Two a penny

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US naval forces have rescued cargo ship captain Richard Phillips from captivity at the hands of Somali pirates in a dramatic shootout that ended a five-day standoff.

Phillips’ life was in danger when naval forces shot the pirates, freeing him unharmed and killing three of four pirates who had held him hostage on a lifeboat after trying to seize his vessel, the navy said. The fourth pirate was in custody.

The US Navy believed that Phillips, who tried to escape on Friday, faced imminent danger amid tense hostage talks with his captors and deteriorating sea conditions.

“I can tell you that he is free and that he is safe,” Navy Lieutenant Commander John Daniels said. William Gortney, head of the US Naval Central Command, said in a Pentagon briefing from Bahrain.

“They were pointing the AK-47s at the captain,” Vice Adm.

President Barack Obama had granted the Pentagon’s request for standing authority to use appropriate force to save the life of the captain, he said.19am NZT and the lifeboat had drifted to about 20 miles from lawless Somalia’s coast.

The US Navy 5th Fleet in Bahrain said the rescue took place at 4.

“We are all absolutely thrilled to learn that Richard is safe and will be reunited with his family,” Maersk Line chief executive John Reinhart said in a statement.

Phillips, captain of the US-flagged Maersk Alabama container ship, had contacted his family, received a routine medical evaluation, and was resting comfortably aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer.

Phillips’ crew let off flares, hoisted an American flag and jumped for joy at news of their captain’s rescue.

CNN showed a photo of a smiling Phillips after his rescue.

“We are very happy.

“We are very happy.

Three US warships had been watching the situation.

Phillips, 53, was the first American taken captive by Somali pirate gangs who have marauded in the busy Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean shipping lanes for years.

“To achieve that goal, we must continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks, be prepared to interdict acts of piracy and ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes,” he said in a statement.

PIRATES VOW REVENGE

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Obama, spared from having another thorny foreign policy crisis added to his troubles with the US economic meltdown and Afghanistan, welcomed the rescue, praised the US military and vowed to curb rampant piracy.

“The French and the Americans will regret starting this killing.

Somali pirates were quick to vow revenge over Sunday’s shooting, as well as a French military assault to rescue a yacht on Friday. We shall do something to anyone we see as French or American from now,” Hussein, a pirate, said by satellite phone. We do not kill, but take only ransom.

Phillips volunteered to go with the pirates in a Maersk Alabama lifeboat in exchange for the crew, said Vice Adm.

The Maersk Alabama, a container ship carrying food aid for Somalis, was attacked far out in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday, but its 20 American crew apparently fought off the pirates and regained control.

“The actions of Captain Phillips and the civilian mariners of Maersk-Alabama were heroic.

“The actions of Captain Phillips and the civilian mariners of Maersk-Alabama were heroic. They fought back to regain control of their ship, and Captain Phillips selflessly put his life in the hands of these armed criminals in order to protect his crew,” he said in a statement.

Joseph Murphy, whose son, Shane, was Phillips’s second in command and took over the Alabama after pirates left with Phillips, said in a statement read by CNN, “Our prayers have been answered on this Easter Sunday.”

“My son and our family will forever be indebted to Capt. Phillips for his bravery. If not for his incredible personal sacrifice, this kidnapping – an act of terror – could have turned out much worse,” said Murphy.

“The captain is a hero,” one crew member shouted from the 17,000-ton ship as it docked in Kenya’s Mombasa port under darkness on Saturday. “He saved our lives by giving himself up.”

LEGAL SYSTEM NEEDED

Experts had expected a quick end to the standoff, but the pirates held out for both a ransom and safe passage home. Friends said the gang wanted $2 million.

The saga has drawn world attention to the long-running piracy phenomenon off Somalia that has hiked shipping insurance costs and disrupted international trade.

Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of Mombasa-based East African Seafarers Assistance Program, said the rescue would change the stakes in future pirate attacks.

“This is a big wake-up to the pirates. It raises the stakes. Now they may be more violent, like the pirates of old,” he said.

Pirates have generally treated hostages well, sometimes roasting goat meat for them and even passing phones round so they can call loved ones. The worst violence reported has been the occasional beating and no hostages are known to have been killed by pirates.

The drama underscored a need for new international agreements to allow other countries to protect shipments in Somali waters and try pirates, US Coast Guard Commandant Adm. .”

The US Justice Department said in a statement it “will be reviewing the evidence and other issues to determine whether to seek prosecution in the United States.”

