Players who have etched up little more than 50 appearances for 9 clubs in more than a decade must be two a penny and it’s true that the Frenchman’s spells at Southampton, Leeds, Rotherham and Palace were more notable for constant and …
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the two unfortunates: Football League Stars gone American
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A bout of freezing weather is set to cover the country from later today with a “very cold” southerly flow forecast to move up from the South Island, prompting warnings for farmers to move their stock to sheltered ground.
The southerly airstream is forecast to head north over Southland and Otago this afternoon and Canterbury and Marlborough this evening, the MetService said.
The MetService said snow levels should slowly rise up to over 1000m on Thursday evening, with snow showers expected to clear from most inland areas during the morning.
“Over the South Island, snow showers are expected to lower to 300 or 400 metres in many southern and eastern areas later today,” the agency said in a statement.
Wellington, Wairarapa and Manawatu are forecast to receive snow dumps as low as 500 metres early on Thursday morning.
The southerly change was set to cross over the Cook Strait around midnight tonight before blanketing the North Island on Thursday morning, with snow showers likely to be as low as 700 metres south from Taihape and Hawke’s Bay.
“However snow is likely to affect many higher roads and passes in the South Island later today and also the Desert Road, Napier Taupo road and Rimutaka Hill road during Thursday morning. .
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“The combination of cold temperatures and strong southerly winds in exposed areas may affect livestock, and farmers are advised to move any stock at risk to sheltered areas,” the MetService said
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Auckland police investigating a suspicious
death believe they know how the man died, but lack enough evidence
for an arrest after being stonewalled by witnesses.
Damien Loder Allen, 33, the previous month died from head injuries which were not accidental.
Police believe the house where his body was found on September 24 in the suburb of Hillsborough had been cleaned and his body had been moved.
Mr Allen had head injuries and police were still waiting on toxicology results.
Several possible witnesses were refusing to co-operate.
He would not say how Mr Allen got his injuries, or if they had found a weapon.
Detective Inspector Scott Beard said he believed witnesses may be protecting someone involved in the death.
Others in Mr Allen’s house made 111 calls the night he died.
It was not a party but people were socialising and drinking.
Four people were in the house when police arrived and others had visited the house on the night.
He said information was still flowing in but police still wanted to hear from anyone who knew what may have happened or knew the people at the house. .
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Anyone with information should call the confidential Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111
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The Serious Fraud Office is investigating failed clothing manufacturer Lane Walker Rudkin Group.
The office said in a statement this afternoon that, following a complaint by receivers, it would investigate the group’s affairs.
The group of companies collapsed in April, owing Westpac about $120 million.
“As we are at the early stages of the investigation, I can’t predict how long it will take.
Serious Fraud Office director Grant Liddell said receivers alleged the group had misrepresented its financial strength to the bank in order to borrow money.
Since LWR was placed in receivership by Westpac, about 228 of the firm’s staff have been made redundant.
“Our work is already underway, however, and information has already been received and is being analysed. LWR Industries and seven subsidiaries, all owned by businessman Ken Anderson, were placed in receivership owing creditors $121 million, including $111.
Last month the receivers, BDO Spicers, confirmed a complaint had been laid with the SFO without specifying what it related to. .
“We have had strong feedback from the workers that they are wanting to see the whole of the financial shambles investigated, given the workers were one of the losers in the situation,” he said. At that time National Distribution Union general secretary Robert Reid said his union had long been calling for an investigation into LWR’s failure. John Lane and Pringle Walker formed a partnership to operate a small woollen mill and began supplying the Rudkins.
Christchurch-based LWR traces its history back to the production of men’s socks and cardigans from the homes of Alfred and Sarah Rudkin in the 1880s. In 1904 the two firms merged. In 1904 the two firms merged.
From the early years through to the 2000s LWR provided gear for the All Blacks, America’s Cup yachting crews and New Zealand athletics team members, including John Walker when he won the 1976 Olympic games 1500 metre gold medal in Montreal. During World War II it provided uniforms for the military forces.
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The firm has directly employed many high-profile people, including Prime Minister John Key in his youth, and used the advertising clout of such famous Kiwis as Rachel Hunter, Chris Cairns and Jude Dobson
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Deputy Prime Minister Bill English has announced he will not receive any more taxpayer-funding housing allowances.
The finance minister this afternoon confirmed actions he had taken with the aim of putting the “unnecessary distraction” of the row over his housing expenses behind him.
