORDING TO LABOUR'S FOREIGN AFFAIRS SPOKESMAN. PHILIP BLACKWOOD WAS JAILED FOR TWO AND A HALF YEARS AFTER BEING FOUND GUILTY OF OFFENDING BUDDHISM WITH THIS ONLINE ADVERTISEMENT FOR A CHEAP DRINKS NIGHT. I SUSPECT THE CHANGE IS COMING UNDER SOME PRESSURE FROM HARD-LINE MONKS, BUDDHIST MONKS THERE, FOR A SENTENCE THAT WILL SET AN EXAMPLE FOR OTHERS. BURMESE LAW MAKES IT ILLEGAL TO INSULT ANY RELIGION. BLACKWOOD SAYS IT WAS UNINTENTIONAL AND PLANS TO APPEAL AGAINST THE DECISION. PHILLIP SMITH HAS MADE HIS FIRST PHYSICAL COURT APPEARANCE ALONGSIDE HIS SISTER JOANNE FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE HIS CAPTURE IN BRAZIL LAST YEAR. THE CONVICTED MURDERER AND CHILD MOLESTER WAS CHAINED AND FLANKED BY SECURITY GUARDS AT THE AUCKLAND DISTRICT COURT. HE'S BEEN CHARGED WITH UNLAWFULLY ESCAPING CUSTODY, AND HIS SISTER JOANNNE, WHO WE WEREN'T ALLOWED TO FILM, HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH ASSISTING HIS ESCAPE. SMITH GAVE HIS SISTER A WINK BEFORE BEING WHISKED BACK TO PRISON. JOANNE SMITH IS ON BAIL. THE PAIR ARE SEEKING TO HAVE THEIR CASE TRANSFERRED TO THE HIGH COURT. ALMOST A WEEK AFTER THE DEVASTATION OF CYCLONE PAM, AID WORKERS ARE FINALLY BEGINNING TO REACH THE MORE REMOTE ISLANDS AROUND VANUATU WHERE AS MANY AS 10,000 HOMES HAVE BEEN DESTROYED. THE BBC'S JON DONNISON WAS AMONGST THE FIRST GROUP OF OUTSIDERS TO REACH THE ISLAND OF MOSO, WHERE RESIDENTS SAY THEY ARE HAVING TO DRINK SEA WATER TO SURVIVE. IN THIS ISLAND NATION, BOAT IS OFTEN THE ONLY WAY TO GET AROUND. ENGINE HUMS WE SET OFF FOR MOSO, ONE OF DOZENS OF ISLANDS THAT HAVE BEEN UNREACHABLE SINCE THE MOST DEVASTATING PACIFIC CYCLONE IN DECADES. AS WE ARRIVED, WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WE'D DISCOVER. THIS IS WHAT WE FOUND. THIS IS MY HOUSE HERE. WE SLEEP HERE, AND MY KITCHEN IS INSIDE THERE. AND NOW? NOW I HAVE NO HOUSE. THIS MAN HAS FOUR CHILDREN. THEY'RE GOING HUNGRY. WE GROW OUR OWN FOOD, BUT AT THE MOMENT THE CYCLONE DESTROYED ALL THE FOOD ` ALL THE GARDEN ` VEGETABLES, YAMS... EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING. SO NOW WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO EAT. AND STILL NO ONE'S BEEN HERE? YEAH, AND STILL NO ONE'S BEEN HERE TO HELP US. THE VILLAGERS HERE ON MOSO ISLAND TELL US WE'RE THE FIRST PEOPLE TO VISIT IN FIVE DAYS. ALL ACROSS VANUATU, THERE MUST BE HUNDREDS OF COMMUNITIES LIKE THIS ONE ` REMOTE, ISOLATED AND IN DESPERATE NEED OF HELP. HERE, THEY'VE BEEN HAVING TO DRINK SALT WATER FOR THE PAST TWO DAYS. FROM THE AIR, ACROSS VANUATU, THE PICTURE IS AS BLEAK AS IT IS ON THE GROUND. ON MOSO ISLAND, PEOPLE CAN'T SURVIVE LIKE THIS FOR LONG. EVEN THEIR CLOTHES THEY'RE WASHING IN FILTHY WATER. NO PEOPLE COME TO HELP US. AND HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL? I FEEL VERY SADLY. WE NEED FOOD, WATER AND... WE NEED HELP ` ANY HELP. PEOPLE HERE ARE HAVING TO HELP THEMSELVES, HUNGRY, HOMELESS AND ALONE. OUR PACIFIC CORRESPONDENT BARBARA DREAVER SAYS THAT SERIOUS LACK OF FOOD IS A MAJOR CONCERN. 