Two a penny

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The identity of an Auckland health worker charged with numerous sex offences against young girls can now be revealed.

Dion Selwyn Tau, 41, of Glen Eden faces 18 charges, including abduction, assault with intent to commit sexual violation, sexual violation with unlawful sexual connection, indecent assault, burglary, threatening to kill and attempted abduction.

Tau made a brief appearance in the Waitakere District Court this afternoon and has been remanded in custody overnight, pending a bail hearing.

The investigation was initially launched in January 2007.

Four of the six complainants were aged between 13 and 17 when the alleged offending occurred.

“There might well be other young women who now wish to speak to police about their interactions with this man who, on one occasion in November last year, allegedly posed as a truancy officer for North Shore and West Auckland,” Mr Scott said.

Detective Inspector Bruce Scott said today’s arrest was a significant development in the investigation.

Detective Inspector Scott confirmed today’s arrest was linked to a high-profile case in November last year when a teenager was abducted by a man posing as truancy officer in West Auckland.

At the time of the 2007 attack police described the offender as a stocky, Pacific Island man aged about 40.

“It is alleged to be the same offender as that incident,” he said.

He then allegedly drove her to her home and attacked her shortly after she opened her door.

Police alleged the man lured a 15-year-old school girl into his car by telling her he had to drive her to her home to ensure she was not wagging school.scott@police. .govt.govt

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AFP – Protesting French farmers blockaded 81 dairies around the country on Monday as producers from 10 European countries demonstrated in Brussels against low wholesale milk prices, officials said.

According to the FNSEA union, some 12,000 dairy farmers were involved in the action, which halted work at around 81 sites across France. That’s 4,000 more protesters than last week, a labour spokesman said.

Nothing is going in and nothing’s coming out, declared Joel Limouzin, a farmers’ leader in the Loire Valley.

France has around 150,000 dairy farmers and more than 3,000 dairies.

Farmers accuse retailers of exploitation, complaining that the price they are paid for milk by wholesalers has fallen dramatically in recent months, while the cost to consumers in supermarkers has remained stable.

Some 900 farmers, according to police, marched in the streets of Brussels ahead of a meeting by European Union agriculture ministers to discuss the crisis in the country. .

The French government has appointed mediators to attempt to broker a deal between farmers and milk buyers, but unions have vowed to step up protests across the continent. Consumers pay around a euro per litre.

agriculture – EU – France

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A man opened fire on officers during a domestic disturbance call in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, killing three of them, a police official has said.

Friends said he had been upset recently about losing his job and that he feared the Obama administration was poised to ban guns.

Three officers were killed, said a police official at the scene who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Police planned to release more details at a mid-afternoon news conference Saturday. Police spokeswoman Diane Richard would only say that at least five officers were wounded, but would not give any other details. One witness reported hearing hundreds of shots.

The man who fired at the officers was arrested after a several-hour standoff.

The shootings occurred just two weeks after four police officers were fatally shot March 21 in Oakland, California, in the deadliest day for US law enforcement since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. They described him as a young man who thought the Obama administration would ban guns.

Police did not immediately release the gunman’s identity, but his friends identified him as Richard Poplawski, 23.” Another longtime friend, Aaron Vire, said Poplawski feared that President Barack Obama was going to take away his rights, though he said he “wasn’t violently against Obama.

One friend, Edward Perkovic, said Poplawski feared “the Obama gun ban that’s on the way” and “didn’t like our rights being infringed upon. .”

Perkovic, a 22-year-old who said he was Poplawski’s best friend, said he got a call at work from him in which he said, “Eddie, I am going to die today. . .”

Perkovic said: “I heard gunshots and he hung up. Tell your family I love them and I love you. . . He sounded like he was in pain, like he got shot.. Vire said Poplawski had an AK-47 rifle and several powerful handguns, including a.”

Vire, 23, said Poplawski once had an internet talk show but that it was not successful.

Another friend, Joe DiMarco, said Poplawski had been laid off from his job at a glass factory earlier this year.357 Magnum.

The officers were called to the home in the Stanton Heights neighbourhood at about 7am, Richard said.

The officers were called to the home in the Stanton Heights neighbourhood at about 7am, Richard said.

Tom Moffitt, 51, a city firefighter who lives two blocks away, said he heard about the shooting on his scanner and came to the scene, where he heard “hundreds, just hundreds of shots. And not just once – several times.”

Rob Gift, 45, who lives a block away, said he heard rapid gunfire as he was letting his dog out.

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He said the neighborhood of well-kept single-family houses and manicured lawns is home to many police officers, firefighters, paramedics and other city workers.

