Two a penny

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Three New Zealanders have been confirmed as killed in the Pacific tsunami, with another presumed dead and grave concerns held for two others.

The only New Zealander so far identified isMary Ann White, 54, of Raglan, whose family was trying last night to get her body home.

The injured are being accompanied by six family members, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said. .

Acting Prime Minister Bill English said earlier today that three Britons and two Germans who were also injured would also be evacuated.

They are expected to arrive at Auckland’s Whenuapai Airport early tomorrow morning and will then be transported by a fleet of ambulances to local hospitals for treatment.

There were initially reports that a two-year-old Auckland boy had been officially identified as one of those killed.

The confirmed death toll from Wednesday’s tsunamis, caused by an 8 magnitude undersea quake, stood at 149 in Samoa, 31 on American Samoa and nine on neighbouring Tonga.

The toddler was swept out to sea as he was playing on the beach with his parents at Lalomanu when the 6m wave came ashore on Wednesday. This is incorrect, and it is understood he remains missing, presumed dead.

MFAT earlierconfirmed it was providing support to the toddler’s parents. His parents swam to safety.

The husband and wife, originally from Britain, now live in Auckland.

They were taken to hospital yesterday with minor injuries and later discharged and are staying at the New Zealand High Commission in Samoa. Tsunami warnings were given and they were trying to escape to higher ground when the waves struck. The family was holidaying at a resort close to the village of Lalomanu.

GRAVE CONCERNS

MFATsays grave fears are held for two New Zealanders who had been staying at the Taufua Resort, Lalomanu.

Plans are underway to medi-vacinjured New Zealanders on a RNZAF plane to New Zealand as soon as possible.

However, the Martin family of Wardville, outside Matamata, was this morning preparing to fly out to Samoa in search of their two daughters who flew to Samoa on Monday for a holiday. The ministry has not released details of the pair.

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The sisters, Petria, 22 and Rebecca, 24, were holidaying with their cousin, a Hamilton travel agent and her friend, and had been due back tomorrow

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MPs found guilty of serious criminal offences will lose their travel perks, a decision sparked by Taito Phillip Field’s recent conviction for corruption.

The former Mangere MP was last month found guilty of bribery and obstruction of justice after being found to have accepted work on properties in return for immigration assistance.Under the Electoral Act, an MP convicted of serious criminal offences must vacate their seat.An amendment to the rules would require MPs convicted of serious criminal offences to give up their travel privileges, Speaker Lockwood Smith announced today.However, they are not required to give up travel entitlements available to former MPs .”I have followed a process that included consultation in arriving at my final decision.”I felt it was appropriate that the travel privileges of former members be stopped where someone was convicted of an offence that would require them to vacate their seat in Parliament,” Dr Smith said. .The decision would apply to travel entitlements available to former MPs who entered Parliament before 1999.The amendment was expected to take effect by the end of next month, Dr Smith said.He could also have claimed a 90 percent discount on international travel, as long as it did not exceed the cost of a return business-class flight to London on Air New Zealand – about $10,000.Having entered Parliament in 1993, Field could have claimed up to 12 free domestic return air fares a year.

.Former MPs have come under fire for the ir travel expenses after they were revealed last month

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Serena Williams’ US Open title defence ended in bizarre, ugly fashion, when she was docked a point on match point after yelling and shaking her racket in the direction of an official who called a foot fault.

Williams lost to unseeded, unranked Kim Clijsters 6-4, 7-5 in a taut semifinal that featured plenty of powerful groundstrokes by both women.

With Williams serving at 5-6, 15-30 in the second set, she faulted on her first serve. .

That made the score 15-40, putting Clijsters one point from victory. On the second serve, a line judge called a foot fault, making it a double-fault – a call rarely, if ever, seen at that stage of any match, let alone the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament.

Williams already had been give a code violation warning when she broke her racket after losing the first set.

Instead of stepping to the baseline to serve again, Williams went over and shouted and cursed at the line judge, pointing at her and shaking a ball at her.

