Two a penny

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Trampers who were missing in Rimutaka Forest Park have made it out safely.

Police had been considering a search for the group after they failed to return from an overnight tramp to the Ongaonga River yesterday.

A police patrol met them about 3. No one was injured, according to a police statement.30 pm. “They made the right decision to wait for the river level to go down before crossing it. .”

Earlier, a police spokeswoman said one of the trampers had been in contact with their family.

They had managed to cross the river and were making their way out. The family member had said the party was safe and well.

The group, all aged in their 20s, started on the three-hour tramp on Saturday. A police patrol had been dispatched to meet them and the group were expected home before nightfall.

The group had planned to stay at the Shamrock hut.

Acting Senior Sergeant Steve Braybrook said the conditions were bad last night with heavy rain, which would have prevented the group leaving the valley.

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A Waikato woman has found her Irish husband’s body in a Laos river three days after he went missing in a tragic end to their Asian honeymoon.

Michael O’Sullivan, 39, a publican, got into difficulty after a river “tubing” ride with his wife Ilana James 29, and 18 other holidaymakers.They had planned to renew their vows in the presence of Mrs O’Sullivan’s mother in New Zealand.Mr O’Sullivan and Ms James, from Raglan, had been enjoying a belated honeymoon backpacking around Asia after marrying last November, the Evening Herald in Dublin reported.But the river had swollen dangerously because of the rainy season, and locals had to use ropes and sticks to rescue them.Last Thursday, the pair went on the “tubing adventure” on the Nam Xong river in Vang Vieng, in the north of Laos, described by backpackers’ guide Lonely Planet as “one of the rites of passage of the Indochina backpacking circuit”. He was not wearing a lifejacket. .For three days she hired boats and scoured the river banks looking for her husband and she was among a search party that found his body yesterday.Ms James insisted on being part of the search team that combed the river.The couple met in England.Ms James suffered a further blow when she was mugged on the way back to her hotel during the search.They had already visited India, Malaysia and Thailand after heading off backpacking in June. They were married last year and moved to Ireland.

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Actor Patrick Swayze, whose turn as a smoldering dance instructor in Dirty Dancing made him one of the iconic film stars of the 1980s, has died after a long battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 57.

Swayze, an actor and dancer who cemented his status as sex symbol opposite Demi Moore in the 1990 romance Ghost, died at his home.

Swayze became one of Hollywood’s top stars with 1987′s Dirty Dancing, which defied Hollywood expectations to become one of the most-watched movies of all time. .

Swayze was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer, one of the most deadly forms of the disease, in January 2008.

The Texas-born actor played the swaggering dance instructor Johnny Castle in the film opposite Jennifer Grey’s sheltered teenager Frances “Baby” Houseman, who becomes smitten with him while on vacation at a New York resort during the 1960s. Pancreatic cancer sufferers are only given a five percent chance of survival. He said at the time that the cancer had already spread to his liver.

The series was broadcast in America earlier this year.

But he vowed to fight the disease and had treatment with an experimental drug, surprising Hollywood by filming a new detective series for television called The Beast in which he played the lead role..

“I think everybody thought I was out of my mind . thinking I’m gonna pull off a TV show,” Swayze said in an interview in January 2009, adding that he was scared and angry at his diagnosis..

Dirty Dancing, which was made for a modest budget and almost scrapped by its studio, became a massive box-office hit, earning Golden Globe nominations for both stars and spawning the Oscar-winning hit single (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.

Swayze was working on a memoir with his wife of more than 30 years, Lisa Niemi, earlier this year.

Swayze co-wrote and performed the song She’s Like the Wind for the movie’s soundtrack, which went to No.

Producers did not have high hopes for the film but it reaped US$64 million at the US box office and US$214 million worldwide. The film remained widely popular more than two decades later and recently spawned a stage musical version. 3 on the pop music charts.

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Dunedin’s mayor and city MP Pete Hodgson want the controversial Undie 500 rally out of Dunedin for good.

The rally once more descended into chaos last night, with Dunedin police forced to wear riot gear and use pepper spray to disperse student mobs. .The annual Undie 500 event, organised by Canterbury University engineering students, involves a pub crawl from Christchurch to Dunedin, in cars worth under $500.The 70 officers took about two hours to disperse the students.Hodgson, who represents Dunedin North, told Radio New Zealand it’s time to put a stop to the event. This is the third consecutive year the rally has led to disorder.Mayor Peter Chin said the Undie 500 isn’t welcome in Dunedin, and suggested the Canterbury students trash their own city instead, RNZ reported.Last year’s official Undie 500 was cancelled after rioting in the city resulted in 69 arrests the previous year.The event has previously caused headaches for Dunedin police left to control riotous behaviour at the end of the trip.Most of last night’s action centred in the three blocks around Castle Street, with mobs setting furniture and piles of rubbish on fire in Castle and Leith streets, Dunedin Area Commander Inspector Dave Campbell said.However, an unofficial version of the event still ran and 30 arrests were made after another round of disorder.Flying bottles hit two or three other people, who had to be taken away by ambulance for treatment.One officer was hit in the head and knocked down with a hurled bottle, and would have been seriously injured if not for his helmet, he said.Mr Campbell said there would be a boosted police presence this weekend and anyone arrested would gain a criminal record, due to a no-diversion policy.Mr Campbell said there would be a boosted police presence this weekend and anyone arrested would gain a criminal record, due to a no-diversion policy.They faced a variety of charges, ranging from disorderly behaviour and breaching the liquor ban to wilfully setting fire to property.Most of those arrested were Otago University students, Mr Campbell said.”We are happy we have been able to stabilise the crowd without exerting our authority too much,” he told the Otago Daily Times.The officer in charge of the police response, Inspector Alistair Dickie, said they had chosen to take a softer approach this year and were relatively pleased with how things turned out last night. We are pleased at the moment.”We could have sparked something here.”