100% OF THE CROPS DESTROYED ARE DESTROYED, AND SO WHAT PEOPLE ARE DOING IS THAT THEY'RE STARTING TO REPLANT, WHAT PEOPLE ARE USING ` NOT JUST IN TANNA BUT IN OTHER AREAS AS WELL ` IS THE FOOD THAT'S LYING AROUND ON THE GROUND AND CROPS THAT ARE STILL OK TO USE, BUT IN THE NEXT WEEK WE'RE GOING TO SEE A VERY SERIOUS SITUATION, AND THE AID AGENCIES HERE ARE SAYING FOOD SECURITY IS GOING TO BE THE NUMBER ONE PROBLEM. THAT'S PACIFIC CORRESPONDENT, BARBARA DREAVER. GROUPS SEEKING THE FULL RESTORATION OF CHRISTCHURCH'S EARTHQUAKE-DAMAGED ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL ARE REJECTING A COMPROMISE PROPOSAL ON THE REBUILD. THE PROPOSAL IS FROM RESPECTED ARCHITECT SIR MILES WARREN. IT RETAINS SOME OF THE BASIC STRUCTURE BUT WOULD ESSENTIALLY COMPLETE THE BUILDING WITH A GOTHIC INTERIOR USING MODERN MATERIALS AND TIMBER. BUT THAT'S NOT ENOUGH FOR THE RESTORATION GROUPS. IT'S NOT A COMPROMISE. IT'S A NEW BUILDING. IT'S A NEW OPTION ` WOULD BE A REPLICA OPTION IN THE EVENT OF DEMOLITION. THE GROUPS HAVE ALREADY SAID THEY WILL OPPOSE ANY APPLICATION FOR DEMOLITION. THE CHURCH SAYS IT KEEN TO CANVAS PUBLIC OPINION ON SIR MILES'S PLAN. A TEENAGER WHO ATTACKED AN ELDERLY COUPLE IN THEIR HOME IN WAIKANAE LAST YEAR HAS BEEN JAILED FOR FIVE YEARS AND NINE MONTHS. HOHEPA WALLACE (18) HAD PREVIOUSLY PLEADED GUILTY TO CHARGES OF BURGLARY AND WOUNDING WITH INTENT TO CAUSE GRIEVOUS BODILY HARM. THE HOME INVASION LEFT THE COUPLE IN HOSPITAL WITH SERIOUS HEAD INJURIES. ISRAEL'S PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU HAS DECLARED VICTORY IN THE COUNTRY'S GENERAL ELECTION, DESPITE THE POLLS SUGGESTING THE RESULT WAS TOO CLOSE TO CALL. MILLIONS TURNED OUT TO VOTE IN A CONTEST THAT HAD THE ECONOMY, RATHER THAN SECURITY, AT ITS HEART. THE BBC'S JEREMY BOWEN IS IN TEL AVIV. ELECTIONS ARE A TENSE BUSINESS. AT THE ZIONIST UNION ELECTION NIGHT HQ, SOME CELEBRATED, OTHERS SEEMED TO THINK THEIR PARTY HADN'T DONE WELL ENOUGH. VERY CLOSE BY IN TEL AVIV, THESE SUPPORTERS WERE GOING THROUGH SOMETHING VERY SIMILAR. IN FACT, COALITION BARGAINING STARTS HERE. THE SMALLER PARTIES CAN BECOME KINGMAKERS, EXTRACTING MINISTERIAL POSITIONS AND FAVOURS FOR THEIR FOLLOWERS IN RETURN FOR SUPPORT. IN A COUNTRY WHERE IT'S POSSIBLE TO LIVE VERY WELL, ECONOMIC PRESSURES BECAME THE MOST POTENT ISSUES IN THE CAMPAIGN. THE LEADER OF ZIONIST UNION, THE CENTRE LEFT ALLIANCE, DID NOT LET UP ON SOCIAL AND FINANCIAL ISSUES. AND LED THE POLLS THROUGH THE LAST WEEKS OF CAMPAIGNING. ONE SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT CAME FROM HAIFA IN THE