“She was called for a foot fault, and a point later, she said something to a line umpire, and it was reported to the chair, and that resulted in a point penalty,” Earley explained. So the chair umpire now awarded a penalty point to Clijsters, ending the match. It was a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct. “And it just happened that point penalty was match point.

“I used to have a real temper, and I’ve gotten a lot better,” Williams said in her postmatch news conference.”

When the ruling was announced, Williams walked around the net to the other end of the court to shake hands with a stunned Clijsters, who did not appear to understand what had happened. Yes, yes, indeed. “So I know you don’t believe me, but I used to be worse.

Clijsters hadn’t competed at the US Open since winning the 2005 championship.”

Lost in the theatrics was Clijsters’ significant accomplishment: In only her third tournament back after 2 1/2 years in retirement, the 26-year-old Belgian became the first mother to reach a Grand Slam final since Evonne Goolagong Cawley won Wimbledon 1980. 9 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, who beat Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 6-3, 6-3 in the other rain-delayed women’s semifinal. Now she will play for her second career major title against No.

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Police handling of the search of the house in Christchurch where the bodies of two murdered women were found has been slammed by Maori Party MP Rahui Katene.

The MP for Tai Tonga is critical of the way police treated the family living next door to the “murder house” in the Christchurch suburb of Wainoni. .

“I just don’t think it’s good enough that the family living in the other half of the semi-detached house in Christchurch had to learn through the media that there was a murder investigation going on next door. Their children – and the parents too – don’t want to go back there again.

“This family has been severely traumatised by what has happened right next door to them.”

Ms Katene said she would take the matter up with senior police in Wellington. And I’m appalled that the police have suggested that they can move back in again.

“As a local ratepayer I support the move and encourage the council to pull it down and turn the site into something useful for the community.

But she applauded efforts by Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker to get council to consider buying the house.”

The bodies of 28-year-old Tisha Lowry and the 35-year-old wife of the man charged with her murder were recovered from beneath the house this week. I hope he doesn’t take notice of the people complaining about that move.

Neither can be named due to suppression orders.

The 33-year-old man who lived at the house has been charged with his wife’s murder and is expected to face a second murder charge when he appears in Christchurch District Court on Friday.

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Mothers returning to work are fuelling a surge in preschool waiting lists, with some centres booked up to almost four times their capacity.

The issue has reignited calls to extend paid parental leave.

Figures released yesterday by the Ministry of Education show an extra 23,026 children including 15,872 under the age of three have joined early-childhood centres in the past eight years.9 per cent in 2002 and 17.

Two-thirds of centres have waiting lists and the wait is more than six months at almost a third (28 per cent) of those catering to children aged three and four well up from 11.

Nelson was worst off, with waiting times of more than six months at 43.3 per cent in 2006.4 per cent of centres for those aged three and four, and 57.

Cherry’s Early Learning Centre director Cherry Howitt said there was tremendous pressure on the rolls of its Christchurch centres.1 per cent of centres for those under three. It had about 100 children waiting to get into a centre with 45 places.

Its Beckenham centre closed its waiting list in June 2007, when it was swamped by demand, and had only just reopened its list.

“Parents have to go back to work at certain times,” Howitt said.

Howitt said she would open a second centre in Hoon Hay this month and already had 160 children on the waiting list for another 45 places, despite no parents having seen the new buildings. “A lot of them don’t want to go back to work, but they’re forced to. “A lot of them don’t want to go back to work, but they’re forced to.

“Because if they’re three or four they won’t get in before they start school.”

In Wellington, Mount Cook pre-school spokeswoman Flora Totman said its waiting list was so long they were now only accepting applications from one-year-olds.

She said it was a result of the 20 free hours and a push to get more children into pre-schools. .

She did not know how many children were on it but said they had to wait as long as nine months to get in for the morning session, which catered for older kids.

Auckland’s Albany Community pre-school’s head teacher Lynne Umar said they had always had a long waiting list but it was longer than it had been in the past.

Sherryll Wilson, chief executiveofKidsfirst -the largest early-childhood education provider in the South Island -said about 3000 children were on waiting lists for the company’s 63 centres.

It was a trend that was being noticed by other pre-schools also, she said.