. Hopefully, I don’t eat my words

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The Government does not appear to be concerned about the reopening of an inquiry into one of its MPs.

The inquiry, involving list MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi over immigration allegations, is back on after police were provided with fresh information.

There have also been allegations swirling around about attempts to silence witnesses.

Mr Bakshi has denied allegations he accepted money for false job offers to bolster Indian immigrant applications.

“There have been allegations around for a while, it’s my understanding that the Department of Immigration has been looking into those and they should follow the proper processes.

“As far as I understand, he’s quite clear he hasn’t done anything he shouldn’t have done,” Acting Prime Minister Bill English told reporters today.

It has now provided police with further information on the allegations after interviewing a new informant, The New Zealand Herald reported.”

Immigration New Zealand started an inquiry last year but closed it in March as a result of a lack of evidence.

Police said they were looking at the role of former immigration consultant Darshan Singh Bains, who took job offers from Mr Bakshi and gave them to Indians to use as part of their applications to migrate to New Zealand.

The service also provided police with a sworn statement, obtained by Labour MP Pete Hodgson from another new informant, which said complainants were encouraged by people in India to drop the matter; “because he was going to be the first Sikh MP in New Zealand”. .

“Police are currently assessing that Immigration NZ information to determine criminal liability,” police said.

In Parliament today Mr Hodgson read an affidavit sworn by Darshan Singh Saran, a resident of the Punjab and a friend of Kuldip Singh, the man who says he paid for a job offer for his wife.

Mr Bakshi has been away from work after a heart bypass operation but is expected back soon.

It recorded how “influential people” urged Kuldip Singh not to speak out against the MP.

The affidavit said the money was paid to Darshan Singh Bains, and Kuldip Singh’s attempts to recover it failed because the immigration consultant had disappeared.

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A former girlfriend of murder-accused Clayton Weatherston has told the High Court in Christchurch that he once kicked her across the room.

The woman, whose name and occupation is suppressed, said she was in a relationship with Weatherston from 2004 to August 2007, when he ended it.

Weatherston, 33, is accused of stabbing his former girlfriend Sophie Elliott, 22, to death at her home on 9 January last year.

The witness, who was Weatherston’s girlfriend before he started dating Elliott, recounted a violent incident in the latter half of 2006 when he had kicked her across the floor. He admits her manslaughter but denies the murder charge.

She had rushed to the bathroom and Weatherston would not let her leave. He had kicked her in the back and the ribs and her knee had hit her nose which started bleeding, she told the High Court in Christchurch. Her eye was bruised in the assault.

“I felt trapped,” she said.

He would not let her leave the house and took her car keys because he wanted to talk about it.

“I told if him if you don’t get help I will leave you,” she said.

She recovered and she got very annoyed and told him to get help.

Weatherston had, according to Elliott, denied a previous violent incident in his bedroom on December 27, 2007, and had accused her of making up stories and being crazy.

Earlier in the day, Elliott’s friend Erin van de Water, told the High Court in Christchurch Elliott had told her of a meeting she had with Weatherston on January 7, 2007, in his office in the Economics Department at Otago University. As Elliott was leaving Weatherston had accused her of ruining his career and Elliott believed he had tried to push her down the stairs. As Elliott was leaving Weatherston had accused her of ruining his career and Elliott believed he had tried to push her down the stairs.

She heard from Elliott how Weatherston thought he was much better than her and she was lucky to be going out with him. They would often “vent” on their personal life and she became aware of the relationship with Weatherston.

Elliott often wondered if they had a relationship as Weatherston would want to spend quality time with his ex-girlfriend who was supposed to be the most amazing person. . By Christmas they did not seem to be a couple any more.

Van de Water, a make-up artist, said Elliott felt her self esteem was damaged by Weatherston’s comments and her confidence was noticeably knocked. She reported that earlier that day she had visited Weatherston to give him a photo album of his graduation.

On December 27 Elliott had come to her house and looked shaky and flushed. He had made insulting remarks about her appearance saying her chin was too pointy and her eyes were too far apart. Weatherston had started shouting and forced her on to his bed and put his arm on her throat.

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A 19-year-old Dunedin man who tortured and killed a dog has been jailed for a year – the longest sentence yet for animal cruelty.

Jeffrey Hurring, a supermarket shelf-filler, tortured an 18-month-old male Jack Russell for 30 minutes, before killing it with a spade on February 2.