NORTH, ABOUT THE CLOSEST ISRAEL GETS TO A MIXED CITY WHERE ITS JEWISH AND ARAB CITIZENS CAN LIVE IN RELATIVE HARMONY. THIS MAN, HEADING OUT TO VOTE FROM HIS HOME IN HAIFA, LEADS THE JOINT LIST, AN ALLIANCE OF PARTIES MAINLY REPRESENTING THE 20% OR SO OF THE ISRAELI CITIZENS WHO ARE FROM PALESTINIAN FAMILIES WHO DIDN'T FLEE OR GET EXPELLED WHEN ISRAEL WAS CREATED IN 1948. HE TOLD ME THIS DAY WOULD BE HISTORIC AS HIS PARTY WOULD PUSH THE RIGHT WING OFF INTO OPPOSITION. THAT MIGHT NOT HAPPEN. BUT THE JOINT LIST HAS SHOWN THAT ISRAEL'S ARAB CITIZENS ARE READY TO FLEX SOME NEW POLITICAL MUSCLES. POTENTIALLY PROVIDING CRUCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE CENTRE LEFT. PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU LOOKED AS CONFIDENT AS EVER WHEN HE VOTED, BUT HE'D ALREADY WARNED HIS SUPPORTERS THAT HE MIGHT LOSE HIS JOB. HE TRIED TO SQUEEZE MORE VOTES OUT OF THE ISRAELI RIGHT BY DECLARING OPENLY FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT HE'D NEVER ALLOW A PALESTINIAN STATE, A VIEW SUPPORTERS OF PALESTINIAN INDEPENDENCE BELIEVE HE'S ALWAYS HAD. IF THE RESULT THAT EMERGES IS A GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL UNITY, ANOTHER ELECTION MIGHT NOT BE TOO FAR OFF. AND PEACE INITIATIVES WOULD REMAIN OFF THE AGENDA. NETENYAHU SUPPORTERS ARE SOUNDING VERY POSITIVE FOR THE TV CAMERAS, BUT THE POLITICIANS HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE FINAL RESULT. IF THEY'RE ANYTHING LIKE THE EXIT POLLS, IT WON'T BE IMMEDIATELY CLEAR WHO THE PRESIDENT WILL CALL UPON TO FORM THE NEXT GOVERNMENT. THE ISRAELI PEOPLE HAVE NOT VOTED FOR ANY KIND OF RADICAL CHANGE. BUT THEY HAVEN'T GIVEN NETENYAHU A RESOUNDING VOTE OF CONFIDENCE EITHER. A DEFENCE EXPERT'S TOLD THE MARK LUNDY JURY TRIAL THAT SOME TISSUE FOUND ON THE MURDER ACCUSED'S POLO SHIRT MAY HAVE BEEN FOOD RATHER THAN HUMAN BRAIN MATTER. CLINICAL NEUROPATHOLOGIST JAMES IRONSIDE FROM EDINBURGH REVIEWED A NUMBER OF GLASS SLIDES, BUT THE ORIGIN OF THE TISSUE MATERIAL HAD DEGRADED. HE TOLD THE COURT THE TISSUE MAY HAVE COME FROM AN ANIMAL INSTEAD OF A HUMAN. IN SOME BUTCHERY PREPARATIONS ` NECK CHOPS OR LAMB CHOPS ` ONE CAN SOMETIMES SEE THE SPINAL CORD OF THE BONE BUT UNDER CROSS-EXAMINATION BY THE CROWN, PROFESSOR IRONSIDE AGREED HE HAD NO DOUBT SOME TISSUE FROM A HUMAN CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM WAS DETECTED USING ANOTHER TESTING METHOD. THE RETAILERS ASSOCIATION IS WELCOMING THE GOVERNMENT'S PROPOSAL TO IMPOSE GST ON ALL ONLINE TRANSACTIONS. THE PLAN WOULD SEE THE 15% GOODS AND SERVICES TAX ADDED TO ALL ONLINE PURCHASES. JOHN KEY'S PREDICTING THAT AS A RESULT, THE GOVERNMENT'S TAX REVENUE WOULD INCREASE BY MORE THAN $200M A YEAR. LOCAL RETAILERS SAY IT'S A GOOD MOVE. WE'VE BEEN TALKING TO THE GOVERNMENT FOR A NUMBER A OF YEARS