Two a penny

Get other Popular Fiction hereGet other Victor Appleton here An electric locomotive that can make two miles a minute over a properly ballasted roadbed might not be an impossibility” said Mr. Barton Swift ruminatively. “It is one of those things that are coming” and he flashed his son Tom Swift a knowing smile. It had been a topic of conversation between them before the visitor from the West had been seated before the library fire and had sampled one of the elder Swift’s good cigars. (Excerpt) Comments (0)

Get other Shilpa Agarwal here “[An] intriguing debut novel…Agarwal seeks to give voice to the dispossessed through the supernatural.” – USA Today”[Shilpa] Agarwal’s work will definitely appeal to fans of Monica Ali and Jhumpa Lahiri by virtue of its characters and setting but it retains a fresh original feel that will draw in new readers with its own literary merit. Recommended for all but the smallest fiction collections.”- Library Journal”In her stunning debut novel Shilpa Agarwal takes on the ghosts that bedevil young Pinky Mittal’s extended family and dispatches them with rambunctious wit and affection. The result is like finely wrought mirror work a glittering tapestry of vibrant contradictions charac Comments (0)

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A six-year-old boy has been found hiding in a cardboard box in his family’s garage attic, after fears he was aboard a homemade helium balloon that hurtled 80km through the sky on live television.

The discovery marked a bizarre end to a saga that started when the giant silvery balloon floated away from the family’s yard, sparking a frantic rescue operation that involved military helicopters and briefly shut down Denver International Airport.”

“Apparently he’s been there the whole time,” he said.

But Sheriff Jim Alderden turned to reporters during a news conference and gave a thumbs up and said six-year-old Falcon Heene is “at the house.

He said Falcon’s brother had seen him inside the compartment before it took off and that’s why they thought he was in there when it launched.

The boy’s father, Richard Heene, said the family was tinkering with the balloon on Thursday (Friday NZ time)and that he scolded Falcon for getting inside a compartment on the craft. “I yelled at him.

But the boy fled to the attic at some point after the scolding and was never in the balloon during its two-hour,80km journey through two counties.

“I was in the attic and he scared me because he yelled at me,” Falcon said. I’m really sorry I yelled at him,” Heene said as he hugged his son during a news conference.”

Richard Heene adamantly denied the notion that the whole thing was a big publicity stunt. “That’s why I went in the attic. . “That’s horrible after the crap we just went through. With the child nowhere in sight, investigators searched the balloon’s path.”

The flying saucer-like craft tipped precariously at times before gliding to the ground in a field.

Click here to watch the video . Several people reported seeing something fall from the craft while it was in the air, and yellow crime-scene tape was placed around the home.

Neighbour Bob Licko, 65, said he was leaving home when he heard commotion in the backyard of the family.

But in the end, the boy apparently was in the garage the whole time, even as investigators scoured the house and neighbourhood for any sign of him.

“One of the boys yelled to me that his brother was way up in the air,” Licko said. He said he saw two boys on the roof with a camera, commenting about their brother.

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A Queenstown commercial pilot had to chase his light plane, with passengers on board, after it began speeding towards the runway without a pilot at the controls.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission is investigating the incident involving a Cessna 207, owned by Milford Sounds Scenic Flights, getting “out of control” at Queenstown Airport last month.

“During that time the aircraft took off by itself,” Mr Mathews said.

Commission deputy chief investigator Ken Mathews said the pilot got out of the aircraft when the engine wouldn’t start and used his hands to get the propeller moving.

It did not go on to the main runway or disrupt flights.

The pilot managed to get into the aircraft while it was moving and control it before any harm was done, Mr Mathews said.”

The Milford Sounds Scenic Flights aircraft was scheduled to fly to Milford Sound when it began moving without its pilot.

“But there were other aircraft about, so it wasn’t a good thing.

There was a person in the cockpit, but it was unclear what their role or qualifications were, he said. .

