Two a penny

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Mangere residents are raising doubts about whether police have the right man in custody following a string of sex attacks in the South Auckland suburb in the last two months.

A teenage boy is due to appear in court today after being arrested in connection with a sex attack on a woman in South Auckland yesterday.

The 14-year-old is due to appear in Manukau Youth Court earlier today facing one count of indecent assault against a 29-year-old woman.The woman was knocked to the ground and sexually assaulted before her screams attracted the attention of residents.

In the incident yesterday, the woman was attacked in an alleyway running behind Nga Iwi Primary School as she on her way to pick up a child from school. .

Police have been investigating a string of four sex attacks on females since early last month, the youngest victim being an eight-year-old girl who was raped in an alleyway last week.

However, the description of the arrested man did not match that given by victims of a string of recent sex attacks, Mangere Maori Wardens chairman Thomas Henry told Radio New Zealand.Police have not yet said whether the man taken into custody was arrested in connection with four sex attacks in the alleyway since September 8, or whether charges have been laid.The assault yesterday may have been a copycat attack, Mr Henry said, although he did not understand why anyone would commit such an act.The daylight assaults have been described as “brazen” by police.Police were following up a strong lead from a resident who said they knew who the attacker was and further details would be released earlier today. She punched him and he fled.In an attack last Thursday, a man grabbed a 28-year-old woman pushing her son in a pram in the alleyway.The man was described as Polynesian, aged between 18 and 20, and 165cm tall.The man was described as Polynesian, aged between 18 and 20, and 165cm tall.The man was described as Polynesian and wore a black baseball cap, a white hooded sweatshirt with a black or dark collar.On Monday last week, an eight-year-old girl was raped by a Maori or Polynesian man while walking home from school with her six-year-old sister, who screamed for help. He grabbed her from behind and she was indecently assaulted.On September 8, a 12-year-old girl was attacked by a man in the alleyway.

.Police had received recent reports of an unidentified male approaching young females and asking to touch them in a sexual way

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The New Zealand dollar climbed above US75c for the first time in 15 months, rocketing up more than 1c to close to US75.50c in the two hours to 5am.

By 8am the kiwi was buying US75.37c at 5pm yesterday.37c from US74. .

The NZ dollar also reached a 15-month high of 0.5043 euro from 0.

Against the Japanese currency the kiwi peaked at a one-year high 68.4997 at 5pm.35 yen by the local open from 67.48 yen, easing to 68.

The ANZ bank said risk appetites appeared unquenched as markets expected interest rates in the United States to remain lower into 2010.54 yesterday evening.

After taking a breather at the end of last week, US equities pushed higher to start the week, with analysts’ expectations of earnings continuing to be exceeded, giving investors confidence to push equities higher.

After taking a breather at the end of last week, US equities pushed higher to start the week, with analysts’ expectations of earnings continuing to be exceeded, giving investors confidence to push equities higher.

The NZ dollar managed to outperform the aussie, largely due to a function of less liquidity on the NZ dollar side, ANZ said.

The correlation with equities looked to be back, as gains in the Dow Jones industrial average translated into gains in the antipodean currencies.”

That was especially so as the Reserve Bank of Australia had already started hiking interest rates and there was increasing talk that the next move would be 50 basis points.

“This continues to be a source of much frustration as the NZD side should be underperforming based on relative fundamentals.22c by 8am from A80.

The kiwi was up to A81.34 from 66.96c at 5pm, while the trade weighted index lifted to 67.

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Air New Zealand says it’s cutting its cheapest domestic airfares by up to 23 percent and simplifying fare structures to two options from three.

Starting Monday, airfares will be cut by 10 percent on average to help boostdomestic travel, the government controlled airline said this afternoon.

Air New Zealand’s current three fare structures are being reduced to two – Smart Saver fares and Flexi Plus fares.

“New Flexi Plus fares will start at substantially lower levels than existing Fully Flexi levels, with reductions averaging 32 percent,” Air New Zealand said. .”

