Two a penny

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Kiwis heading into Labour Weekend have been warned to expect mixed weather, and told to take care on the roads.

Transport Minister Steven Joyce issued a statement today calling formotorists to take care on the roads over the long weekend.

”Please act responsibly to ensure your own safety as well as that of your passengers and other road users.

More people were choosing to holiday in New Zealand this year and the roads will be unusually busy, he said.”

In the lower North Island, the New Zealand Transport Agencyclosednorthbound passing lanes on State Highway 1 at Waikanae and Te Horo from midday todaybecause of expected heavy traffic.

”Enjoy the weekend break but please use commonsense and patience on the road. The delays were due to a minor crash close to Waikanae.

However, police said shortly after 4pm that traffic was already extremely heavy between Paraparaumu and Waikanae and, at times, not moving at all. But the southbound passing lane north of Otaki will be closed on Monday for the same reason.

The Waikanae and Te Horo passing lanes willbe reopened late on Saturday afternoon.

Senior Sergeant Kris Burbery of the Central District Highway Patrol said additional units would be drafted in for the weekend.

Police are also planning a heavier presence north of Wellington.

Meanwhile, Metservice forecaster Ian Gall said the remnants of a cold southerly wind were easing over the country and were expected to give way to temperatures from 16 to 20 degrees across the country for the start of Labour weekend.Police will betargeting speed and alcohol related offences, as well as the behaviour of drivers around passing lanes and intersections.

“We’re getting rid of cool times so generally speaking we’re going to see maximums in the top half of the tens.

“Nationwide we’re talking about mostly fine weather, possibly a few afternoon showers in a few places and quite a lot of clear patches with some morning frosts,” he said.

However, showers were possible around the central North Island and eastern parts of the South Island.”

Mr Gall said they expected temperatures to be consistently luke-warm across the country.

It was expected to remain “pretty good” over the North Island, he said.

Mr Gall said the sun was expected to give way to cloudy patches later in the weekend, in particular over the South Island on Sunday with the wind expected to slowly turn into a north-easterly.

“We’re still in unsettled spring conditions so any good spells we’re getting have been fairly brief and are likely to be fairly brief for a while yet,” he said. .

.The only surviving Union Jack from the Battle of Trafalgar has sold at auction in London for close toly $700,000 after being found tucked away in a drawer in a Sydney home.
The battle-scarred flag, which was flown from the mast of HMS Spartiate during the battle, was given to Lieutenant James Clephan by his crew mates 204 years ago as a reward for his bravery during the fighting.
Lieutenant Clephan’s relatives moved to Australia in the 1960s and the flag was tucked away in the bottom drawer of a home in Castle Hill, Sydney for safe-keeping.
The 1805 naval engagement pitted the British fleet under Lord Nelson against the combined French and Spanish fleets, and the ensuing British victory was seen as a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars.
During a fierce bidding war the price climbed more than 30 times the original estimate, setting a new world record for a British flag.
Overnight a London auction house was stunned when the flag sold for a world record of 384,000 pounds ($687,774). .
The buyer is an American collector who wants to remain anonymous.
“So this is a passion I’ve had for history and many of these artefacts people often do not keep the story and the history together.
“I’m a collector and I’ve been collecting flags for over four decades, and I work on keeping the story and the relic together,” he said.
“In the United States it would have a nice home and if we’re not able to work something out with the British government, we of course will give it a good home in the US.
“We understand the concern people may have in the United Kingdom about the flag going to America, but we’re working on a plan to work with the British government to accommodate that concern.”
The buyer says he finds the story of Lieutenant Clephan “intriguing”, which is what attracted him to the flag. I’m sure it will be on view in the US for people to see.
“We’re familiar with the history of the lieutenant who was given the flag at the time right after the battle.
“It’s one of the most historical flags, certainly in the Western world, that’s well documented from a historical event,” he said.”

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“This is a man who worked himself up through the ranks of the British Navy and became one of only 16 captains to do that in the history of the Royal Navy

.Barcelona’s Argentinian star Lionel Messi headlines the 30-strong list of nominees for the Ballon d’Or, or European Player of the Year award, released by the France Football magazine.
Messi is one of the main favourites for the award after scoring one of Barcelona’s goals in their 2-0 Champions League final win over Manchester United last season, and helping his country qualify for the 2010 World Cup.
Manchester United’s veteran Welsh winger Ryan Giggs got the nod as well as Barcelona’s Thierry Henry after his omission last year – the first time since 2000.
Last year’s winner, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, and the English quartet of Steven Gerrard, Franck Lampard, Wayne Rooney and John Terry all made the list, but there was not a single Italian player named.
This year’s winner is to be announced on December 1. .
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Shortlist: Andrei Arshavin (RUS, Arsenal), Karim Benzema (FRA, Lyon then Real Madrid), Iker Casillas (ESP, Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (POR, Manchester United then Real Madrid), Diego (BRA, Werder Bremen then Juventus), Didier Drogba (CIV, Chelsea), Edin Dzeko (BIH, Wolfsburg), Samuel Eto’o (CAM, Barcelona than Inter Milan), Cesc Fabregas (ESP, Arsenal), Fernando Torres (ESP, Liverpool), Diego Forlan (URU, Atletico Madrid), Steven Gerrard (ENG, Liverpool), Ryan Giggs (WAL, Manchester United), Yoann Gourcuff (FRA, Bordeaux), Thierry Henry (FRA, Barcelona), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (SWE, Inter Milan then Barcelona), Iniesta (ESP, Barcelona), Julio Cesar (BRA, Inter Milan), Kaka (BRA, AC Milan then Real Madrid), Frank Lampard (ENG, Chelsea), Maicon (BRA, Inter Milan), Lionel Messi (ARG, Barcelona), Luis Fabiano (BRA, Sevilla), Franck Ribery (FRA, Bayern Munich), Wayne Rooney (ENG, Manchester United), John Terry (ENG, Chelsea), Nemanja Vidic (SRB, Manchester United), David Villa (ESP, Valencia), Xavi (ESP, Barcelona), Yaya Toure (CIV, Barcelona)