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All-you-can-tan offers have critics seeing red

By KEITH LYNCH and KIM THOMAS – Monday, 16 February 2009

Salons offering all-you-can-tan sunbed promotions have been branded as irresponsible by doctors, who say such promotions highlight the need for stricter controls over solarium operators.
Dr Judith Galtry, a skin cancer adviser with the Cancer Society, said offering people the opportunity to tan many times in a month was potentially unsafe. Those who used the beds at any age were 15 per cent more likely to develop skin cancer.
"Research from an international agency on cancer found people who used sunbeds before they were aged 18 were 75 per cent more likely to develop melanoma.
Manager Kerry Middleton said the salon strictly monitored its all-you-can-tan customers."
Christchurch salon Skin Deep Solariums is offering an all-you-can-tan promotion for $60 a month.
"In the vertical [tanning bed], it's a max of nine minutes; in the lay-down [tanning beds], it's a maximum of 25 minutes.
"All-you-can-tan is a one-month offer that is strictly within the health boundaries."
Some customers did flout the guidelines, and tanned every day, but the all-you-can-tan system was closely monitored, Middleton said. And we recommend people tan at most every second day, as the skin needs time to recover. We are looking after their skin.
"Our customers are in a controlled environment where we can check exactly how much time they go in for."
Parental consent was required for customers under the age of 18, but sunbeds were off limits to people under 16, Middleton said. .
Galtry said the Cancer Society would carry out "stings" on sunbed operators this year to gauge how many were flouting the guidelines.
This year, Standards NZ and Australia published new guidelines for the tanning industry, including advising against the use of tanning machines by people under 18.
"Good salons should offer people the benefits of tanning without the risk of burning," she said.
Gabrielle Brown, of the Indoor Tanning Association, advised people to tan moderately.
"We've tried to get together with a couple of our critics to talk to them about educating people on how to moderate their tanning behaviour and how to avoid sunburn.
"But our critics' position is they see no benefit to tanning and would like to see the industry completely disappear."

. But they've said, `we can't work with you'

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All-you-can-tan offers have critics seeing red

By KEITH LYNCH and KIM THOMAS – Monday, 16 February 2009

Salons offering all-you-can-tan sunbed promotions have been branded as irresponsible by doctors, who say such promotions highlight the need for stricter controls over solarium operators.
Dr Judith Galtry, a skin cancer adviser with the Cancer Society, said offering people the opportunity to tan many times in a month was potentially unsafe. Those who used the beds at any age were 15 per cent more likely to develop skin cancer.
"Research from an international agency on cancer found people who used sunbeds before they were aged 18 were 75 per cent more likely to develop melanoma.
Manager Kerry Middleton said the salon strictly monitored its all-you-can-tan customers."
Christchurch salon Skin Deep Solariums is offering an all-you-can-tan promotion for $60 a month.
"In the vertical [tanning bed], it's a max of nine minutes; in the lay-down [tanning beds], it's a maximum of 25 minutes.
"All-you-can-tan is a one-month offer that is strictly within the health boundaries."
Some customers did flout the guidelines, and tanned every day, but the all-you-can-tan system was closely monitored, Middleton said. And we recommend people tan at most every second day, as the skin needs time to recover. We are looking after their skin.
"Our customers are in a controlled environment where we can check exactly how much time they go in for."
Parental consent was required for customers under the age of 18, but sunbeds were off limits to people under 16, Middleton said. .
Galtry said the Cancer Society would carry out "stings" on sunbed operators this year to gauge how many were flouting the guidelines.
This year, Standards NZ and Australia published new guidelines for the tanning industry, including advising against the use of tanning machines by people under 18.
"Good salons should offer people the benefits of tanning without the risk of burning," she said.
Gabrielle Brown, of the Indoor Tanning Association, advised people to tan moderately.
"We've tried to get together with a couple of our critics to talk to them about educating people on how to moderate their tanning behaviour and how to avoid sunburn.
"But our critics' position is they see no benefit to tanning and would like to see the industry completely disappear."

