Two a penny

Martin is an ordinary Australian twenty-something whose comfortable well-ordered life gets turned on its head when he starts seeing and hearing things each night at the nearby semi-deserted railway yards: mysterious lights people who disappear when followed steam trains that arent supposed to be there. Taken to the edge of sanity Martin eventually learns that he is to ride the night trains every night back to wartime Europe to rescue Jews and help the resistance. But before the war ends Martin will have to confront his SS nemesis save the woman he loves and face a terrible secret from the past that can destroy him before he can accomplish his mission. This is an extraordinarily original work mixing a modern-day setting with alternate reality and time travel; its both a supernatural war thriller and a fascinating psychological profile of what happens when your life gets turned upside down by events outside your control. Imagine Steven King meets Robert Ludlum on a night train c… CLICK HERE -Night Trains Arthur Chrenkoff Paperback at www.science-fiction-books.com.au

.

A Masterton man who achieved a degree of fame through a near-death experience last year was today convicted of assaulting his former partner.

John Edmonds’ heart stopped beating for 25 minutes after a collapse in November.

After his recovery he fielded requests to share his story from a United States radio show, an author and the New York Times.

He was now a illness beneficiary, and the only way he could make money was by capitalising on the interest generated by his survival, she said.

At sentencing in Wellington District Court today, lawyer Louise Elder pressed for Edmonds to be discharged without conviction.

But Judge Stephen Harrop said Edmonds had three previous convictions dating back to 1986, including one for assault.

A conviction could prevent him travelling to interviews or speaking engagements overseas. .

He was also convicted of intentional damage to his former partner’s paintings and fined $1200 reparation.

He convicted Edmonds and sentenced him to six months supervision for assault with intent to injure and fined him $500 in emotional harm reparation.

The pair were getting along until Edmonds received text messages from one of his former partners, Judge Harrop said.

On August 5 this year, Edmonds had visited the home of his on-again off-again partner Sarah Alexander, 33, an amateur artist.

She snapped the phone – which Edmonds had borrowed – and this made him snap as well, Judge Harrop said.

Ms Alexander asked to look at his phone and was annoyed to see who the messages were from.

“You got very angry and you punched one of her paintings two or three times.

“You got very angry and you punched one of her paintings two or three times.”

Ms Alexander told police Edmonds had kicked her about four times in the legs as she collapsed under his blows.

“You then punched her a number of times in the head and face.

She said Edmonds was a high profile member of the community and other cases like his were heard every day and went “entirely under the radar”.

Edmonds’ lawyer, Ms Elder did not hide her contempt for “the press”, telling the court a Wairarapa Times-Age interview with Ms Alexander following the attack, which ran on the front page, had been “a huge punishment in itself”.

Since his heart attack, Edmonds could no longer work in the fitness industry and was now a illness beneficiary, she said.

It had a huge impact on Edmonds, and his teenaged children had received a barrage of text messages “which destroyed them”, Ms Elder said.

.

Judge Harrop noted a discharge without conviction was opposed by police and by Ms Alexander who, in her victim impact statement, said she felt “gutted” by Edmonds’ continued denial of what happened and the lack of an apology

.

MPs found guilty of serious criminal offences will lose their travel perks, a decision sparked by Taito Phillip Field’s recent conviction for corruption.

The former Mangere MP was last month found guilty of bribery and obstruction of justice after being found to have accepted work on properties in return for immigration assistance.Under the Electoral Act, an MP convicted of serious criminal offences must vacate their seat.An amendment to the rules would require MPs convicted of serious criminal offences to give up their travel privileges, Speaker Lockwood Smith announced today.However, they are not required to give up travel entitlements available to former MPs .”I have followed a process that included consultation in arriving at my final decision.”I felt it was appropriate that the travel privileges of former members be stopped where someone was convicted of an offence that would require them to vacate their seat in Parliament,” Dr Smith said. .The decision would apply to travel entitlements available to former MPs who entered Parliament before 1999.The amendment was expected to take effect by the end of next month, Dr Smith said.He could also have claimed a 90 percent discount on international travel, as long as it did not exceed the cost of a return business-class flight to London on Air New Zealand – about $10,000.Having entered Parliament in 1993, Field could have claimed up to 12 free domestic return air fares a year.