“It’s just a very quiet neighborhood,” Gift said.

According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 133 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty in 2008, a 27 percent decrease from the year before and the lowest annual total since 1960.

– AP

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France tourism industry is suffering from the fallout of the financial crisis. .

Crisis-stricken British, US and Chinese &ndash and even Russian &ndash tourists are few and far between in the streets of Paris and in the French Riviera this year, France national statistics office said on Friday.7% in February compared to a year earlier, counting both French and Foreign tourists.

The total number of nights spent in hotels slipped 10. Early results say the fall will be sharper in March, said Brigitte Doguet, the author of the report.

It the steepest decline since the beginning of the crisis in 2008.

The crisis is expected to dampen France tourism ambitions these coming years.8% per year until 2015. In 2008, Luc Chatel, then tourism minister, had set a growth target of 2.

financial crisis – France – tourism
. It was hoped France, the world’s premier tourist destination, would attract some 100,000,000 visitors in 2015

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AFP – US semiconductor manufacturer Freescale announced on Wednesday that it was closing plants in France and Japan.

The Austin, Texas-based Freescale said that in order to remain competitive and maintain an efficient manufacturing footprint it was closing facilities in Toulouse, France, and another in Sendai, Japan, by the end of 2011.

&raquo 2009 Crisis : Stories from the newly unemployed
Freescale, which also recently announced plans to abandon the cellular handset business, said the closures should result in severance costs of 200 million dollars and eventual annual cost savings of 100 million dollars.

The privately held company said in a statement that the moves resulted from its decision to stop manufacturing 150mm chips.76 billion dollars in the first quarter of the year, accomplished mainly through the one-time elimination of long-term debt. .

France – industry – layoffs – technology – USA
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Freescale designs and makes semiconductors for the automotive, consumer and wireless industries

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Pupils at Wellington schools have already tucked into hot cross buns, some for the first time.

Berhampore School principal Mark Potter said the children “absolutely loved” the morning tea of hot cross buns and chocolate milk provided by St John’s in the City Presbyterian Church yesterday.
It was the first time that many of the pupils had eaten a hot cross bun, he said. .
“Some of the families at our school are Muslim and Buddhists, but it didn’t matter because we discuss and share everyone’s cultures.
The church put on a free morning tea at two schools.”
One child said it was his “best day ever”, while others asked if the donations of free treats would “come back next week too”. Allister Lane, senior minister at St John’s in the City, said that low-decile schools regularly had pupils arrive without having eaten breakfast or with no lunch.

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G20 protestors in London rampage – world

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G20 protestors in London rampage

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Last updated 06:56 02/04/2009
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CLASHES: Police officers in riot gear scuffle with demonstrators close to the Bank of England as thousands of demonstrators converged on London’s financial district in sometimes violent protests.

Hundreds of protesters converged on a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland, shattering windows.