. But they've said, `we can't work with you'

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BOP businessman accused of drugging, raping woman

Friday, 06 February 2009

A Bay of Plenty businessman has been accused of raping a woman after allegedly stupefying her with the party drug ketamine.
The Tauranga man, in his early 40s, who was granted interim suppression of his name and that of his business, faced two charges in Tauranga District Court yesterday of sexual violation by rape.
The man was granted bail by Judge Thomas Ingram despite strong objections from police, the Bay of Plenty Times reported.
He also faced a further charge of trying to intimidate the complainant the day prior to his arrest on February 4, after she was allegedly threatened by a woman known to the accused.
He said without more substantiative evidence to support the allegation, he was prepared to grant bail on the basis that the accused observed a 24-hour curfew to live outside the Bay of Plenty.
The judge said he had real concerns over any allegation involving intimidation of a witness but at this stage there was no evidence linking the defendant to the alleged threat.
Police allege that last weekend the accused and the his alleged victim met at a Tauranga address where she was plied with alcoholic drinks and stupefied with ketamine – a prescription-only sedative – then raped.
The man is also also barred from having any contact with his alleged victim and other police witnesses.
During a search of the man's address police allegedly found a small amount of ketamine. .
Judge Ingram said the issue of bail and the suppression order would be revisited on February 11 when the man is due back in court.
But the accused's lawyer told Judge Ingram the allegations were absolutely denied.
Judge Ingram said on that day he wanted to see a sworn statement by the complainant to substantiate her claim of intimidation, plus an affidavit from the accused setting out the grounds why suppression should continue.

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Fine weather and holiday create traffic congestion

Friday, 06 February 2009

Motorists have been reminded about other options for travelling between Auckland and Northland after heavy congestion was reported on State Highway 1.
At midday, the New Zealand Transport Agency said a 17km queue of slow-moving traffic had developed from Warkworth south to Puhoi and the tunnels of the new Northern Gateway electronic toll road.
The agency had warned drivers earlier in the week about the expected high traffic volumes between 10am and 3pm today, Waitangi Day.
Transport Agency regional director Wayne McDonald said the delays south of Warkworth were caused simply by the volume of holiday traffic, and not by any problem with the toll road.
The main alternative route is SH16, which rejoins SH1 north of Warkworth and through which traffic today was reported to be flowing freely. .
He said people were taking the advantage of the fact that Waitangi Day fell on a Friday this year, creating a long weekend.
"It's not the system. The electronic component is working well and very few people are popping in to do manual payments. The new tollway is working magnificently."

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Climber survives 50m tumble

The Thursday, 08 January 2009

A climberslid 30 metres down an ice sheet and then smashed into jagged rocks at such a speed his friends thought he was dead.
To their amazement, Hamish Stace, 20, got to his feet. .
"They couldn't believe it when I stood up.
He was climbing down the mountain with three friends and was attempting a controlled slide down an ice sheet when he came to grief."
Mr Stace was plucked off the side of Marlborough's Mt Tapuae-o-Uenuku by the Westpac rescue helicopter in a daring high-altitude rescue on Tuesday evening.
The Blenheim man slid 30 metres and bounced across the rocks for another 20 metres before coming to a stop.
"I just remember trying desperately to stop, but I was out of control," he said.
Helicopter crewman Dave Greenberg said they found Mr Stace at a height of 2300 metres.
The group called emergency services when they realised Mr Stace was too badly hurt to reach shelter by nightfall. Our paramedic was able to step off the helicopter on to a rock, and walk 500 metres up to where he was located.
"Unfortunately, given the wind, we were unable to winch him up. His friends said he hit the rocks at great speed and were afraid he might be dead, so they were amazed to find him conscious, and with minor injuries.
"He's a lucky man.
"I was unbelievably lucky, I can't believe I don't have any broken bones," he said from his home yesterday, where he was recovering."
Mr Stace was flown to Wairau Hospital in Blenheim and treated for dozens of small cuts, including one in his hand that needed stitches, and deep bruising in his back, buttocks and legs.
Mr Stace was full of praise for his rescuers.
At 2885 metres high, Mt Tapuae-o-Uenuku is the highest peak north of Aoraki/Mt Cook. The pilot was amazing. "I'm just so thankful they were awesome."

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Justin Rys out of jail, with big plans

Saturday, 03 January 2009

/The
WEIGHT ON: In his new personal training gym, Justin Rys teaches weight-loss and muscle-building tricks. He is full of ideas, from a prison-themed nightclub to a fat-burning cookie.

