Two a penny

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Auckland police investigating a suspicious
death believe they know how the man died, but lack enough evidence
for an arrest after being stonewalled by witnesses.

Damien Loder Allen, 33, the previous month died from head injuries which were not accidental.

Police believe the house where his body was found on September 24 in the suburb of Hillsborough had been cleaned and his body had been moved.

Mr Allen had head injuries and police were still waiting on toxicology results.

Several possible witnesses were refusing to co-operate.

He would not say how Mr Allen got his injuries, or if they had found a weapon.

Detective Inspector Scott Beard said he believed witnesses may be protecting someone involved in the death.

Others in Mr Allen’s house made 111 calls the night he died.

It was not a party but people were socialising and drinking.

Four people were in the house when police arrived and others had visited the house on the night.

He said information was still flowing in but police still wanted to hear from anyone who knew what may have happened or knew the people at the house. .

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Anyone with information should call the confidential Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111

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LATEST:
Threats to pull the plug on an NZ Bus contract if the company refuses to end its lockout of 900 bus drivers are unrealistic, the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (Arta) says.

NZ Bus, which operates most bus services in Auckland, began the lockout on Thursday after drivers said they would work strictly to the rulebook in support of their wage claim.The company and four unions representing bus drivers are still in facilitation, but there has been little progress reported.No NZ Bus services have run since the n and the disruption became greater today on the first day of the fourth school term.”Like any commercial contract, NZ Bus contracts can be terminated for non-performance,” Mr Lee said.Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee today said the council would begin procedures to end its contract with NZ Bus in coming days if the lockout did not end. .”If this dispute is not settled, I will be calling on Arta to start the process of terminating the existing contracts and finding someone else who will deliver the services that Auckland expects and pays for.”We would need to find an operator that could come up with that level of service in 180 days – that’s fairly impossible.”If we terminated New Zealand Bus completely then we’d leave a 700-bus gap overnight, and we couldn’t do that to the public,” Ms Hunter told Radio New Zealand.”But at this point we’re not examining at that process,” she said.”Ms Hunter said she hoped there would be a resolution in the near future, but if there was no progress within the next few days the authority would look at intervening.”NZ Bus spokeswoman Megan McSweeney said Mr Lee’s comments were “not helpful”.”In terms of the services that we are running, with alternative operators including our train operators, we are actually managing to get people into work on time.

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LATEST:
Deputy Prime Minister Bill English has announced he will not receive any more taxpayer-funding housing allowances.

The finance minister this afternoon confirmed actions he had taken with the aim of putting the “unnecessary distraction” of the row over his housing expenses behind him.

His announcement comes ahead of an informal meeting scheduled with the Auditor-General’s office this evening to discuss an investigation into his housing allowances claim.

* Had not received any housing allowance payments since July 28.

Mr English said he:

* Would no longer receive a housing allowance.

* Had received a legal opinion from Stephen Kos, QC, that changes made to his family trust arrangements did not affect his eligibility for the housing allowance.

* Had repaid all housing allowance payments received since last November’s election to Ministerial Services.

“What I’m announcing today reflects a set of personal decisions I have made about my own situation,” Mr English said.

“At all times my decisions have been driven by my desire to keep my family together and provide them with as much stability as possible.

“It is in no way setting a precedent for others although I make the point here that I believe Parliament does have to think how it can accommodate the families of long-term politicians.”

A TV One poll showed that voters felt the issue was denting Mr English’s credibility. It’s now clear that the system has struggled to deal with my circumstances.

The Deputy Prime Minister considers the Southland town of Dipton, in his electorate, to be his primary residence under parliamentary rules, but his family has lived in, and owned, a house in Wellington for years.

Asked if the issue had damaged his credibility, 62 percent said yes and 27 percent no; asked if Mr English has acted with integrity, 54 percent said no and 30 percent yes.

He came under fire when it was revealed he was now claiming a much higher allowance to stay in the Wellington house than when he lived there as an opposition MP.

He came under fire when it was revealed he was now claiming a much higher allowance to stay in the Wellington house than when he lived there as an opposition MP.

Today, a spokesman for Mr English said the Auditor-General’s office wrote to the minister after receiving the complaint.

Auditor-General Lyn Provost has asked for more information before deciding whether to investigate a complaint by Progressive Party leader Jim Anderton into the matter.

He will meet with a team from the office tonight for informal talks which will not form part of the inquiry, the spokesman said.

They said “feel free” to get in touch and Mr English has done that. .

Mr English will be informed about what the Auditor-General’s office is doing

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An energy drinks company has denied organising a publicity stunt that resulted in three New Zealand soldiers being sent home in disgrace from Afghanistan.

They were photographed posing with a large bomb carrying an advert for Demon energy drinks and were sent home for breaching operational security.

