If they weren’t so eye-wateringly expensive their Michelin stars would be two a penny . La Gavroche, Le Cercle, Racine to name a few. Deciding against re-mortgaging the house I plumped, lovely word plumped, ..
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Fork and Flag: France
Brutal regimes who smash opponents are two a penny – what makes Sri Lanka unusual is the artistry and subtlety of its brutality. I fear this makes them worse rather than better: absolutist regimes leave people nowhere to ..
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The state of Sri Lanka – Part two: taking sides against the family …
.Russia’s Elena Dementieva has won the Paris Indoors WTA tournament for the first time in her ninth attempt, defeating Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-4 in the final.
The top seed dropped a tightly-contested first set when Safarova, 23, powered a forehand past her to take the tie-break 7-5, but she was in total command in the second as her heavy ground strokes kept Safarova pinned back.
She had been the losing finalist here last year, going down to the now retired Amelie Mauresmo of France
“I have been trying to win this tournament for so many years – it’s been one of the most difficult wins of my career and I am so happy,” she said.
The 28-year-old Russian, who won the Olympic title in Beijing in 2008, grabbed an early break in the third set and held on to win her second WTA title of the year after Sydney. .
“You have to fight to the very end and if you fight for every point anything can happen.
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Dementieva, who has yet to win a grand slam title, was one of the favourites at the Australian Open in January but she was drawn against wildcard Justine Henin in the second round and lost in straight sets to the Belgian
.World number seven Elena Dementieva will play the Czech Republic’s Lucie Safarova in the final of the Paris Indoor Open after they both came through challenging semis.
Top seed Dementieva survived a scare against US teen sensation Melanie Oudin, dropping the first set before going through 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Earlier in the day, world number 46 Safarova produced an upset when she knocked out world number 12 and second seed Flavia Pennetta 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to set up a final date with the 28-year-old Russian.
“Flavia is ranked 12th in the world, she’s a very good player and still, I was able to stay focused throughout the match.
Safarova explained after the match how she defeated a player who is 34 places above her in the WTA world rankings.
In the other semi-final, Russia’s Dementieva banished the bad memories of last year’s US Open when she lost to the unseeded Oudin. I had to take risks but I did so at the right moments and it paid off,” she said.
The Georgia native again showed all the guts and determination from that fairytale run by taking the first set 4-6.
Oudin struggled with Dementieva’s return of serve in the third and final set and the tournament’s top seed finally sealed the match by winning it 6-3.
But the world number seven recovered to win the second set 6-3, breaking the teenager’s serve three times.
“She’s a great fighter and this was probably the most difficult win of the year for me.
“I’m really happy to get through such a difficult match against Melanie and be in the final,” the 28-year-old Russian said afterwards. .”
Dementieva has met Safarova, a finalist here in 2007, just once previously in her career.
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A special police unit is being set up to
seize criminal assets and it will have a hit list to work on.
Police Minister Judith Collins and Police Commissioner Howard Broad announced the formation of the 22-member Assets Recovery Unit (ARU) today, saying it would hunt down and seize millions of dollars in profits from organised crime.
“The ARU will be at the sharp end of our fight against organised crime and methamphetamine,” Ms Collins said at a press conference.”
Mr Broad said organised crime posed a national security threat and the methamphetamine trade alone was worth $1 billion a year.
“Gangs in this country have evolved into sophisticated criminal businesses that make tens of millions of dollars a year.
“There are certainly people associated with some of our criminal organisations that they will have in mind.
Intelligence gathered over the last few years had delivered the information the new unit would need, he said.
“Our people are busting to get going on this.
The Act comes into force on December 1 and under its provisions police can demand answers from people about their “unexplained wealth” without having to prove a criminal conviction against the person holding the assets. .
“The question is where did it come from? If there’s a reasonable explanation, that’s easy to answer.
“We know there are people who haven’t worked throughout their adult life yet they control considerable assets,” Mr Broad said.”
The Act gives police similar powers to the Inland Revenue Department and the unit will work with it, the Customs Department, Immigration and the Serious Fraud Office. But there are those who have acquired large assets through drugs and other criminal means and they should be held to account.