– G20 protestors smash bank windows –

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Obama sees G20 consensus

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Demonstrators clashed with riot police and smashed the windows of a bank in London’s financial centre overnight in protest against a system they said had robbed the poor to benefit the rich. The protests were timed to coincide with a G20 meeting of the world’s leading and emerging economies.Rescued by the government in October, RBS has become a lightning rod for public anger in Britain over banker excess blamed for the crisis. Protesters hurled paint bombs and bottles, chanting: “These streets, our streets! These banks, our banks!”Police said a number of officers had been injured, and minor scuffles broke out as the afternoon progressed. Protesters hurled paint bombs and bottles, chanting: “These streets, our streets! These banks, our banks!”Police said a number of officers had been injured, and minor scuffles broke out as the afternoon progressed.Generally, though, the situation appeared to be dying down and commuters in the small area of London affected by the clashes began to leave work for home. HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE Earlier, protesters marched behind models of the “four horsemen of the apocalypse” representing financial crimes, war, climate change and homelessness.Some threw eggs at police and chanted “build a bonfire, put the bankers on the top.” Others shouted “jump” and “shame on you” at financial sector workers watching the march from office block windows.”I am angry at the hubris of the government, the hubris of the bankers,” said Jean Noble, a 60-year-old from Blackburn in northern England.”I am here on behalf of the poor, those who are not going to now get their pension or who have lost their houses while these fat cats keep their bonuses, hide their money in tax havens and go and live where nobody can touch them.”A smaller demonstration against Britain’s military role in Iraq and Afghanistan attracted several hundred people in Trafalgar Square, not far from parliament.Police said they had deployed one of Britain’s biggest security operations to protect businesses, the Bank of England, the London Stock Exchange and other financial institutions.The protests, which brought together anti-capitalists, environmentalists, anti-war campaigners and others, were meant to mark what demonstrators called “Financial Fools’ Day” – a reference to April fool’s day which falls on April 1.Some 4000 protesters thronged outside the central bank, and a Gucci store close toby was closed and its windows emptied.RBS said in a statement it was “aware of the violence” outside its branch and “had already taken the precautionary step” of closing central branches.Wooden boards covered the war memorial in front of the Royal Exchange, once the center of commerce in the City of London and now an upmarket shopping center. Building sites and roadworks in the financial district were sealed to stop people using building materials as weapons, police said.Police stopped a military-style armored vehicle with the word “RIOT” printed on the front and a police spokesperson said its 11 occupants were arrested for having fake police uniforms. By mid-afternoon a total of 19 people had been arrested.
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.Chief executives from global auto giants General Motors (GM) and Peugeot have been sacked as the industry struggles to cope with the continuing economic downturn.
White House officials pressed GM head Rick Wagoner to leave the company, as they drafted President Barack Obama’s plan to aid struggling US automotive industry, a senior administration official said.
“Administration officials did ask Mr Wagoner to step down and he agreed to do so,” a senior White House official said.6 billion ($31.
The sacking comes one day before Mr Obama spells out his plan for the future of the crippled auto sector, comes with General Motors and Chrysler teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and seeking another $US21.
The official said Mr Wagoner’s departure was not a “quid pro quo” for receipt of a fresh infusion of federal funds.4 billion) in government loans.
“To characterise it as a quid pro quo would not be accurate.
A Government task force has been working to resolve the woes of the auto industry, a key pillar of the US economy that has been hit hard by plunging global cars sales amid the economic downturn. It was not as if an ultimatum was issued,” the official said, adding however that the top GM executive was strongly encouraged to leave.
“They’re not there yet,” he told CBS television on Sunday.
As Mr Obama prepared to announce his new plan, he made it clear he felt GM and Chrysler had not yet done enough to restructure their companies and earn billions more bailout dollars. But it’s got to be one that’s realistically designed to weather this storm and to emerge at the other end much more lean, mean and competitive than it currently is.
“We think we can have a successful US auto industry.”
GM has named its current president and chief operating officer Fritz Henderson, as its new CEO to replace Mr Wagoner.”
GM has named its current president and chief operating officer Fritz Henderson, as its new CEO to replace Mr Wagoner.
A Holden spokesperson says it is awaiting further detail.
General Motors’ Australian business, Holden, says it is too early to say whether there will be any local changes as a result of Mr Wagoner’s departure.
“Given the extraordinary difficulties currently faced by the automotive industry, the supervisory board decided unanimously that a change in the senior leadership position was necessary,” PSA Peugeot-Citroen supervisory board chairman Thierry Peugeot said in a statement.
– ‘Change necessary’ –
Peugeot has also ousted chief executive Christian Streiff. .
The company said Mr Streiff will be replaced by Philippe Varin, 56, current chief executive of the Anglo-Dutch steel group Corus, who will take over as Peugeot chief on June 1.
But Peugeot the previous month announced a 343 million euro ($662 million) loss for last year, after 885 million euros in profits in 2007, and is forecasting more losses this year as the crisis leave carmakers around the world reeling.”
“The decision of PSA’s supervisory board comes as results of the policy that was planned and put in place with the teams for two years allow PSA group to be well armed amid the crisis,” he said in a statement.
In February the French government gave Peugeot and Renault 3 billion euros each in loans to shore them up and billions more to their many suppliers to help them weather the storm.
It said the previous month it would reduce its workforce by about 11,000, warning that European car sales could slump by a fifth this year.
One in 10 workers in France is employed by the car industry and Sarkozy has made clear he will not allow carmakers to fail as consumer demand for cars collapses.
One in 10 workers in France is employed by the car industry and Sarkozy has made clear he will not allow carmakers to fail as consumer demand for cars collapses.
Recent press reports had cited tension between the Peugeot family, which owns just over 30 per cent of the firm and has majority voting rights, and Mr Streiff over strategy.
Ratings agency Moody’s the previous month downgraded Peugeot’s credit rating and gave a negative outlook for the company, saying demand for its cars had dropped by a fifth.
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New data has revealed the extent of the mortgagee-sale wave sweeping New Zealand and reveals which parts of the country are hardest hit.

Figures released exclusively to the Sunday Star-Times show there were 150 forced sales in January a whopping five-fold increase from January 2007′s 28 sales, when the property market was robust and the economy stable.