One photo showed a Demon energy drink sticker with the slogan “no limits, no laws” attached to the bomb suspended from a plane, with the soldiers standing around it.

The men took the photos and sent them to the drink company.

A decision was made to send the soldiers home immediately after the incident, which went against clear guidance given to all military personnel on operations, Joint Forces commander Air Vice Marshal Peter Stockwell said yesterday.

Another showed a handwritten message, “dear Taliban enjoy this demon”, on the side of the bomb. .

Demon Drinks company said today that the soldiers were not involved in any kind of commercial sponsorship agreement.”

The soldiers were not directly asked to take part in any kind of promotion.

“Demon Drinks has no understanding of army procedures, so did not know this would cause an issue.

“Often we ask for photos of people drinking the product in return.

The company said it donated products and did sampling all over the country every day.”

The company regretted what had happened to the soldiers, and had expressed that to them personally several weeks ago. In no way was this a publicity stunt.

“Demon Drinks was acting in good faith to help NZ troops and we wanted to show our support for them.

“If we had realised that this was going to be the outcome we would never have provided free drinks.”

AVM Stockwell said two of the soldiers had been found to have contravened the Armed Forces Discipline Act and were formally reprimanded. It is very unfortunate the way this has panned out for the soldiers and we will do everything we can to help these soldiers if their careers are in jeopardy.

Green Party MP Keith Locke, who previously criticised the soldiers’ actions, said sending them home was an appropriate punishment.

“Irrespective of the investigation into whether the acts contravened military law, the NZDF sets and expects very high levels of professionalism and behaviour from its people – this is especially the case in an operational theatre where the protection of information is vital to the overall security of New Zealand interests and activities,” he said.

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It was a reunion of reunions.

Twelve Apollo astronauts reminisced, traded stories and poked fun at each other Friday night as the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing and moonwalk approached.

The crowd of hundreds at the National Museum of the United States Air Force erupted in cheers when a video chronicling the space program replayed Armstrong’s famous first words after stepping on the moon July 20, 1969: “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

The astronauts, including first moonmen Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, attended the ceremony in which the National Aviation Hall of Fame presented the Apollo crews with the “Spirit of Flight” award for their courage and dedication. “Any time you go to a place where everything you see is different than anything you’ve ever seen before in your life, it’s unique and it’s memorable.”

“It was spectacular,” Armstrong recalled of gazing at the moon’s surface as he took those first steps.”

However, Armstrong said he and Aldrin had little time to savor the experience. And that certainly was.

Armstrong said he had been a backup on Apollo 8 and that when he wasn’t needed was asked if he wanted to be on the third mission down the line — what turned out to be the fateful Apollo 11 mission.

“We didn’t rest hardly five seconds when we got a message from Mission Control, saying get on with the next item,” Armstrong said.

“We knew we had a chance at landing, but it was by no means certain,” he said. He said it was difficult to predict the exact mission of succeeding flights.

Astronaut Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, also flew in the flight preceding Armstrong’s.

As they sat together on the stage, the astronauts joked and bantered with each other.

“Everyone knew Neil could land on the moon, but we didn’t have a lot of confidence Neil could find it,” Cernan quipped. He joked that his job was to paint a white line to the moon that Apollo 11 could follow.

But the first lunar landing was a serious matter for the astronauts and those in mission control.

“I’ve been listening to that for 40 years, and this is not the time to change my position,” Armstrong shot back, drawing laughs from the crowd.

“I can’t say it was panic, but it was a lot of attention to detail in mission control,” said Charles Duke, who was at mission control at the time. When the designated landing zone proved to be too rocky, Armstrong had to burn fuel from a diminishing supply to find a suitable place to touch down.” When there were only 30 seconds of fuel left, “it got dead silent. .”

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It was a reunion of reunions.

Twelve Apollo astronauts reminisced, traded stories and poked fun at each other Friday night as the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing and moonwalk approached.

The crowd of hundreds at the National Museum of the United States Air Force erupted in cheers when a video chronicling the space program replayed Armstrong’s famous first words after stepping on the moon July 20, 1969: “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

The astronauts, including first moonmen Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, attended the ceremony in which the National Aviation Hall of Fame presented the Apollo crews with the “Spirit of Flight” award for their courage and dedication. “Any time you go to a place where everything you see is different than anything you’ve ever seen before in your life, it’s unique and it’s memorable.”

“It was spectacular,” Armstrong recalled of gazing at the moon’s surface as he took those first steps.”

However, Armstrong said he and Aldrin had little time to savor the experience. And that certainly was.

Armstrong said he had been a backup on Apollo 8 and that when he wasn’t needed was asked if he wanted to be on the third mission down the line — what turned out to be the fateful Apollo 11 mission.

“We didn’t rest hardly five seconds when we got a message from Mission Control, saying get on with the next item,” Armstrong said.