.Former MPs have come under fire for the ir travel expenses after they were revealed last month

.

LATEST:
A cyclist died after a collision with a car on State Highway 1 near Te Horo, Kapiti Coast, this afternoon.

Inspector Paul Jermy said a northbound car collided with a cyclist travelling in the same direction at 4:50pm. .

Mr Jermy said traffic was very heavy in the area and police were asking motorists to defer travel if possible.

Police were speaking to the driver of the car.

No information on the identity of the cyclist was currently available.

Police would try to keep the road open while a scene examination was conducted, but delays were likely.

Earlier, police warned motorists to be careful driving over the Rimutaka Hill as a result of high winds.

They said the high winds were buffeting South Wairarapa and the Rimutaka Hill road.

Motorcyclists and drivers of high-sided vehicles should take particular caution.

WELLINGTON TRAFFIC CAMERAS

Aotea Quay traffic camera, provided by CityLink .

The winds were strong enough the police advised drivers should delay their travel if possible.

– Still image – Video

.

– Still image – Video

Courtenay Placetraffic camera, provided by CityLink

.

New Zealand is ready to assist Indonesia after a large earthquake killed at least 46 people and injured hundreds more, the Prime Minister said.

Wednesday’s 7.

A newly married Rotorua couple who were rushing home after learning of a family death were caught up in the powerful earthquake.0 magnitude earthquake sent terrified residents rushing out onto the streets of the capital, Jakarta and in towns and villages closer to the epicentre in West Java.Mr Key said he was concerned to hear about the earthquake and saddened at the loss of life. Government agencies said the death toll was likely to rise, as some affected coastal areas remained out of contact.”To my knowledge New Zealand has not been asked for assistance by the Indonesian Government, but (we) stand ready to consider any requests that might be made.”The New Zealand post in Jakarta has been busy checking the wellbeing of all New Zealanders registered with the embassy, but at this stage there is no reason to believe any New Zealanders have been killed or injured,” Mr Key said.Forty-two people were listed as missing in landslides triggered by the quake. .0 quake struck the Indonesian capital on Wednesday afternoon (local time).

Mike Jonathan, 35, and his Indonesian wife, Cinzia Puspita Rini, were in Jakarta when the 7.

The couple had been on honeymoon in Bali but cut their trip short and travelled to Jakarta yesterday en route to New Zealand after learning that Mr Jonathan’s sister had passed away suddenly. At least 42 people have died and thousands have been forced to flee their homes.

The filmmaker said they were about to lie down for a rest when the house they were staying at began to shake and his wife told him to get out.

They arrived in Indonesia last Friday and had planned to stay for another two weeks but cancelled their trip to rush home for the tangi in Taumarunui today.

.

He said the houses were all built of concrete so they couldn’t take shelter under the doorway as you are told to in New Zealand

.

A Queenstown river boarding company has entered two guilty pleas in the Queenstown District Court to charges arising from a fatal river boarding incident last year, after earlier denying fault. .

Parent company Black Sheep Adventures Ltd and director Brad McLeod had each denied three Health and Safety in Employment Act charges.

She was on a river boarding excursion with Queenstown company Mad Dog River Boarding.

He entered guilty pleas on behalf of the company to one charge of being an employer, failing to take all practicable steps to protect employees; and one charge of being a person in control of a place of work failing to take all practicable steps to ensure no hazard harms customers.

Today, after five days of proceedings last week, defence lawyer Michael Parker told Judge Brian Callaghan his client wished to change pleas on two charges.

Sentencing will take place this afternoon.

In reply, prosecution lawyer Brent Stanaway told the court he was withdrawing one other charge against Black Sheep Adventures Ltd and all three charges against McLeod.

.

Each charge carries a fine of up to $250,000

.

Frustrated AC/DC fans have had to deal with Ticketek blunders today which saw many buyers ending up with more tickets than they wanted and others struggling to buy any at all.

But the Ticketek country director said it had been a successful day and the problems that some people experienced were not large-scale faults and were to be expected with large customer demand.