When bodybuilder Justin Rys stood in the dock and heard the judge sentence him to 10½ years in prison, it must have seemed as though his life was over.
But he spent his lag studying, having counselling, exercising using other prisoners as weights, and launching his Convict Gear clothing range.
The former Mr Oceania had enjoyed the trappings of success -fast cars, money, a competition-winning body and beautiful friends – a lifestyle that was peeled back in court to reveal a chronic drug addiction, body dismorphic syndrome, and a heart so damaged that medics gave him two years to live.
The staccato of hard house music throbs from the stereo as he moves between the weights in his new gym, gleaming at the temples and chewing on a protein cookie made by his partner.
Now he is out of prison wiser, clean, and, he says, more self-aware.
"Try one," he thrusts a cookie in our direction."
He is affable and well-mannered, a consummate self-marketer, offering the reporter and photographer a clutch of branded key rings and a bottle of thermogenic weight-loss tablets ("all legal", he laughs), which he created himself. "They taste too good to be good for you. He has started a personal training gym, teaching weightloss and muscle-building tricks.
Rys seems to have landed on his feet.
The incredible focus he once centred on his body has shifted to business. He has also launched a bodybuilding supplement range, and his Convict Gear clothes are selling fast. "If I focus too much on the other things, then I will start hurting my health. "If I focus too much on the other things, then I will start hurting my health.
He began bodybuilding 14 years ago. .
"I put on 15kg in the space of two months and thought maybe it was something I was good at. He was a 17-year-old sprinter, weighing 69kg, who started going to the gym after tearing a muscle.
When it became illegal in 2002, he gave up for a month, but it was too hard."
When he started using fantasy in the 1990s it was legal, a colourless, odourless liquid that was popular with body builders for reducing pain and countering the effects of ephedrine and steroids, and for helping them to sleep.
By the time he was arrested in 2004, he had a litre-a-week fantasy habit. He was addicted.
When Rys went to prison he was suffering cold turkey. He admitted 11 charges of importing the drug (relating to more than 200 litres of fantasy) and one of money laundering and was jailed for 10½ years, reduced to 7½ years on appeal. At his sentencing, the court was told research showed withdrawal from fantasy was worse than from heroin and cocaine. At his sentencing, the court was told research showed withdrawal from fantasy was worse than from heroin and cocaine.
In prison, he paid for his own drug and alcohol counsellor to visit and also sought psychological help. The court had been told he suffered from megarexia, an eating disorder where no matter how big you are, you see yourself as too small.
He started studying for a diploma in drug and alcohol studies, management, business studies and marketing, achieving As and A+s.
Rys worked out in the yard using inmates as weights, stacking two or three of the biggest guys on his shoulders for squats, getting them to lie on his back while he did pushups.
Last year, 2½ years into his sentence, he was freed.
"It was weird coming out, strange, because you didn't know what to do with yourself. You get so used to people telling you what to do."
His nine-year relationship, which had weathered his lag, ended when he came out, something he avoids questions on out of respect for his former partner.
He is contrite, says "I did the crime, I deserved to do the time", but now he wants to move on. His business seems to be doing well if his Jaguar is anything to go by ("You should see my plane – just kidding"). He is brimful of schemes, including a prison-themed nightclub and a fat-burning cookie. "It's totally possible. It makes me feel why haven't people done it before."
When asked if prison changed him, he pauses: "I think it did, actually, in a positive way. I think a lot more about other people where I think, beforehand, I was very much self-focused. Now I think a lot more about how things affect others."
Is he happy? "I feel good, but being happy for me is like I've totally achieved everything I want.
"I'm nowhere near where I want to be. This is just a start."
GIANT FALL FROM GRACE
The one-time Mr Big of the Wellington market was jailed for his part in the biggest fantasy conviction in New Zealand history.
The drug, smuggled from Romania and Moldova in wine bottles and vegetable cans, had a street value of up to $2.1 million. Better known as "Big J", Justin Rys was the kingpin of the trade in Wellington, police said. When he was arrested in December 2004, the market dried up.
With a personality as big as his physique, Rys came across as a gentle giant. But some who claimed to have bought drugs from him disagreed. He was "a manipulator and a control freak", one told The . "He does everything he can possibly do to get you to buy from him. It's exactly the same methods as a P dealer."
Rys spent his early childhood in Wales. He then lived in Palmerston North and Hastings, before going to St Patrick's College in Silverstream, excelling at rugby and soccer.
But he dreamed of becoming a professional wrestler and started pumping iron. He won the Teen Mr Wellington and its national equivalent. Four years later he was Junior Mr Australasia. He went on to claim the Mr Oceania and Mr New Zealand titles.
Rys publicly put his success down to discipline – the Les Mills gym in Cuba St became his second home – and a "high-protein, medium-carbohydrate and low-fat" diet. But in 2000 he was barred from competition for two years after refusing to provide a urine sample.
He promoted deer velvet and appeared to make a great living selling protein supplements. In May 2004 he was convicted of illegally importing growth hormones from China and given a six-month suspended sentence. Seven months later, he was arrested in Taupo.