“We knew we had a chance at landing, but it was by no means certain,” he said. He said it was difficult to predict the exact mission of succeeding flights.

Astronaut Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, also flew in the flight preceding Armstrong’s.

As they sat together on the stage, the astronauts joked and bantered with each other.

“Everyone knew Neil could land on the moon, but we didn’t have a lot of confidence Neil could find it,” Cernan quipped. He joked that his job was to paint a white line to the moon that Apollo 11 could follow.

But the first lunar landing was a serious matter for the astronauts and those in mission control.

“I’ve been listening to that for 40 years, and this is not the time to change my position,” Armstrong shot back, drawing laughs from the crowd.

“I can’t say it was panic, but it was a lot of attention to detail in mission control,” said Charles Duke, who was at mission control at the time. When the designated landing zone proved to be too rocky, Armstrong had to burn fuel from a diminishing supply to find a suitable place to touch down.” When there were only 30 seconds of fuel left, “it got dead silent. .”

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LATEST:
Freezing weather moving across the country looks set to continue resulting in major disruption on South Island roads today.

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In Otago, State Highway 8 between Omarama and Tarras, and between Alexandra and Roxburgh, and SH6 between Haast and Makarora were closed due to snow, while in Canterbury, snow had closed State Highway 80 close to Mt Cook.

Also closed due to snow were SH85 from Omakau to Alexandra, SH6 from Cromwell to Queenstown, and the Lindis Pass. Further north, SH65 from SH6 to Springs Junction was also closed.5cm expected over the next day.

The MetService said that snow showers are expected on Arthurs and Porters passes this morning above about 700 metres with around 1.

State Highway 94 had two warnings in place since yesterday morning – between Mossburn and Te Anau as a result of ice on the road, and between Te Anau and Milford due to snow, the Automobile Association said.

Between three and five centimetres of snow are forecast above 500 metres between Lake Gunn and the Homer Tunnel on Milford Rd during the day.

Snow warnings were also in place last night on SH73 between Springfield and Arthur’s Pass and between Arthur’s Pass and Otira.

A snow warning was also in place on Crown Range between Wanaka and Arrow Junction since midday yesterday.

A Queenstown police spokeswoman said it was the first time in years she had heard of snow forcing the closure of the Kawarau Gorge.

The Kawarau Gorge (SH6) between Queenstown and Cromwell had been closed temporarily but re-opened early this morning.

The MetService warned of snowfall on a number of Canterbury and Otago roads.

Motorists were reported to have become stuck in heavy snow in some areas and police were urging others to be aware of closures and warnings. .

The MetService said two to three centimetres of snow could fall to 800 metres on Lewis Pass, and five to eight centimetres on Arthur’s Pass down to 700 metres, between midnight and 6am this morning.

In the North Island the Desert Road is closed, with conditions set to remain treacherous with snow showers forecast to turn to rain this morning before clearing by about midday.

At Lindis Pass, up to eight centimetres of snow had been expected to fall down to 400 metres in the 15 hours from midnight, easing this afternoon.

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SCHOOLS CLOSED

Meanwhile, the treacherous road conditions have led to the closure of several schools in Central Otago today

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Two Washington, subway trains collided during the Monday afternoon rush hour, killing nine people and injuring at least 75, officials said early on Tuesday.

A District of Columbia Fire Department official said the death toll had been raised from 6 late on Monday, but said officials were could prepared to identify any of the deceased.

Mayor Adrian Fenty called the crash the deadliest in the 33-year history of the city’s Metro subway system. At least one car from the trailing train was hurled on to the top of the other in the accident, which occurred on above-ground tracks. . .

“Metro officials do not know the cause of the. .

The crash occurred on the heavily traveled red line about 5pm EDT (2100 GMT), between Fort Totten and Takoma stations on the northeastern outskirts of the city near the border with Maryland. collision and are not likely to know the cause for several days as the investigation unfolds,” the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said on its Web site.

It was the first crash involving a passenger death since 1982, when three people were killed in a derailment. Both trains were heading south into the city.

“What happened. The Metro train system began service in 1976. . . . (was) one train was stopped waiting to get the order to pass.. .

“We are committed to investigate this accident until we determine why this happened and what must be done to ensure it never happens again,” Catoe said in a statement. The next train came up behind it and, for reasons that we do not know, collided into the back of that train,” John Catoe, general manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, told reporters. The accident trapped passengers in one or more of the subway cars.

The transit authority said one of those killed was a female train operator in the trailing train.

“It was very mangled, everything is ripped out of there,” the woman, who was not identified, told the local ABC television affiliate.

One witness described how one train appeared to collide with – and then run up and over – the second train.

“They will have to do both an investigation and then a release of the scene for us to clean it up,” Fenty told reporters at the scene.

“They will have to do both an investigation and then a release of the scene for us to clean it up,” Fenty told reporters at the scene.