Milford Sounds Scenic Flights director Mark Quickfall said the pilot was stood down after the incident and safety procedures improved to ensure aircraft did not set off without their pilots.

The aircraft could carry up to six passengers but it was unclear how many passengers were in the Cessna at the time of the incident, Mr Mathews said. “Our report to the (Civil Aviation Authority) included actions to prevent this happening again.

“It was a serious incident and error of judgment by the pilot,” he said. He declined to comment further on the incident until the investigations had been completed.” The company reported the incident immediately to the Civil Aviation Authority, Mr Quickfall said.

The commission had not provided a completion date for its investigation.

Queenstown Airport chief executive Steve Sanderson said he was aware of the incident but would not comment.

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A defiant Maori Television Service (MTS) says it won’t withdraw its bid for free-to-air Rugby World Cup broadcast rights despite the Government backing a rival bid by TVNZ.

In a bizarre twist, the taxpayer-funded networks are competing for the local broadcast rights to 16 world cup games.The MTS bid is backed by Te Puni Kokiri, the Ministry of Maori Development, which has put up $3 million.TVNZ followed at the last minute with a consortium bid involving privately-owned TV3, backed by the Government.Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples supports it and didn’t tell his Cabinet colleagues before the bid went in.Broadcasting Minister Jonathan Coleman said TVNZ asked for a level playing field.Cabinet will have to sign off funds, likely to be $3m-$4m, if the TVNZ bid succeeds.”You can do the sums – you can see it’s going to be a reasonable amount of money.”It was a reaction by some iwi to say to us ‘you’ve been done and we should help you’,” he told reporters.”Dr Sharples, clearly angry about the way the situation developed, said iwi were offering money to boost the MTS bid.He said he was “extremely concerned” about allegations that the TVNZ bid was developed with access to confidential information about the MTS bid, which indicated the tender process had been compromised.MTS chief executive Jim Mather said last night the Government’s decision amounted to an attempt to defeat MTS and was “extremely disappointing”.”What is the rationale for this, and why is funding for TVNZ now deemed to be appropriate use of government funds?”Mr Mather said MTS had addressed Government concerns that its signal did not reach 10 percent of the population by modifying its bid to allow for the sub-licensing of some games.”The TPK support has been labelled inappropriate use of government funding, yet now the Government is providing more funds to beat the Maori Television bid,” he said.”It is our understanding that Prime Minister John Key was happy with this arrangement.”It is our understanding that Prime Minister John Key was happy with this arrangement.

FREE TO AIR GAMES

Sixteen Rugby World Cup games will be live free-to-air no matter whether the TVNZ-TV3 or Maori Television (MTS) wins the right to screen them.Broadcasting spokesperson Brendon Burns said the Government’s belated intervention would simply line the pockets of the International Rugby Board as it played off two state-funded bids.TVNZ and TV3 would screen six games each, and MTS could screen all 16.Broadcasting Minister Jonathan Coleman yesterday spelled out what would be available if the TVNZ’s consortium bid won.TVNZ and TV3′s games would include two All Blacks’ pool games each.All three would be able to screen the final, semis and third and fourth playoff.If MTS won the bid it has agreed to subcontract to the other broadcasters. .

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A review of pathology services in Auckland will be carried out to see what can be learned from problems during a change over in providers, Health Minister Tony Ryall says.

But first the problems need to be fixed.

Ten per cent of the services will be handed back to Diagnostic Medlab (DML), the provider that lost the multi-million dollar contract to rival Labtests, it was announced today.

The arrangement would last four years and comes after much criticism over Labtests’ performance.

DML will start before the end of the month.

It should take pressure off Labtests, he said.

Mr Ryall said the arrangement would help fix the problem but it would still be “some time before things were fully remedied”.

The problems with services were unacceptable and not “what we were promised in Auckland”. .

Aucklanders were promised a quality laboratory service which has not been delivered, he said.

“Right now, I don’t want people looking in the rear-vision mirror I want them focused on the urgent issue of fixing this.