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Petrol prices too high – minister

By KATHERINE NEWTON Monday, 29 December 2008

Energy minister Gerry Brownlee has called for petrol companies to make immediate price cuts, accusing them of holding prices to capitalise on the peak holiday driving period.
"I would be disappointed if the oil companies are waiting until after the holiday season and high volume sales period before deciding to act," Mr Brownlee said.
New Zealand petrol companies cut the price of 91 octane petrol to 139.
However, record low prices internationally for crude oil, combined with a slight rise in the value of the New Zealand dollar, gave petrol companies even more room to move, Mr Brownlee said.9 cents a litre on December 5, taking it to its lowest since February 2007."
Mr Brownlee's comments mirrored a call from the Automobile Association two weeks ago for companies to drop their prices by a further 5 cents.
"I can't help but think the time for further price reductions has arrived.
Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard has also called for petrol prices to come down, saying oil companies should play their part in easing the burden on consumers.
"There's no intent on our part to hold the price artificially as a result of the holiday period," Chevron spokeswoman Sharon Buckland said.
Petrol companies took offence at Mr Brownlee's suggestion that they were waiting for consumers to return from holiday before dropping their prices. As soon as we can make changes at the pump, we will.
"During the holiday period we monitor the price of petrol every trading day. ."
The price of refined fuel on the Singapore market, which was creeping up again, was a much more important factor in New Zealand pricing than the cost of crude, Ms Buckland said.
ExxonMobil spokesman Alan Bailey also denied Mr Brownlee's implication, saying petrol prices were dictated by retail conditions and everyone was looking for competitive advantage.
ExxonMobil spokesman Alan Bailey also denied Mr Brownlee's implication, saying petrol prices were dictated by retail conditions and everyone was looking for competitive advantage.

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Shell spokeswoman Jackie Maitland said she was "not going to pre-empt what might happen", but Shell was reviewing petrol prices daily and would lower prices as soon as it was possible to do so

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Festival of light

The Saturday, 20 December 2008

ROSS GIBLIN/
PIECES OF EIGHT: As lights went up on Christmas trees around New Zealand, Moriah Kindergarten children Hamish Simcock, Solomon Emet and Miya Dring-Thorpe, all 3, were mesmerised by the candles on a menorah as part of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.

The Jewish kindergarten in central Wellington lit the menorah as part of celebrations for Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.
The kindergarten's children, Jewish and non-Jewish, had been examining forward to Hanukkah for weeks, principal Heidi Greenwood said.
The festival celebrates the rededication of the temple of Jerusalem, where oil meant to last one day kept the temple flame burning for eight."
Traditionally, one candle is lit on each of the eight days of Hanukkah. "We do all the festivals and this one is an absolute highlight. . But as it begins tomorrow – after the last day of school – the kindergarten lit them all yesterday."

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"You often get feedback from the non-Jewish parents saying how their children have brought all these little things home and want to talk about it

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Thai risks still high as Kiwis stranded

By Thursday, 04 December 2008

Protests tarnish Thailand’s image

While hundreds of Kiwis remain stranded in Thailand, new travel warnings talk of increased terror threats, political unrest and severe airport congestion that could take weeks to clear.
"We continue to receive reports that terrorists may be planning attacks against a range of targets, including tourist areas and other places oftened by foreigners," Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith said yesterday.
The New Zealand Government Safetravel website says that due to the political situation, people should not go to Thailand unless absolutely necessary.
Several countries put on more planes to get their nationals home.
Passenger flights out of Bangkok are scheduled to resume tomorrow after anti-government protesters agreed to end an airport blockade that has stranded hundreds of thousands of travellers.
But New Zealand has been able to provide little direct help to an estimated 250 New Zealanders held up in Thailand. Qantas and Jetstar have got more than 1000 Australians out of the country.
Embassy staff have been offering advice but officials say about 140 New Zealanders have left or made their own bookings to leave. But it was unclear whether the plane would be used to get Kiwis out of Thailand.
Meanwhile, an air force Hercules, sent to help if needed to evacuate New Zealanders, was scheduled to land in Kuala Lumpur early this morning (NZ time).
The Hercules – with two full crews, medics and other support staff – flew out of Auckland on Tuesday night and overnighted in Brisbane before flying to Malaysia. Air Commodore Gavin Howse said it would wait for government direction.
Opposition leader Phil Goff said yesterday that the Government's response was "ad hoc and delayed" poorly planned and showed a lack of communication between minister, officials and the public. . He questioned the lack of incident planning and a lack of coordination with the Australian Government. He questioned the lack of incident planning and a lack of coordination with the Australian Government