His announcement comes ahead of an informal meeting scheduled with the Auditor-General’s office this evening to discuss an investigation into his housing allowances claim.
* Had not received any housing allowance payments since July 28.
Mr English said he:
* Would no longer receive a housing allowance.
* Had received a legal opinion from Stephen Kos, QC, that changes made to his family trust arrangements did not affect his eligibility for the housing allowance.
* Had repaid all housing allowance payments received since last November’s election to Ministerial Services.
“What I’m announcing today reflects a set of personal decisions I have made about my own situation,” Mr English said.
“At all times my decisions have been driven by my desire to keep my family together and provide them with as much stability as possible.
“It is in no way setting a precedent for others although I make the point here that I believe Parliament does have to think how it can accommodate the families of long-term politicians.”
A TV One poll showed that voters felt the issue was denting Mr English’s credibility. It’s now clear that the system has struggled to deal with my circumstances.
The Deputy Prime Minister considers the Southland town of Dipton, in his electorate, to be his primary residence under parliamentary rules, but his family has lived in, and owned, a house in Wellington for years.
Asked if the issue had damaged his credibility, 62 percent said yes and 27 percent no; asked if Mr English has acted with integrity, 54 percent said no and 30 percent yes.
He came under fire when it was revealed he was now claiming a much higher allowance to stay in the Wellington house than when he lived there as an opposition MP.
He came under fire when it was revealed he was now claiming a much higher allowance to stay in the Wellington house than when he lived there as an opposition MP.
Today, a spokesman for Mr English said the Auditor-General’s office wrote to the minister after receiving the complaint.
Auditor-General Lyn Provost has asked for more information before deciding whether to investigate a complaint by Progressive Party leader Jim Anderton into the matter.
He will meet with a team from the office tonight for informal talks which will not form part of the inquiry, the spokesman said.
They said “feel free” to get in touch and Mr English has done that. .
Mr English will be informed about what the Auditor-General’s office is doing
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A Christchurch City Council proposal to buy the ‘house of horrors’ where two bodies were found last Friday has been welcomed by the owner of the adjoining house, who says the offer has ‘lifted a huge weight’ off him.
The Christchurch house may be bought by the city council because no-one would want to live there, Mayor Bob Parker says.
“Nobody can go back and live there or, in the short term, would even want to consider being in that place,” he said.
In an announcement that surprised some councillors, Parker said that after watching the removal of one of the bodies on TV on Monday night, he believed the “only resolution” was for the council to buy the Aranui house and the adjoining home on the property.
Jason Hall said today Mr Parker’s proposal was a huge weight off his mind.
The Hall family, who lived in the other side of the semi-detached house have stayed in alternate accommodation, paid for by police, since the discovery of the bodies and have said they would never return to their home. .
“It felt like someone had lifted a car off of my back, the relief.” he told Radio New Zealand. .”
Parker said there was a “significant danger” the building would be attacked.
“There’s still all the horror of what’s actually happened there and that’s not gonna go away in a hurry at all.
One was an occupant of the house and the other is believed to be that of a neighbour, Tisha Lowry, who disappeared a year ago.
The bodies of two women were found buried under the floor of the two-storey Wainoni Rd home last Friday.
Police say he is likely to face a second murder charge when he reappears in the Christchurch District Court on Friday.
A 33-year-old man, who is listed with his wife as the home’s owners, has been charged with his wife’s murder.
“We need to cross that bridge when we get to it.
Parker was not aware the accused man co-owned the property and could not say whether that would stop a possible purchase.
“If it works out and we have a willing seller, then I think the council will be a willing buyer. The property itself is currently the scene of an investigation and we don’t know how long that will last,” he said.
“For the community to be able to climb back up from the shock of this event, there has to be a role for them in creating a positive outcome on that site,” he said.”
The community would decide the future of the site, Parker said, with options including a memorial park or a community support facility. For the city as a whole, we need to move on.
“There are lots of good people who are deeply hurt in the area at the moment and there needs to be a way that we can heal this for the sake of that community.
“We don’t want someone resolving this by themselves and potentially destroying the house in some way because that puts others in the community at risk.
“We don’t want someone resolving this by themselves and potentially destroying the house in some way because that puts others in the community at risk. .
.French police have released all 11 people arrested two days ago over death threats and bullets sent to President Nicolas Sarkozy and other politicians, a judicial source said. .
Since then, similar letters have sporadically appeared in mail rooms at politicians’ offices.