The main focus now was “putting every effort in making sure this gets fixed” and the review would follow that, Mr Ryall said.

Labtests is owned by Australian company Healthscope.

“There will be a focused review at the end of this to uncover the learnings for the health sector so something like this can never be repeated,” Mr Ryall told reporters.

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A fresh blast of freezing weather is expected to strike the North Island today, just days after heavy snow stranded motorists and left hundreds without power.

Motorists are being urged not to venture out unless their journey is absolutely necessary as heavy rain is expected to turn to snow.

The MetService has issued several severe weather warnings ahead of the storm, with heavy snow forecast to fall as low as 200 metres in Canterbury and Marlborough and 600m in the Central North Island today.

The AA warned that the Desert Road, which was closed for part of last weekend, could have up to 10cm of snow and drivers on other roads, particularly in the South Island, might need to have chains fitted.co.

WeatherWatch.

“We’re advising motorists to be aware of the conditions before setting out as snow may close state highways in both islands during Friday and Saturday.nz head weather analyst Philip Duncan said the timing was terrible for families returning from school holiday trips around the country.

Meanwhile, Wellington police today warned motorists to take extra care on the roads as heavy rain pounded the capital earlier today.”

Strong southerly winds on Saturday could create blizzards on the Desert Road and motorists should have alternate routes in mind in case of road closures, he said.

Trains were also being affected by the downpour, with a service running from Johnsonville to Wellington city train being replaced by buses as a result of flooding.

A central police communications spokesperson said the heavy rain and surface flooding had been a factor in several small accidents and urged drivers to drive to the conditions and watch their following distance.

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Search and rescue teams are examining for a missing two-year-old girl in Auckland with police holding concerns for her safety.

Ashling disappeared from her Longburn Rd home in Henderson at around 5.40pm last night, Police northern communications shift commander Lance Burdett said. Mr Burdett said police had established a search command centre as concerns grew about Ashling’s welfare due to the poor weather, dark and her young age. Search teams, officers, local residents and helicopters are all involved in the search. Ashling has light brown hair and is wearing a green parka/ski jacket, jeans with embroidered flowers on them and white tennis shoes. He said there was also a swollen creek nearby the family’s home. Residents in the area are asked to thoroughly check their homes, inside and out.

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The army is tonight rescuing hundreds of motorists trapped in their vehicles after heavy snow closed roads across the central North Island.

Up to 200 vehicles were trapped on Stage Highway 2 between Napier and Taupo, with most cars believed to have stopped because of snow and ice at Waipunga, at about the halfway point.”Police, the army and Civil Defence have activated and the army is sending in Unimogs to get people to buses waiting at a safe point on the road,” he said.About 150 people had made their way to the Te Pohue Hotel and a further 60 were at the Te Pohue Hall, Hastings Civil Defence controller Mike Maguire said.”People need to stay where they are and stay as warm as possible,” Mr Maguire said.He advised those waiting to stay put.”A welfare centre has been set up at Hukerere Girls College at Eskdale, and Red Cross and the Salvation Army workers were gathering there to make sure evacuees were warm and feed.”When they hear or see army vehicles approaching they need to flash their lights so they can be seen.Police central communications Inspector Kirsty Henson said about 120 cars had been stuck on State Highway 1 between Waiouru and the Three Sisters.The army also rescued motorists from SH1 close to Waiouru.Snow had also closed SH49 between Ohakune and Waiouru, and SH47 at Turangi, she said.Those rescued would be returned to their vehicles tomorrow, she told .”Snow is expected down to 400m, with heavy falls through to (tomorrow) morning, especially above 600m,” forecaster Andy Downs said.The MetService issued heavy snow warnings for the central North Island high country, from the Tongariro National Park and the hills and ranges of Hawkes Bay. .A heavy rain warning was also in place for the Eastern Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay.

.Heavy rain was expected in Gisborne until tomorrow morning, easing by evening