ABOUT THIS LOOPHOLE. EFFECTIVELY, IT'S A REVERSE TARIFF, WHICH MEANS THAT CONSUMERS ARE ACTUALLY CHARGED MORE WHEN THEY SHOP LOCALLY, EITHER IN-STORE OR ONLINE, AND THAT MEANS THAT LOCAL RETAILERS CAN'T COMPETE FAIRLY WITH OFFSHORE WEBSITES WHO DON'T HAVE TO CHARGE GST. IT'S NOT YET KNOWN WHEN THE LAW CHANGES WILL TAKE EFFECT. A NEW SHELTER IS BEING BUILT TO PROTECT THE SITE OF THE WORLD'S WORST NUCLEAR ACCIDENT AT CHERNOBYL. THE CATASTROPHIC EXPLOSION IN 1986 CAUSED 31 DEATHS AND THE SPREAD OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL ACROSS EUROPE. THE BBC'S DAVID SHUKMAN REPORTS. THE INT FIGURES OF OCNSTRUCTION WORKERS ON A CLIFF OF STEEL HERE AT CHERNOBYL IN UKRAINE. NOTHING LIKE THIS HUGE STUCTURE HAS BEEN BUILT BEFORE IT'LL BE THE LARGEST MOVABLE OBJECT EVER CREATED ON LAND. THE PLAN IS FOR THIS GREAT ARCH TO BECOME A HIGH-TECH SHIELD OR LID THAT WILL ENCLOSE THE HIGHLY DANGEROUS AND BETTERED REACTOR THAT STANDS BESIDE IT. IT WAS NEARLY 30 YEARS AGO THAT REACTOR NUMBER FOUR WAS TORN APART IN THE MOST NOTORIOUS AND DAMAGING OF ALL NUCLEAR ACCIDENTS. AFTER ALL THIS TIME, THE RADIOACTIVE MESS INSIDE IS STILL SITTING THERE. LESS THAN 5% OF RADIATION IN REACTOR FOUR WAS RELEASED TO THE ENVIRONMENT DURING THE EXPLOSION. AND IT CONTAMINATED LARGE PARTS OF EUROPE. SO AN INTERNATIONAL PROJECT IS TAKING SHAPE, READY IN TWO YEARS. PAINFUL REMINDERS OF THE THOUSANDS ORDERED TO FLEE BECAUSE THE FAULTS WERE CLUMSILY HANDLED THE NEW SHELTER CAN MAKE THE PLACE SAFER. HERE'S A QUESTION YOU WANT ANSWERED ` WHY DO PENGUINS WADDLE? SCIENTISTS AT THE LONDON ZOO HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIND OUT BY PUTTING THEM THROUGH THEIR PACES ON A SPECIALLY BUILT TREADMILL. THE BBC'S REBECCA MORRELL SAYS IT MAY REVEAL THE ANSWERS TO AN EVOLUTIONARY PUZZLE. GETTING AROUND IF YOU'RE A PENGUIN ISN'T EASY. WITH THEIR TINY LEGS AND STIFF UPRIGHT POSTURE, IT'S ALL A LITTLE, WELL, UNGAINLY, BUT AT LONDON ZOO, SCIENTISTS ARE TRYING TO SHED LIGHT ON WHAT LIES BEHIND THE WADDLE. THE PENGUINS ARE BEING PUT TO THE TEST. THE IDEA IS TO LURE THEM OVER THIS HIGH-TECH TRACK LOADED WITH SENSORS, BUT IT DOESN'T ALWAYS GO TO PLAN. WITH A BIT OF ENCOURAGEMENT, THOUGH, SUCCESS. WE'RE HOPING TO FIND OUT HOW PENGUINS USE THEIR LEGS TO WADDLE. THEY'RE APPLYING FORCES LEFT AND RIGHT AS THEY SWING THEIR BODY FROM SIDE TO SIDE, AND WHAT'S NOT KNOWN ABOUT PENGUINS IS HOW THE LEGS DO THAT ` HOW BIG ARE THE SIDEWAYS FORCES ON PENGUIN LEGS, AND HOW DOES THAT COMPARE TO OTHER WADDLING BIRDS? IT'S ONLY WHEN YOU GET UP CLOSE TO PENGUINS LIKE PUDDLE AND CLYDE HERE THAT YOU SEE JUST HOW STRANGELY THEY'RE PUT TOGETHER, BUT IT TURNS OUT PENGUINS DIDN'T ALWAYS WADDLE, AND, IN FACT, THEIR ANCIENT ANCESTORS MOVED IN A MUCH MORE ELEGANT WAY. YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO BE PECKED BY ONE OF THESE. SOME ANCIENT PENGUINS WERE AS BIG AS HUMANS, AND WITH A MORE HORIZONTAL POSTURE AND DIFFERENT LEG ANATOMY, THERE WAS HARDLY A HINT OF WADDLE. THE CHANGE MAY HAVE HAPPENED HERE. TODAY'S BIRDS ARE INCREDIBLE SWIMMERS, AND AS THEIR BODIES BECAME BETTER ADAPTED TO WATER, PENGUINS GREW MORE AND MORE CLUMSY ON LAND. HERE THEY COME. ROUND TWO. THE SCIENTISTS HOPE THEIR EXPERIMENTS HERE CAN PINPOINT HOW AND WHEN ONE OF NATURE'S WEIRDEST WALKS EVOLVED ` EVEN IF THE PENGUINS THEMSELVES ARE A BIT PUZZLED BY ALL THE ATTENTION. SHE'S PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST CELEBRATED 93-YEAR-OLD ACTRESSES IN THE WORLD, AND NOW BETTY WHITE WILL NEED TO CLEAR ANOTHER SPACE IN HER TROPHY CABINET. THE GOLDEN GIRLS STAR WILL RECEIVE A LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT EMMY AWARD AT THE DAYTIME EMMY AWARDS NEXT MONTH. WHITE'S ACTING CAREER HAS SPANNED 70 YEARS. HER BIGGEST COMMERCIAL CAME DURING THE 1980S WITH THE GOLDEN GIRLS. STILL TO COME ON MIDDAY ` IMAGES OF THE LAST NIGHT'S SOUTHERN AURORA. AND WOULD ARSENAL'S ATTACKING GAMBLE PAY OFF IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TIE IN MONACO? IN MIDDAY SPORT ` ARSENAL HAD TO GO ON THE ATTACK IN THEIR CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOOTBALL MATCH IN MONACO THIS MORNING. THEY WERE TWO GOALS BEHIND GOING INTO THE AWAY LEG OF THE TIE, AND THEIR APPROACH NEARLY PAID OFF. THIS FROM ANDY SWISS. IN THE CASINO CAPITAL OF EUROPE, ARSENAL'S LAST ROLL OF THE DICE. NEEDING AT LEAST THREE GOALS, THEY HAD TO GO FOR BROKE AGAINST MONACO, AND THEIR GAMBLED SOON SEEMED TO BE PAYING OFF. OLIVIER GIROUD BLASTING THEM INTO A FIRST-HALF LEAD. WAS THE GREAT COMEBACK ON? MONACO, WITH THE MEANEST DEFENCE IN THE ENTIRE COMPETITION, WAS SUDDENLY FLOUNDERING. DANNY WELBECK'S EFFORT DESPERATELY BLOCKED. AND AFTER THE BREAK THERE WAS NO LET-UP. THEO WALCOTT HIT THE POST, THE CLEARANCE FELL TO AARON RAMSEY, AND THIS TIME ARSENAL WERE NOT TO BE DENIED. 12 MINUTES LEFT, ONE GOAL NEEDED. COULD THEY DO IT? HOW CLOSE THEY CAME. GIROUD'S EFFORT CLAWED OFF THE LINE. BY THAT THINNEST OF MARGINS, THEIR HOPES WERE DASHED. MONACO THROUGH ON AWAY GOALS, ARSENAL BOLD AND BRAVE BUT AGONISINGLY OUT. THERE WILL BE NO SECOND CHANCES FOR BLACKCAPS SPINNER DANIEL VETTORI IN NZ'S CRICKET WORLD CUP QUARTER-FINAL AGAINST THE WEST INDIES IN WELLINGTON ON SATURDAY. THE 36-YEAR-OLD IS LIKEY TO RETIRE AFTER THE WORLD CUP, BUT THAT IS THE LAST THING ON HIS MIND. I THINK THOSE THINGS MAY DAWN ON ME A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO THE TIME, BUT HOPEFULLY IT'S SIMPLY ABOUT THE TEAM AT THIS STAGE. VETTORI HAS 13 WICKETS AT THE WORLD CUP ` MORE THAN ANY OTHER SPINNER. THE CRICKET WORLD CUP QUARTER-FINALS KICK OFF TODAY WITH SOUTH AFRICA KEEN TO REAFFIRM