A first batch of brown envelopes containing 9mm cartridges and letters with threats like “You are all dead men walking” was sent to Mr Sarkozy, two ministers, the mayor of Bordeaux and other centre-right politicians in March.
The letters were signed by an unknown group calling itself “Fighters from Cell 34″. The latest, meant for Mr Sarkozy, was intercepted by postal services in Montpellier, south-west France, in August.
The judicial source said one was a well-known local political activist who had campaigned against plans to erect wind turbines close to a small town.
The 11 people arrested on Thursday (local time) were shopkeepers, former soldiers and members of a shooting club who all live in villages close to Montpellier.
However, a police source said searches at the suspects’ homes had not yielded convincing evidence. The mayor of the town was one of those who received letters. The man was briefly detained and released without charge.
Police had arrested a man in March on suspicion of sending the letters after he was denounced by his wife.
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Winter is expected to have one last hurrah with snow forecast over much of the country until the weekend.
The MetService said strong cold winds were expected to spread snow showers down to 200 metres over Otago overnight, and over Banks Peninsula and the Kaikoura Coast down to 400 metres tomorrow morning. .
Snow showers should lower to about 400 metres on the eastern ranges of Wellington, 500 metres for the central North Island and Hawke’s Bay, and to about 600 metres over Gisborne tomorrow.
Up to 20cm could fall on the Catlins through to late Thursday morning.
Severe frosts were expected on sheltered basins and valleys in the South Island on Friday morning and again on Saturday.
Showers south of Napier should clear on Friday but rain and strong winds were expected in Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay on the weekend.
Motorists were warned to take care in icy conditions.
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Cold southerlies were expected over the North Island late on Thursday, and farmers were warned the wind, cold showers and snow could be stressful for newborn lambs and calves
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A man has been arrested after allegedly chasing a car with a replica pistol in the Wellington suburb of Island Bay.
Acting Senior Sergeant Corey Watts said the man, who gave himself up last night after police set up a cordon around his house, had been charged with presenting a firearm.
Police were called to Island Bay after 10pm yesterday after receiving calls that a man was seen running down a road after a car armed with a pistol.50pm.
Mr Watts said police then cordoned off a property in Eden St around 10.
Mr Watts said police had determined the firearm was an air pistol, and that it had been used to fire plastic BB pellets in the early stages of the incident. .
Though the Armed Offenders Squad was initially called out, officers were not deployed. We treated it very seriously,” Mr Watts said.
“It’s pretty provocative running down the street with one of those in your hand.
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It was a reunion of reunions.
Twelve Apollo astronauts reminisced, traded stories and poked fun at each other Friday night as the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing and moonwalk approached.
The crowd of hundreds at the National Museum of the United States Air Force erupted in cheers when a video chronicling the space program replayed Armstrong’s famous first words after stepping on the moon July 20, 1969: “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
The astronauts, including first moonmen Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, attended the ceremony in which the National Aviation Hall of Fame presented the Apollo crews with the “Spirit of Flight” award for their courage and dedication. “Any time you go to a place where everything you see is different than anything you’ve ever seen before in your life, it’s unique and it’s memorable.”
“It was spectacular,” Armstrong recalled of gazing at the moon’s surface as he took those first steps.”
However, Armstrong said he and Aldrin had little time to savor the experience. And that certainly was.
Armstrong said he had been a backup on Apollo 8 and that when he wasn’t needed was asked if he wanted to be on the third mission down the line — what turned out to be the fateful Apollo 11 mission.
“We didn’t rest hardly five seconds when we got a message from Mission Control, saying get on with the next item,” Armstrong said.
“We knew we had a chance at landing, but it was by no means certain,” he said. He said it was difficult to predict the exact mission of succeeding flights.
Astronaut Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, also flew in the flight preceding Armstrong’s.
As they sat together on the stage, the astronauts joked and bantered with each other.
“Everyone knew Neil could land on the moon, but we didn’t have a lot of confidence Neil could find it,” Cernan quipped. He joked that his job was to paint a white line to the moon that Apollo 11 could follow.
But the first lunar landing was a serious matter for the astronauts and those in mission control.
“I’ve been listening to that for 40 years, and this is not the time to change my position,” Armstrong shot back, drawing laughs from the crowd.
“I can’t say it was panic, but it was a lot of attention to detail in mission control,” said Charles Duke, who was at mission control at the time. When the designated landing zone proved to be too rocky, Armstrong had to burn fuel from a diminishing supply to find a suitable place to touch down.” When there were only 30 seconds of fuel left, “it got dead silent. .”