The new fare type will provide two free 25kg checked bags and the ability to change flights at the airport on the day of travel for free to any available seat.

“For example, the lead-in price for a Flexi Plus fare on Auckland – Wellington will be $199, 38 percent lower than the old price of $319.

The airline’s short haul group general manager, Bruce Parton, said greater flexibility would benefit business flyers.

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“Cheaper Smart Saver airfares, will stimulate travel, growing the market and adding more tourists into regional New Zealand with flow on benefits to accommodation and attractions as the market recovers from recessionary impacts,” Parton added

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LATEST:
Former New Zealand Olympic rower Rob Hamill has confronted his brother’s killer at the trial of former Khmer Rouge official Duch in Phnom Penh.

An emotional Hamill testified before the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Phnom Penh about the “incredible” impact the horrific death of his brother Kerry, 27, had on his family here – a “massive and unquantifiable impact”.

Hamill, former Olympic and long-distance rower, said he had waited a long time to confront his brother’s killer and to tell the story about the impact on his parents and siblings.

The New Zealander’s wife Rachel and their two-year-old son were in the packed public gallery as Hamill spoke for a full hour.

Hamill’s mother is now dead and his father is in a nursing home.

Duch, 66, has pleaded guilty to murder but the five judges – New Zealander Dame Silvia Cartwright, a French national and three Cambodians – will decide Duch’s innocence or guilt after hearing all the evidence.

Kaing Guek Eav, or Duch as he is known, the man responsible for Kerry Hamill’s death, was in court and listened impassively to Hamill’s testimony as it was translated.

Dame Silvia was in courtto hear Hamill, who was accepted as a civil party.

Crewman Stuart Glass, a Canadian was shot while Hamill and Briton John Dewhirst were interrogated and tortured for two months before being killed in Phnom Penh’s notorious Tuol Sleng Prison run by Duch.

Kerry Hamill was captured by the Khmer Rouge when the yacht on which he and friends were sailing strayed into Cambodian waters in August 1978.

Duch has pleaded the same defence as some of the Nazis at the Nuremberg trials after World War 2, maintaining he was simply carrying out orders and would have been shot had he not done so.

Thousands of Cambodians were killed at the prison.

He noted that Duch used the phrase “smash them”, words meaning prisoners were to be tortured and then killed.

Hamill said Duch had dehumanised himself “the way he did so many people”.

“I’ve wanted to smash Duch,” he said.

“I’ve wanted to smash Duch,” he said.

“We all live and die but the way my brother died it is just so abominable and simply [incomprehensible] and he led that, he created the system that inflicted this terrible, terrible crime on people. I mean what he did, he dehumanised himself… he dehumanised so many thousands of people and the way he did it,” he told told Radio New Zealand.

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A coroner’s verdict that New Zealand Warriors
rugby league player Sonny Fai had drowned has brought closure to his
family, his sister said today.

Chief coroner Judge Neil MacLean found that Fai drowned at Auckland’s Bethells Beach on January 4. His body has not been found. .

Judge MacLean recommended there should be an emergency telephone on the beach, and he would forward the inquest findings to Telecom.

“Sonny Fai died when he succumbed to the surf conditions and drowned, despite extensive and intensive efforts of recovery,” he said at an inquest in Auckland Coroner’s Court today.

After today’s inquest, Fai’s sister Lalelei spoke on behalf of her mother Tausili and father Falelua, and the rest of her extended family, who were all at court today. Cellphone coverage in the area is patchy and the lack of a landline phone could cause problems in an emergency.

“I know it’s hard but it’s closure for our family.

She thanked Judge MacLean, the police, Westpac rescue helicopters and the surf lifesavers.

“Sonny won’t be forgotten in our hearts but having my whole family here makes us know we’ve got the support and the strength to pull through this, and I know that’s what Sonny would have wanted,” she said. This is the next step for us to move forward.

“I think it’s really hit us today that he’s gone.

She also thanked Fai’s lawyer Sandy Anderson and his manager Peter Brown, who, she said, had helped the family through this difficult time.