THEY'RE FAVOURITES AGAINST SRI LANKA IN SYDNEY. SOUTH AFRICA DROPPED TWO MATCHES DURING POOL PLAY, BUT THEIR CAPTAIN IS INSISTING THAT COUNTS FOR NOTHING NOW. WE FINISHED SECOND IN THE GROUP STILL, AND THAT'S WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO. NO ONE'S GONNA ASK US IF WE PLAYED EXCEPTIONAL CRICKET WHEN WE WERE IN THE WORLD CUP. WE'RE JUST GONNA SAY THAT WE WON THE CUP. FIGHTING WORDS. AND DE VILLIERS WILL BE KEY. HE AND HIS SRI LANKAN RIVAL KUMAR SANGAKKARA ARE THE TWO LEADING RUN-SCORERS LEFT AT THE WORLD CUP. AND PAKISTAN HAVE SUFFERED A BIG BLOW AHEAD OF THE QUARTER-FINAL AGAINST AUSTRALIA IN ADELAIDE ON FRIDAY. THEIR 7'1" PACEMAN, MOHAMMED IFRAN, HAS BEEN RULED OUT OF THE REST OF THE WORLD CUP WITH A PELVIS INJURY. PAKISTAN WILL CALL UP A REPLACEMENT IF REQUIRED AFTER THEIR QUARTER-FINAL. CYCLING'S GOVERNING BODY IS OUTRAGED THAT DISGRACED ATHLETE LANCE ARMSTRONG HAS BEEN ASKED TO RIDE PART OF THIS YEAR'S TOUR DE FRANCE FOR CHARITY. ARMSTRONG WAS INVITED BY FORMER ENGLISH FOOTBALL PLAYER GEOFF THOMAS TO JOIN HIM IN RAISING MONEY FOR A LEUKAEMIA CHARITY. THE HEAD OF CYCLING'S GLOBAL BODY HAS BLASTED THE MOVE AS DISRESPECTFUL AND INAPPROPRIATE, BUT CAN'T STOP ARMSTRONG JOINING THE RIDE. STILL TO COME ON MIDDAY ` I'LL BE BACK WITH THE AFTERNOON WEATHER AND IMAGES OF LAST NIGHT'S SOUTHERN AURORA. How do you stay in the home you've worked a lifetime for? A Heartland home equity loan lets you borrow against your home without having to worry about making regular repayments so you can release cash for that overdue home renovation, upgrading your car or that bucket list trip of a lifetime. So to enjoy your retirement with independence and dignity, choose a Heartland home equity loan. For more information, visit our website, heartland.co.nz. Heartland ` NZ's specialist bank. FORENSIC SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THEY'VE FOUND THE TOMB OF SPAIN'S MUCH-LOVED GIANT OF LITERATURE, MIGUEL DE CERVANTES, THE AUTHOR WAS BURIED IN A CONVENT IN MADRID IN 1616, BUT HIS COFFIN WAS LOST WHEN THE CONVENT WAS REBUILT. BBC'S WILL GOMPERTZ REPORTS. HE WAS THE LITERARY VOICE OF THE SPANISH GOLDEN AGE. MIGUEL DE CERVANTES ` WARRIOR, PRISONER AND WRITER ` DIED NEARLY 400 YEARS AGO. TODAY IT WAS CLAIMED THAT THESE BONES ARE THOSE OF SPAIN'S GREAT PRINCE OF LETTERS. THEY WERE DISCOVERED BY A TEAM OF 30 RESEARCHERS WHO USED INFRARED CAMERAS, 3-D SCANNERS AND GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR TO PINPOINT THE EXACT BURIAL SITE IN THE UNDERGROUND CRYPT OF A CONVENT IN MADRID. (SPEAKS SPANISH) TRANSLATOR: MIGUEL DE CERVANTES IS A MYTH. HE'S UNIVERSAL. TO HAVE A PLACE WHERE WE KNOW HE'S RESTING, TO HAVE A GRAVE FOR HIM, THAT WILL HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE CENTRE OF MADRID CULTURALLY BUT ALSO