Many customers have expressed their frustrations at Ticketek, the agent for AC/DC concert ticket sales in Wellington, saying they experienced website problems earlier today.

“I was pretty frustrated earlier today,” he said.

Weta Digital visual artist Dave Abbott was one of the people affected by the meltdown.

“The cornerstone of their business (should be) making sure that that whole stuff is flawless but it just completely fell apart under pressure.

While he had managed to finally get tickets, at least six other people in his office experienced the same problem, he said.”

Though the website had said not to book any more tickets and to ring to check whether his purchase had been successful, he had spent half an hour trying to get though only to have an automated message tell him the phone lines were overloaded, he said.”

Ministry of Health analyst Brett Lousich wanted five tickets but ended up with 15 – costing him $2,700 in what he called an “absolute debacle”.

“I tried to (book tickets) twice so potentially I could’ve spent $700 on tickets.

He said when he finally got though to Ticketek he was told he had ordered five tickets successfully but a call to his bank showed he had paid for 15 tickets and been charged $2,700 worth of charges.

He said he had thought his efforts to buy tickets had been aborted twice before a message told him not to buy any more after his third attempt and to call them to see whether his order had gone through.

“I guess the thing that annoys me is they haven’t put anything on the website explaining at all what’s gone wrong.

“Even to this point in the day I still haven’t received any confirmation that my order’s gone through via email,” he said. They could have emailed all the people that have had issues,” he said. They could have emailed all the people that have had issues,” he said. .

He said there had been such high demand that problems were inevitable.

“I now have 12 bloody tickets when I only wanted two.

A number of comments from readers expressed frustration at the issue. Their system obviously couldn’t handle that many people on the site. Ticketek is completely useless.

. And I can’t get hold of them for refunds,” said a poster called Tom

.

At least 15 people were killed and 50 injured overnight in Italy when a freight train hauling liquefied petroleum gas derailed and exploded as it passed their homes, officials said on Tuesday.

About 1000 people were evacuated following the blast just before midnight on Monday, which shook people from their beds in the Tuscan seaside town of Viareggio, about 350km north of Rome.It was Italy’s most deadly rail accident since 17 people were killed in January 2005, when a passenger train collided with a freight train near the northern city of Bologna.Thirty-seven people were injured, seriously or very seriously, rescue workers said, including a 2-year-old who was badly burned and was being transferred to a hospital in Florence.GATX Rail Europe, a unit of the US-based GATX Corp, which owns the rail cars – each one made of a gas tank attached to a wagon – told it did not know the cause of the explosion and was gathering information from news reports.Firefighters battled overnight to contain blazes started by the explosion and, as a precaution, were emptying liquefied petroleum gas from other, unexploded tanks in the wrecked train.Television showed the fire spreading down city streets, setting cars and nearby buildings alight.Chief Financial Officer Werner Mitteregger said the tanks being transported on the Italian railways were new.At least two children were among the dead, officials said. Rescue workers set up along the roadside to provide first aid to burn victims.Rescue workers pulled bodies from the rubble of damaged buildings.”Let me see him! Let me see him!,” screamed one man trying to see his grandson, who was among the dead, ANSA news agency reported.State railways said the accident occurred when one carriage derailed, pulling another four with it. ANSA said two nearby buildings collapsed. . Liquefied petroleum gas escaped from a tank on one of the carriages and caught fire

.

Rachel Hunter has been dumped by her toyboy lover less than two months before they were due to wed, British tabloid The Sun reports.

Ice hockey star Jarret Stoll stunned the New Zealand model by walking out without even saying the reason, the newspaper said.

It reported that Stoll told guests by email that the star-studded ceremony on August 14 was cancelled. Everything was in place for their wedding – she had the venue, the designer dress, the guest list.

A source close to Hunter, who was formerly married to rock star Rod Stewart, told the paper: “She is absolutely devastated. It sounds like it could be a classic case of cold feet.

“She has absolutely no idea why Jarret has done this. He is a fair bit younger than her.

Hunter and Stoll met two years ago through Hunter’s son Liam, 13, a talented ice hockey player coached by Stoll. .

-

.

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

Ad Feedback –>
loadAd(’300×250′,’STORYBODY’,300,250);

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.”