She added that she thought Judge MacLean’s recommendation of installing an emergency telephone on the beach was a good idea. The body has not been found, but it’s just a vessel to us and we know that he’s still with us,” she said.

” My cousins probably thought it was a calm spot, not knowing it was very dangerous.

Ms Fai said she agreed there was a lack of education around safety in the water. It’s about knowing the risks and the signs to be aware of to be safe in the water.

“Education about understanding the water is very important for each and every one of us, especially Pacific Islanders, who are known to be good swimmers.

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AFP – France’s minister of education is ready to close all of the country’s schools in the event of a major swine flu outbreak, a local newspaper reported on Wednesday.

In case of a complete pandemic we are ready to close all of the schools in France, Luc Chatel was quoted as saying by Le Figaro, a Paris-based daily. .

Chatel added that the mass vaccination of children was not yet an issue. It will be adapted on a case-by-case basis, said the minister.

France has recorded around one thousand swine flu infections and one death, but authorities are concerned the resumption of school will fuel a sharp acceleration in the spread of the virus.

French authorities have, over the summer, worked on distance learning materials that can be broadcast on television, radio and the Internet to help students forced to stay home keep up with their classes, he added.

France – health – INFLUENZA A (H1N1) – schools

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Prime Minister John Key has flagged moves to set a new business investment threshold with Australia as part of moves to a single economic market.

Mr Key arrived in Brisbane today before travelling to the Pacific Islands Forum in Cairns, which runs till Friday. But he expected to announce an increase for Australia and New Zealand during talks with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd during a state visit in the third week of August.Speakingto business leaders in Brisbane today, he said the current investment threshold was $100 million for all countries. He said the move would help boost investment flow between the two countries from the current $122 billion.He refused to speculate on a final figure, but it is understood it may be increased to $200 million.He said Australia and New Zealand would release tomorrow a joint report into the economic crisis and its impact in the Pacific.He also expected to announce progress on simplified border arrangements that would streamline access for travellers between the two countries, though they would still need a passport.

“There’s quite a clutter now of donor nations and bodies examining to distribute aid into the Pacific,” he said.

Climate change and aid were also on the agenda.

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LATEST:
The wife of a New Zealander murdered in Jamaican capital Kingston frantically searched for him after hearing gunshots, a fellow guest says.

Tiki Stardust Steel Hunia, a 27-year-old Hong Kong-based IT consultant and English teacher, was shot during a robbery attempt on Tuesday night. He was with his wife, Nickie-Jean.

The pair were sitting in the outdoor area of their guest house in the suburb of St Andrew, in Kingston. .

One then put the gun to her partner’s stomach and demanded money, while the other snatched Mrs Hunia’s cellphone and hit her when she protested, the woman told the New Zealand Herald.

An American woman who was also outside when the incident happened said two gun-wielding men entered the property, yelling and asking for “Angelo”.

“He (Mr Hunia) got upset because he wanted to protect her so he jumped on the person and they just fell into the bushes in the garden and started to fight,” she said. So I ran.

“At that point I just said, ‘Okay, I have to get out of here’.

“We were hiding in the room for a few minutes and then we walked out and his wife was frantically running around and looking for her husband. While I was running I heard shooting so I told the receptionist to call the police and then I went to hide myself.

She and three others helped carry him to a police car and he was taken to hospital but later died.”

They found Mr Hunia lying on gravel, wounded but breathing, behind a cottage, she told the newspaper.

Gloria said Mr Hunia’s wife thought he was ok – the gunshot had gone in through his arm – but it had actually gone into the side of his chest and had pierced his lung.

Gloria said Mr Hunia’s wife thought he was ok – the gunshot had gone in through his arm – but it had actually gone into the side of his chest and had pierced his lung.

Gloria said that when she answered he had asked to speak with his grandmother who began wailing after the news was delivered but couldn’t tell Gloria what it was.

Gloria told Radio New Zealand that another of her sons had rang her mother’s house where she was staying to pass on the bad news.