Ms Collins said “the most dreadful thing” about the methamphetamine trade was its potential for corruption.
Ms Collins said “the most dreadful thing” about the methamphetamine trade was its potential for corruption.
“We’ve made it plain, in the methamphetamine strategy, that we’re not averse to taking these ill-gotten gains and using it against the criminals themselves,” Ms Collins said.
The Government intends using some of the seized proceeds of crime to fight crime.
The seized proceeds will also be used to help rehabilitate victims of the drug trade.
It would go into crime-fighting agencies but there would be no direct connection with police funding.
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A bank customer is being praised by Hamilton police after he responded to a call for help and chased a robber today.
Police said the robber, believed to be unarmed, demanded money from a teller in the Hamilton East branch of the BNZ about 10.
As the robber fled with his money, the teller called for help and a man in a queue behind the robber chased him. .
Detective Dion Bennett said it was a gutsy call by the customer.
He pursued the robber down Grey St but lost him when he turned down an alleyway to the rear of Sacred Heart school, said police.”
Mr Bennett said the customer’s first reaction was impressive.
“He realised something was wrong and turns and gives chase, it was really pleasing.”
However, he said police were also wary about urging people to chase offenders because someone could get hurt.
“We take our hat off to him.
The robber was a medium built Maori or Polynesian, between 180-185cm tall.
Details of how much money the man got were not available.
Mr Bennett said anyone with information on the robber could call him direct on (07) 834 9476. He wore a dark top and dark track pants.
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Lincoln University has apologised for the Nazi-themed dress of first-year students celebrating Oktoberfest at a halls of residence-run party.
A number of students dressed as Nazis and concentration camp inmates for the party held in a campus cafe on Friday night.
Some students were outraged by the costumes on display at the Oktoberfest party, organised by one of the Christchurch university’s halls of residence.
One guest was seen wearing a white top emblazoned with swastikas.
An offended student, who did not want his identity revealed, said students wore Nazi Party apparel with slogans like “Sieg Heil!” and “Hitler’s my boi” and made light of the Holocaust.
Lincoln vice-chancellor Roger Field apologised for the students’ actions and said an investigation was under way. The student said partygoers “were heiling to Hitler and making tasteless jokes about one of the darkest periods of human history”.
“Appropriate action” would be taken under the university’s student regulations, he said.
“It wasn’t a Holocaust party, it wasn’t a neo-Nazi party at all, it was an Oktoberfest party and some student misinterpreted that theme to mean they could dress in this way, which is questionable.
Lincoln University Students’ Association (LUSA) president Megan Harte said some students had misinterpreted the theme of the event.
New Zealand Jewish Council president Stephen Goodman said cases of the Holocaust being trivialised were disappointing.”
LUSA would “definitely” provide advocacy for the students involved if the university took disciplinary action, Miss Harte said. In most of the cases we’ve found in New Zealand, it’s generally through a degree of ignorance that this sort of behaviour eventuates. . It is not through malicious intent. It is not through malicious intent.
“We have an expectation about student behaviour, and that’s pretty clearly stated.
“If some of the claims that have been made are correct, then I think some of the behaviour seems to be quite unacceptable.”
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“What I’m a little unclear of at the moment is exactly who was involved in the organisation [of the event]
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Forensic investigators working to recover the bodies of two women found under a Christchurch house expect to recover one of the bodies later today, but the other may not be moved until Monday.
One of the women was the 35-year-old wife of the Wainoni Rd homeowner and the other is believed to be that of Tisha Lowry, who disappeared almost a year ago and lived at the next-door property.
The identity of the dead women is not expected to be confirmed before tomorrow at the earliest, but the husband of one of them appeared in the Christchurch District Court yesterday charged with his wife’s murder.
The investigation was in its very early stages and detectives have been going though the property to find any further bodies, but there was nothing to indicate that there were any more at this stage, Detective Inspector Tom Fitzgerald told reporters this afternoon.
After police found the bodies under the house yesterday, investigators have had to dismantle much of the house and painstakingly sift through dirt under the house, slowing down the process.