And experts say the crisis is starting to hit average Kiwi families who can no longer meet mortgage payments due to job losses, stalling business growth and mounting debt.

There is no question that mortgagee sales are on the rise.

This is only the second month that Terralink, New Zealand’s leading land and property information service, has released mortgagee sales data the first of its kind to be based on actual sale transactions, so painting the most reliable picture of what’s happening in the market. Such sales hit a 14-year high in December. From 2007 to 2008 the number of sales forced by the inability of a mortgage-holder to meet repayments increased 275%, climbing off the back of four years of relative stability.

The January data reveals year-on-year increases around most of the country. Waikato recorded 12 sales (up from five) and Wellington clocked up seven sales (up from five). Auckland continues to be the worst affected, with 76 mortgagee sales in January a 192% increase from the 26 in the same month last year.

In the South Island, Canterbury had 11 sales (up from seven), Otago saw eight (up from five) and Nelson (four sales up from two).

There were increases too in Northland (10 sales up from four), Hawke’s Bay (seven sales up from one), Manawatu (four sales up from one), Wairarapa (two sales up from zero) and Taranaki (one sale up from zero).

Terranet says the nationwide surge in mortgagee sales is far from over. There were small drops in Bay of Plenty, Marlborough and Southland.

January is typically a slow month for mortgagee sales so Terralink managing director Mike Donald was surprised they reached as many as 150 up 82 from January 2008.

January is typically a slow month for mortgagee sales so Terralink managing director Mike Donald was surprised they reached as many as 150 up 82 from January 2008.

The nature of mortgagee sales is also changing.”

Preliminary figures for February also suggest the upward spike is continuing. But in January this dropped to 58%, meaning an increasing number of forced sales are being initiated by banks. In December more than 70% were pushed by second-tier lenders such as smaller finance companies, many of which collapsed last year.

Budget advisers say the prospect of being forced to sell a house is a very real fear for their clients.“Now that a lot of the finance companies are out of the picture, more and more mortgagee sales will be driven by the major lenders,” said Donald. “The kind of people we are talking to, that’s their only investment. Raewyn Fox, director of the Family Federation of Budgeting Services, says most callers to worried about meeting mortgage payments.”

The latest mortgagee figures come on the back of two years of global credit crunch and recession, sparked by the collapse of the United States “sub-prime” mortgage market, where loans were given to people at a high risk of defaulting. Losing their house means they don’t have anything else to fall back on.

Brokers say sourcing finance is becoming increasingly difficult, especially for highly geared borrowers who have less than 30% equity in their property. .

As the Star-Times revealed last week, many homeowners, desperate to swap to lower interest rates and slash their weekly repayment amounts, are discovering that break fees charged by the banks are prohibitive.

Massey University banking expert David Tripe said the biggest risk factors leading to mortgagee sales were loss of income and the amount people owed compared to the value of their house the less equity you hold in your house, the greater your risk. Unemployment in New Zealand is predicted to rise to around 7% by the end of the year that’s 160,000 people out of work.

Experts say the best remedy is preparation. Banks encourage customers to talk to them at the first sign of trouble. And taking account of your financial position and preparing a budget is vital. Auckland First Rate Mortgages broker Steve McGowan says people need to work out where their money is going.

“You can’t live like we lived two years ago when employment was high. We all had equity and we all felt quite wealthy and were buying the latest plasma screens. If you don’t change the way you’re doing things then yes, you are going to get yourself into a bit of trouble.”

See www.zoodle.co.nz for Terralink’s mortgagee sale data

.European leaders at a summit in Brussels have agreed to provide further measures to fight the global financial crisis.
They will pump $145 million into the International Monetary Fund, provided that the US and China also contribute, and they will provide another $50 billion to double the EU emergency fund for struggling member states in eastern Europe.
“We need both a coordinated global stimulus and reform of financial markets to restore confidence, because without the stimulus we will not have a recovery, but without reform of the financial market recovery will not be sustainable,” he said.
The president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, says they are agreed that stimulus measures have to be accompanied by financial reform.
It sets the scene for a difference of opinion at the London summit between the United States and most of the European Union, with the French and Germans getting a lot of support for their demand for tough new financial rules.
The leaders were united in rejecting US demands for a big injection of money into their own ailing economies, expressing fears that budget deficits would spiral out of control. .
The suspicion is that Britain and America would rather a lighter touch than many continental countries who see the crisis as caused by an Ango-Saxon addiction to risk-taking and greed.
– BBC