He was sentenced in Dunedin District Court to 12 months’ jail and barred from owning an animal for 10 years, The Otago Daily Times reported. .

Hurring admitted killing the dog, named Diesel and owned by a friend, by first trying to strangle it using a chain, his hands and his feet.

Judge Stephen O’Driscoll said the maximum previous sentence handed down in New Zealand for cruelty to an animal was nine months’ jail, but the cruelty of this case was a significant aggravating factor in sentencing.

The impact broke the dog’s back and jaw, killing it.

Hurring was ordered to pay $1178.

SPCA national chief executive Robyn Kippenberger hailed the sentence and said it “sends a very clear message”.50 reparation to the SPCA and to continue counselling for his drinking and other issues related to his offending for at least six months after his release from prison.

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Executives at Air New Zealand are to act as cabin crew for the airline’s subsidiary, Zeal 320 Ltd, during next week’s planned strike action on trans-Tasman and Pacific routes.

Talks between the airline and the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) are continuing.
But the EPMU said it did not believe the airline had staff available to replace striking cabin crew.
Air New Zealand told Radio New Zealand it had 100 fully qualified staff, including top executives who have volunteered to keep planes flying over the Easter period.
Air New Zealand’s group general manager of short-haul airlines, Bruce Parton, said senior staff, including Glen Sowry, who is heading the negotiations, will act as crew on the Zeal 320 flights. .
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Mr Parton said the airline may consider sacking and replacing the 250 Zeal cabin crew if the industrial action is drawn out

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Axe bandit hits Wgtn service stations

By CLIO FRANCIS – Wednesday, 14 January 2009

Supplied
BRAZEN ROBBERY: Wellington Police said the early morning robberies at a Shell station in Newtown and a Caltex station in Miramar, left staff traumatised and the offender with less than $300 cash.

A brazen robber with a tomahawk axe strapped to his waist struck two service stations in Wellington today.
Acting Detective sergeant Andrew Compton said in both cases the lone robber lifted up his shirt to expose what the victims thought was a tomahawk axe placed across his waist.
Wellington Police said the early morning robberies at a Shell station in Newtown and a Caltex station in Miramar, left staff traumatised and the offender with less than $300 cash.
The first robbery occurred around 5.
He said police were sure images taken from security cameras at the petrol stations would help find the person responsible.
Later, at 8.20 this morning at a Shell station on Constable Road, Newtown, he said.
He said that at both petrol stations the man demanded the contents of the till, and left with small sums of cash.45am, the man walked into the Caltex Station in Broadway, close to Wellington Airport. The victims said he wore a black beanie over his face with a black cap on top.
The robber is described as being dark skinned, possibly Fijian, in his mid 20's. .
He was dressed in a red t-shirt with a long sleeved grey jacket and was wearing baggy jeans.

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Cradle to early grave

Tuesday, 06 January 2009

More than350 children and young people whose safety or welfare had been brought to Child, Youth and Family's attention have died since 2000.
Children's commissioner Cindy Kiro says many of the deaths were preventable.
Some died from suicide, abuse, assaults by parents or caregivers, neglect and shootings.
Last year, Dr Kiro carried out a review of the deathsand she criticised CYF social workers for not focusing enough on at-risk children. Most died from natural causes, medical complications or accidents, including vehicle crashes, fires, falls and drownings.
Dr Kiro said she was frustrated by the significant number of preventable child deaths through violence, neglect, injury or suicide.The review found "gaps" in information provided to her office and triggered a new focus on neglect by parents and caregivers.
Though CYF had dealt with some issues identified in her review, it needed to do more to protect high-risk children it was notified about.. "I want to see more impetus and focus . because that's where I think we can save the lives of a lot more children.."
Figures in Dr Kiro's 2008 annual report show her office was notified by CYF of 86 deaths last financial year alone a large increase on the previous year.
"It's immensely frustrating and it makes me feel sometimes angry that we can't and don't do more.
A further 271 deaths were reported between 2000 and 2007.
A further 271 deaths were reported between 2000 and 2007.
"We know about them, but it might just be a phone call that's made about a kid who's driving fast down the road," a spokesman said. .
About 50 children have died since 2000 while in CYF care, four from violence or abuse.
Numerous children referred to its care had pre-existing medical conditions. She would work with Dr Kiro on child advocacy issues.
Social Development Minister Paula Bennett refused to comment on the numbers, saying only that any child's death was tragic.
She said children notified to CYF were dying from the same causes as other children but were a higher-risk group.
Dr Kiro's review last year criticised CYF social-worker practices, and found "significant issues around supervision and chronic neglect" by some parents and caregivers, especially in cot death cases."
Generally when childrendied through deliberate violence or neglect, most were aged under five, not known to CYF officials and from families with intergenerational abuse. "So there's going to be an increased proportion of them who will die from physical assault, injury or other violence categories.
The number of reported cases of potential child abuse jumped from 40,939 notifications in 2004 to 89,461 last year.
The number of reported cases of potential child abuse jumped from 40,939 notifications in 2004 to 89,461 last year.
CYF said it was "symptomatic of an increase of public awareness and a growing intolerance of child abuse in society".