Early Childhood Council chief executive Sarah Farquhar said staffing deficits were “chronic”.

Kidsfirst last month launched a recruitment campaign for more teachers.

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The four men accused of brutally attacking two young couples during a violent rampage in Auckland’s North Shore have pleaded guilty this afternoon.

Harlem Haynui Kirton, 19, Piri Valli Kirton, 18, Ruamoko Taiapa, 21, and Jono Wilson this afternoon entered guilty pleas on all charges on the second day of their trial at the Auckland District Court.

The four had been accused of aggravated robbery, intent to cause grievous bodily harm, wounding with intent and assault with intent to rob, the NZ Herald reported.

The mother of one of the accused, Kiriana Taiapa, also entered a guilty plea today to being an accessory after the fact.

The charges were related to events that occurred on the North Shore on January 15 last year when two couples were violently attacked. .

She had been accused of trying to dispose of 3 metal bars which were used during the attack.

Ms Taiapa was released on bail.

Ms Mandeno said their first victims were a young Russian couple, Dennis Khotchenko and Valeriya Nesterova, who were parked in a red Mercedes on the roadside near Milford Beach enjoying a beer.

As the trial opened in Auckland District Court yesterday, Crown prosecutor Sarah Mandeno said Harlem Kirton took his girlfriend to see the film American Gangster then met up with his brother and friends and went “cruising the streets of the North Shore, examining for trouble”. He then asked Mr Khotchenko if he had “ever met a real gangster”.

She said Wilson walked up to them, struck up a conversation and asked for a beer. “From there the nightmare unfolded,” Ms Mandeno said. Wilson then hit Mr Khotchenko around the head with a metal bar. The frenzied attack left Mr Khotchenko “dizzy and bloodied”. The frenzied attack left Mr Khotchenko “dizzy and bloodied”. On reaching the shore, she sought help from a resident. She eventually managed to escape by running into the water and swimming across an inlet. This time they attacked Oskar Carroll and Ericka Rancourt as they walked home after a night out.

Ms Mandeno said that two hours later the four men struck again.

. Both were badly hurt and could remember little from the attack, Ms Mandeno said

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Nine people, including five Italian tourists, have been killed after a small plane hit a helicopter over New York and both crashed into the Hudson River, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

He said there were five Italian tourists and a pilot aboard the helicopter and three people on the plane including the pilot and a child. Two bodies had been recovered but there was no hope of finding survivors. “There’s not going to be a happy ending.

“This has changed from a rescue to a recovery mission,” Bloomberg said. Police divers started looking for survivors and wreckage.”

Search and rescue craft had rushed to the area in the vicinity of West 14th Street in Lower Manhattan immediately after the midair collision at noon (0400 NZT). The weather was clear and mild. Police had found one piece of wreckage in murky waters and the search for bodies and debris would probably continue for a few days.

Bloomberg said the plane, a Piper Saratoga, appeared to hit the back of the helicopter, which immediately broke up and fell into the river.

An eyewitness told the NY1 local TV station he saw a wing come off the plane around the time of the collision. . Others reported hearing a loud boom. The helicopter “fell like a stone” into the river, the witness said.

Chunks of debris also fell on the New Jersey side of the river, narrowly missing motorists.

Chunks of debris also fell on the New Jersey side of the river, narrowly missing motorists.

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. All aboard survived

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A sharp-eyed prison officer foiled an attempt to have cannabis delivered to an inmate at Tongariro/Rangipo prison on the weekend.

“One of our guys was on his way into work when he spotted what looked like a Tupperware container tucked into the grass by the prison entrance,” acting assistant regional manager Diane Brophy said.

“Inside he found approximately an ounce of cannabis leaf – enough for several tinnies and considered a valuable commodity by some prisoners.

“The way the container was placed aroused suspicion so the Corrections officer stopped to investigate further.

“Unfortunately, there are people in the community that are willing to help prisoners access drugs by trying various devious methods to get them into Corrections Facilities. .

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Anyone caught trying to smuggle drugs or other banned products into the prison would be prosecuted, Ms Brophy said

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Two people have died on New Zealand roads this weekend.