TOURISTICALLY AND ACADEMICALLY. THE GREAT ENCHANTER. THE GREAT ENCHANTER? YES. CERVANTES IS SAID TO HAVE INVENTED THE MODERN EUROPEAN NOVEL WITH HIS STORY OF DON QUIXOTE, A DELUSIONAL NOBLEMAN WHO WITH HIS LOWER-BORN SIDEKICK, SANCHO PANZA, ATTEMPTS TO MAKE THE WORLD A MORE CHIVALROUS PLACE IT IS AN EPIC TALE THAT'S BEEN REINTERPRETED IN ART, POETRY AND FILM. I COULD TAKE ABOUT DON QUIXOTE FOR HOURS AND HOURS. IT'S THE FIRST GREAT MODERN NOVEL. IT UNLEASHED ALL THE NOVELS THAT HAVE COME AFTERWARDS IN TERMS OF ALL THE WAYS YOU CAN TELL A STORY. THE EARLY 17TH CENTURY BOOK, WHICH HAS BEEN PUBLISHED IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES, HAS NEVER BEEN OUT OF PRINT. I'M HERE AT THE BRITIHS LIBRARY, WHICH HAS GOT ONE OF THE FINEST COLLECTIONS OUTSIDE OF SPAIN OF CERVANTES' WORK, INCLUDING SEVERAL EDITIONS OF DON QUIXOTE. THERE'S THIS EARLY ENGLISH TRANSLATION HERE FROM AROUND 1687, AN ORIGINAL FIRST EDITION IN SPANISH FROM 1605, AND THIS ONE, WHICH I LOVE, WHICH IS FROM 1947. IT'S BEEN ILLUSTRATED BY SALVADOR DALI. CERVANTES WILL BE REBURIED IN THE SAME CONVENT WHOSE RELIGIOUS ORDER ONCE HELPED PAY HIS RANSOM AFTER HE WAS CAPTURED BY PIRATES ALL THOSE CENTURIES AGO. GIVEN IT WILL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC FOR THE FIRST TIME NEXT YEAR TO CELEBRATE HIS 400TH ANNIVERSARY, YOU MIGHT THINK THAT AT LAST HE HAS THE CHANCE TO PAY THEM BACK. WEATHER IS NEXT, BUT FIRST LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE TOP STORIES TODAY. NZER PHILIP BLACKWOOD (32) HAS BEEN SENTENCED TO TWO AND A HALF YEARS IN A BURMA PRISON FOR INSULTING THE BUDDHIST RELIGION. AID WORKERS ARE FINALLY REACHING THE MORE REMOTE ISLANDS AROUND VANUATU, WHERE AS MANY AS 10,000 HOMES HAVE BEEN DESTROYED, AND RESIDENTS ARE DANGEROUSLY LOW ON FOOD AND CLEAN WATER. ISRAEL'S PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU HAS DECLARED VICTORY IN THE COUNTRY'S GENERAL ELECTION, DESPITE THE POLLS SUGGESTING THE RESULT WAS TOO CLOSE TO CALL. NOW TO THE WEATHER. A WEAK TROUGH MOVES SLOWLY OVER THE NORTHERN PART OF THE NORTH ISLAND AND SHOULD LIE OVER THE COROMANDEL PENINSULA LATE TONIGHT. MEANWHILE, A HIGH OVER THE TASMAN SEA IS EDGING CLOSER, BRINGING SETTLED CONDITIONS TOMORROW. FOR WEATHER, SEE ONENEWS.CO.NZ IT WAS A GOOD NIGHT TO BE AN AURORA CHASER LAST NIGHT. CHRIS WATSON FILMED THIS TIME LAPSE IN TE ANAU OVERNIGHT ` ONE OF MANY NZERS WHO CAUGHT A GLIMPSE OF THE SOUTHERN LIGHTS. THE NATURAL LIGHT DISPLAY IS USUALLY ONLY VISIBLE FROM THE SOUTH ISLAND, BUT LAST NIGHT IT WAS SEEN BY EXCITED ASTRONOMERS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. THANKS FOR JOINING US. THE ONE NEWS HOUR WILL BE HERE AT 6. GOOD AFTERNOON. CAPTIONS BY SARAH MAIAVA AND IMOGEN STAINES. CAPTIONS WERE MADE POSSIBLE WITH FUNDING FROM NZ ON AIR. COPYRIGHT ABLE 2015