Ms Hunia’s mother then told her what had happened: “It’s Tiki – he’s dead.

“I decided to grab the phone and ring my son back to see what the hell he told his grandmother,” she told the radio station.”

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National’s senior whip Nathan Guy has been appointed as Internal Affairs Minister to replace Richard Worth, Prime Minister John Key said today.

Mr Guy will be a minister outside Cabinet and take up Dr Worth’s portfolios of Archives NZ, National Library and associate justice minister.

Maurice Williamson, who temporarily looked after Dr Worth’s portfolios after he lost his ministerial positions, will retain Land Information. .

He was junior whip from November 2006 and has been senior whip since February last year.

Mr Guy is the MP for Otaki and first entered Parliament in 2005.

“He has proven himself to be an able senior whip and member of the National Party caucus,” Mr Key said.

Mr Key said he looked forward to welcoming Mr Guy to the executive.

“I was rapt to receive a phone call from the prime minister offering me the opportunity to become a minister outside Cabinet, which of course I accepted.

Mr Guy said the appointment was a huge honour.

The transport role is a new position and as a local MP he has come out strongly in favour of the Transmission Gully motorway route between Wellington and the Kapiti Coast.”

Mr Guy said he was looking forward to the internal affairs role and other associate jobs, though he did know his delegations yet.

The Wellington to Otaki road is one of the designated routes, but the Transmission Gully motorway is not defined as a solution to the region’s traffic congestion.

Mr Guy said he believed the transport appointment was a sign that the portfolio was a large one and Mr Key wanted to make progress on the designated routes of national significance. .

“There is a lot at stake for the Otaki electorate. but it is just one area around the country. .

A second allegation was also made against Dr Worth by a member of the Labour Party.”

Mr Guy gained the jobs after Dr Worth resigned as an MP late on Friday after earlier being asked to resign as a minister when it emerged that he was under police investigation over allegations of a sexual nature involving a Korean business woman.

In a public statement she also said Dr Worth offered her jobs in his ministerial capacity.

The woman involved, Neelam Choudary, alleged that between November and February, Dr Worth sent dozens of text messages, some sexually explicit, and called her numerous times.

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Sharing his joy with mum

– National Homepage -

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The mother of the 13-year-old girl allegedly raped in a daylight attack spoke to her daughter’s assailant soon after the brazen assault, a court has been told.

The accused, a 34-year-old builder who faces five charges relating to the incident on Easter Sunday, was denied bail by Judge Josephine Bouchier in Auckland District Court yesterday.

The submissions allege that about 9. .

He asked her to go for a walk, which she refused.30am, as the girl walked home in the Auckland suburb of Pt Chevalier, she was approached by the man, who was a stranger to her.

While he was inside, the girl asked a female motorist for help, which was refused.

Later while she waited at traffic lights, he asked her to hold his bag while he went into the close toby BP petrol station, the court was told.

He allegedly grabbed her arm and walked her down the road before dragging her into bushes.

When the man returned, he offered her drinks, food and “a smoke”.

“Not long after, the girl’s mother spoke to him and he did not deny he had been with her daughter,” the police submissions stated.

“It is here that police allege he lit a cannabis joint and made her smoke approximately half a joint,” the judge read.

While this request was refused by the judge, Ms Tui’lotolava appealed against the decision and the matter will be decided in the High Court tomorrow.

The man’s identity remains secret after his lawyer, Mele Tui’lotolava, asked for name suppression for her client.

He had only minor previous convictions relating to traffic offences.

Ms Tui’lotolava said her client arrived in New Zealand in 2002 and had been in fulltime employment in the construction sector ever since.

“He is a married man who lives with his wife and her parents and pays the mortgage.

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The accused had parents and eight siblings living in Samoa, who he supported, and an older sister in Auckland, she said.

The man was remanded in custody for a pre-depositions hearing on May 27.

“While the trial may be 18 months down the track, this case will have the stigma which tends to stay with the public for an extraordinarily long time,” Ms Tui’lotolava said.