This morning a 78-year-old Hauraki man died at the scene of a crash close to Paeroa.

The driver of the ute was the only other person involved and was unhurt.

Police said the man attempted to do a U-turn in the path of a northbound ute close to the intersection of Rangiora Road, Komata, on State Highway 26.

The dead man was driving west and hit an oncoming car, Sergeant Steve Salton said.

About 1am yesterday (Saturday) a 22-year-old man died at the scene of a two-car collision on Auckland’s Upper Harbour motorway, close to the Greenhithe Bridge.

On Friday morning two teenage girls were killed in a car crash in Whangarei.

He suspected speed to be a factor in the crash.10am.

The pair, who were aged 17 and 18, were killed when the car they were in rolled down a bank on Anzac Rd and into the front yard of a property in suburban Morningside just after 1.

The two were in the back seat of the car and not wearing seatbelts, Northland police spokeswoman Sarah Kennett said.

Police said they were locals.

They received minor injuries and did not need hospital treatment.

There were three other women, aged 16 to 19, in the car.

Ms Kennett said the car lost control on a bend and no other vehicles were involved.

The driver was breath-tested at the scene and was found not to have been under the influence of alcohol.

Also on Friday, a woman died after her car and a truck collided close to Dargaville, 58km south west of Whangarei.

She said the road would have been wet as it rained in Whangarei yesterday and overnight.

The woman driver of the car died at the scene. . The three deaths on the road on Friday fell outside of the weekend reporting period.

* The weekend road death toll was earlier incorrectly reported as five.

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Immigration ‘has to be fixed’

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Fellow bikies performed a haka chant as the coffin of Rebels motorcycle club life member Richard Roberts was lifted from a motorcycle sidecar at a crematorium in Canberra.

About 300 bikies attended Roberts’ funeral on Monday, remembering the man they called ”Rebel Rick” as a ”superstar” of drinking who ”loved the chicks and they loved him”.

”He was feared by those who didn’t know him, but loved by those who did,” a fellow bikie, known as Pappa, said of Roberts in a eulogy.

The 57-year-old New Zealand-born father of three was fatally shot last Tuesday at a suburban Canberra home.

”He was a hard worker.

Another Rebel said the slain man had ”loved his club and loved to ride”.

Roberts was a New Zealander who shifted to Australia in 1973.”

Roberts was also remembered as a man with a ”heart of gold” who ”could make you laugh”.

Engelbert Humperdinck’s cover version of Frank Sinatra’s My Way, with the poignant lyrics ”Regrets? I’ve a had few”, was played after the eulogies. .

Earlier, a procession of more than 300 bikies and an empty hearse moved through the northern suburbs of Canberra from a Rebels clubhouse in Queanbeyan to the Norwood Park Crematorium under police escort.

Bikies from Rebels chapters as far away as southeastern Victoria, the NSW central coast, Gundagai and Sydney attended the funeral.

A police car stood by as the bikies, most of them wearing helmets, ran a red light at the entrance to the crematorium.

The coffin containing Roberts’ body was carried on a sidecar. Police have charged 20-year-old Russell Field with their murders.

Roberts and Gregory Carrigan, 48, were shot dead outside a southern Canberra house last week.

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A spokeswoman for ACT police said the funeral and the procession through Canberra on Monday morning were incident-free.

The slayings were initially thought to be an explosion of violence between outlaw bikie gangs, but a long-time Rebels member has said they resulted from a bitter ”love triangle”.

The proposed laws would allow police to apply to the Supreme Court for an order to prohibit members identified in an outlaw motorcycle gang from associating with each other.

The funeral was held as the NSW government is considering introducing tough new laws aimed at stamping out violent bikie gangs.

The night before Monday’s funeral, a Hells Angel member, believed to be Peter Zervas, 32, was gunned down outside his Sydney home.

One bikie at the funeral wore a provocative t-shirt which read, ”Love us or hate us, you’d better get used to us”.

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The man, who survived the shooting, is the brother of Anthony Zervas, 29, who last week was bludgeoned to death at Sydney airport during a brawl between members of the Hells Angels and the rival bikie gang Comancheros