The Front Page podcast: Two-minute silence on Friday, teen jailed for king-hit death

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern consoles a student during a visit to Cashmere High School in Christchurch today. Photo / AP

Each weekday The Front Page keeps you up to date with the biggest news in New Zealand. Today, the Prime Minister anounces a two-minute silence on Friday to remember the victims of the Christchurch mosque attack, a woman is arrested for inciting racial disharmony, a teenager has been jailed for killing a security guard with a single punch, and an ancient, giant swamp kauri is unearthed in Northland. Hosted by Juliette Sivertsen.

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There'll be a two-minute silence on Friday, to remember the victims of the Christchurch mosque attacks.

Jacinda Ardern made the announcement in Christchurch today, following a meeting with St John first responders and addressing an assembly at Cashmere High School this morning.

Ardern also met with Muslim community leaders, and acknowledged their "resolve" to support those who are grieving.

Ardern discussed with them and with local authorities a national memorial service.

She said it would be held in Christchurch, but was looking at how to involve the rest of the country too.

There will be a two-minute silence on Friday, and a call to prayer, broadcast on RNZ and TVNZ.

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The first of the burials of the mosque attack victims were held today.

Kahled and Hamza Mustafa began their final journey today carried in a white van escorted by police, across the city they loved and called home, to their final resting place.

The pair were the first of the 50 victims to be laid to rest, at a funeral service in the city's east today.

Their shrouded bodies were contained in simple open boxes and carried aloft, high above the heads of their loved ones, into the marquee.

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A Christchurch businessman has appeared in court on charges of distributing footage of one of the mosque shootings.

44-year-old Philip Neville Arps had his application for bail declined when he appeared in the Christchurch District Court today.

Arps, who runs an insulation business, faced two charges of distributing the livestream "of the multiple murder victims at the Deans Ave Mosque".

He was remanded in custody to reappear next month.

The charges have a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

An 18-year-old man is also being held in custody for sharing the shooting footage and "inciting extreme violence".

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A Wairarapa woman has been arrested on suspicion of inciting racial disharmony after a hateful message was posted to her Facebook page in response to the Christchurch shootings.

The offence falls under the Human Rights Act and carries a maximum penalty of three months' imprisonment or a $7000 fine.

Police say a decision is still to be made about whether the woman will be charged and put before the court, or face an alternative resolution.

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A teenager's been jailed for two years for killing a security guard with a single punch.

Eighteen-year-old Sydney Jayden Kokiri's been jailed for the manslaughter of Serbian national Goran Milosavljevic.

He'd previously pleaded guilty.

The Judge gave Kokiri a 25 per cent sentence discount for his youth, remorse and prospects of rehabilitation and another 25 per cent for his guilty plea.

Neither of Milosavljevic's two sons were in court today but their statements were read aloud.

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An arrest has been made over the Mangere murder of Arthur Brown.

A 20-year-old man has been charged with the March 10 murder after police executed a number of search warrants in Counties Manukau this morning.

Two other people are currently assisting police with their inquiries, and several firearms were also recovered during the search.

Brown was shot while standing outside some shops in the early hours of March 10.

His wife gave birth to their first child just days after his death.

The funeral for Brown, also known as Afa, was held earlier today.

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Fonterra is back in the black.

The dairy giant has returned to profitability with a net profit after tax of 80-million dollars.

That's up 123 per cent on the previous year.

But earnings aren't as high as they should be.

Earnings before interest and tax fell 29 per cent to $323million.

And it's thought to be as a result of problems across the ditch.

Fonterra CFO, Marc Rivers, says Fonterra's Australia business had a very challenging first half, with gross margins down from $50million to $8m.

Fonterra has forecast Farmgate Milk Price of $6.30-$6.60 per kilogram of milk solids, and an earnings guidance range of 15-25 cents per share for the year to July 31.

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But a not-so-strong result for milk company Synlait.

It's reported a drop in profits, although says it's still a solid result overall.

It's made a net after tax profit of $37.3million in the first half of the financial year.

That's down nearly 10 per cent on the same period last year, but 12 per cent up on the second half.

Sylait CEO, Leon Clement, says the result reflects strong manufacturing efficiencies.

Synlait Milk shares dropped more than 17 % after the company reported the decline.

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A massive 60-tonne swamp kauri log has been unearthed during excavations for a new power station at Ngāwhā.

The 16-metre log will be transported to Ngāwhā Marae, where a powhiri was due to be held today to welcome the ancient tree into the hapū's care.

While carbon-dating has yet to be carried out, the tree could have been buried and preserved in clay as long as 50,000 years ago.

The area around the log had to carefully dug out, while iwi was consulted and the Northland Regional Council and Ministry for Primary Industries was advised.

A karakia was conducted by kaumatua Eddie Court.

Komiti chairman Richard Woodman described the remnant from an ancient kauri forest as a precious cultural artefact.

He says it will live on for generations as a taonga tuku iho - a treasure to be handed down - for Ngāti Rangi ki Ngāwhā.

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That's the Front Page for today, Wednesday 20 March, making sure you're across the biggest news of the day. For more on these stories, check out The New Zealand Herald, or tune in to Newstalk ZB.

You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple podcasts here, iHeartRadio here, and Stitcher here.

If you like to stay up to date on social media, you can find host Juliette Sivertsen on Twitter.