Inspector Fitzgerald said yesterday that the homeowner reported his wife missing last Sunday.
Meanwhile, flowers and poems have begun to appear on a fence outside the house and neighbours said that the amount of traffic driving past the crime scene was more than triple the usual volume for a Saturday, with many cars driving slowly past to look at the scene, Radio New Zealand reported.
The bodies had been taken through a manhole in the floor and were found buried close together and “well covered”, Fitzgerald said.
VICTIM ‘LOST AND SAD’
An aunt of the dead woman said the couple were married in March 2003.
No causes of death had yet been established, he said.
“[She] was my niece and I loved her dearly.
She said the death was “a terrible time” for the family. . She was a nice girl and a Christian girl.
A friend of the couple, who declined to be named, said the man’s wife was “very lost”.
A friend of the couple, who declined to be named, said the man’s wife was “very lost”.
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Air New Zealand today announced a normalised profit after tax of $118 million down 19 per cent on last year.
The airline said it had been hit by a rugged first half of the financial year but the second half had seen dramatic improvement.6 billion, down $58 million or 1.
Operating revenue for the year was $4.6 per cent decrease in demand.2 per cent on the same period last year, with passenger revenue down $74 million on a 7.
“Air New Zealand’s profitability against the backdrop of a global economic meltdown was underpinned by management’s decision to move rapidly ahead of competitors to reduce capacity at the first signs of waning demand and an ability to continue to invest and innovate with confidence.
“This result positions Air New Zealand as one of the top airline performers globally but it falls short of delivering shareholders an appropriate commercial return,” chairman John Palmer said.5 cents per share.”
The Board has declared a fully imputed dividend of 3.
“We will continue to invest in new products, technology and customer service, while keeping a strong focus on reducing costs and becoming even more efficient.
Chief Executive Officer Rob Fyfe said that while some certainty is provided by hedge positions relating to foreign exchange and fuel price, demand remains difficult to predict.”
“Although there are some early indicators that the slump in travel demand may be showing signs of having bottomed out, it would be naive to think that there won’t be bumps on the road to economic recovery. .
Normalised profit after tax of $118 million
Operating revenue down 1.”
Demand for air travel was stabilising, yields remain under significant pressure, fuel prices have resumed an upward trend and we are unlikely to achieve the same level of net hedging gains, Mr Fyfe said.6 billion
Passenger demand down 7.2pc to $4.6 billion, up 22pc
Final dividend of 3.6pc Net cash position $1.5 cents
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Former MP Taito Phillip Field will have to wait until next week to find out if he is guilty of criminal charges.
The jury considering Field’s guilt on 35 charges retired for the night at 4.
Justice Rodney Hansen reminded the six women and four men of the jury it was critically important not to speak to anybody else about the case over the weekend. .35pm yesterday and have been considering the case for about 11 hours.
Jurors began deliberations about 12.
He also faces 23 charges of wilfully attempting to obstruct or pervert the course of justice, alleging he tried to derail investigations into his dealings with the Thai tradesmen.
Field faces 12 charges of bribery and corruption as an MP, alleging he accepted work on his homes from Thai tradesmen in return for giving them immigration help.
Earlier in the day a group of Maori protestors occupied a foyer in the Auckland High Court where people were waiting for the verdict in the trial.
The trial before Justice Rodney Hansen is into its 15th week.
As well as protesting, they had been filming their own activities earlier today.
The 30-strong group, calling themselves the Mauri Nation State Hapu, had returned to the court earlier today after six members yesterday halted the trial briefly to protest at the ‘syntax’ of the charges laid against Field.
Police had earlier told the group they must leave the building after they ignored demands not to film and racially abused a court official. Use of cameras in the High Court is banned without permission.
The protestors are led by Tass Davis – an uncle of Maori Party MP Hone Harawira – who in June announced a planned campaign of civil disobedience targeting the homes of high-profile judges and occupying courtrooms to draw attention to the group’s bid for a Maori sovereign nation.
However it seems the group has now been allowed to stay.
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The 75-year-old former Auckland police constable said at the time that he expected between 300 and 400 Maori would be involved in the non-violent campaign