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A $50,000 reward has been posted by Lord Ashcroft for information leading to the safe return of Aisling Symes.

Meanwhile a week after two-year-old Aisling Symes’ disappearance, police say they have no leads and have issued another plea for her return.

The award offered by the

The toddler disappeared from Longburn Rd in Henderson where she was last seen with an Asian woman in her 30s walking a dog.

Today the head of the inquiry, Detective Inspector Gary Davey, said there had been no major breakthrough but had been getting a lot of information from the public.

Police poured huge resources into the search but last week said it was most likely she had been kidnapped and the mystery Asian woman may hold the key to her disappearance.

“We are still appealing for anyone who has her to come forward.

Police staff on the inquiry had been increased to 70. We just want her back.

Last week police said after an intensive search of the area around the Longburn Rd home of her deceased grandparents, they were convinced she was not in the area.”

He said today he was still hopeful someone had abducted her and was looking after her but could not rule out other possibilities.

“I believe that.

“My own genuine hope or gut feeling is that somebody does have her and she is still alive,” he told NewstalkZB today.”

The Asian woman was critical to police inquiries, he said. I am optimistic, I believe family are and certainly the investigation team are optimistic that we can find Aisling.

“She doesn’t need to fear the police.

“She doesn’t need to fear the police.

Aisling’s father said the past week has been “one very long bad day”.”

Police had “nothing solid” in the search for Aisling and all they could do was follow the potential leads they had and “make sure we keep an open mind and follow each of those phases down to its conclusion”, he said.He said the family hopes that whoever has their daughter, is looking after her.

Allan Symes told Radio New Zealand today that evenings and mornings have been especially hard for the family, who are exhausted.

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France Telecom announced the replacement of the group deputy head Louis-Pierre Wenes, whom labour unions claim is the man behind stress-inducing management policies blamed for a tense working climate. The French telecom company has come under fire for the alarming suicide rate among staff members, with 24 employees having taken their lives in the last 18 months alone.

French socialist and communist opposition leaders have been calling for the resignation of both Lombard and Wenes, but the group chief executive enjoys the backing of the French government.

Wenes has been replaced by Stephen Richard, a former cabinet director for French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, who joined France Telecom on September 1 and was being groomed to replace the group CEO, Didier Lombard, in 2011. According to the website of French weekly Le Point , the finance minister mentioned Richard as a possible replacement for Wenes at that meeting. Lagarde reasserted her full and unwavering support for the troubled CEO after the two met last Thursday. Wenes is symbolic: he was responsible for &lsquoterror management&rsquo tactics.

A concession to unions

News of Wenes&rsquo departure was greeted with satisfaction by employees and union members.

CFDT union member Pierre Dubois told them that Wenes&rsquo ousting was the logical consequence of his perceived insensitiveness to employee suicides. He had to leave, CFE-CGC union member Pierre Morville told AFP. . A second sticking point was his refusal to negotiate on the policy of forced transfers, whereby France Telecom managers are required to change postings every three years.

There was never any kind of dialogue with Wenes, Dubois told them.

According to Ivan Le Roy, author of a book on management by stress at France Telecom mobile phone unit Orange, Richard is well perceived by most unions, or at least much better than Wenes, who was despised as a &lsquocost killer&rsquo from day 1. On September 24, Wenes had told French magazine Le Nouvel Observateur that he would consider himself the victim of a monstrous manipulation if he were to take on the responsibility of employee suicides. He never accepted to meet us, not until we published an open letter calling for his resignation on September 25.

Iin a joint press release, leftwing unions Sud and Solidaires said: The nomination of St&eacutephane Richard, a close collaborator of President Nicolas Sarkozy, has raised concern among employees about the future of France Telecom.

Deontological concerns

Although most unions are hopeful that negotiations will start afresh with Richard, some warn against hasty optimism. Dubois was also cautious: Richard remains a big question mark &ndash we don&rsquot know much about him. We hope he will rapidly shed light on his future role.

Deontological concerns surfaced immediately after Richard nomination. We hope the management style will change, and that he will bring a fresh look to the heart of the issue: restructuring France Telecom. However, it is not altogether clear how Richard is expected to do so, given that the state is one of the company main shareholders. As a former member of government, he has been authorised to join France Telecom on condition that he abstain from any contact with the cabinet of the finance until June 30, 2012 .

France – France Telecom – telecommunication