Two a penny

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Dame Kiri Te Kanawa breezed into Sydney and made two things clear. Don’t mention John Farnham, or retirement.

Ironically the two are scheduled to perform in Sydney tomorrow night; Dame Kiri at the Opera House and Farnham at the Star City Casino as he kicks off a 31-date farewell tour.

New Zealand’s world famous soprano, scheduled to sing in two concerts with the Sydney Symphony this week, wasn’t best pleased when the Aussie pop icon’s name was raised.48) million lawsuit by promoter Leading Edge Events in the New South Wales Supreme Court after she withdrew from three scheduled concerts with Farnham – because she was uncomfortable at the prospect of female fans throwing knickers at him.

Two years ago, Dame Kiri beat a A$2 (NZ$2.

“This is about music and that’s not.

“Can we just drop that subject, thank you,” Dame Kiri told The Australian newspaper.

“I was concerned about the knickers or underpants and underwear apparel being thrown at him and him collecting it and obviously holding it in his hands as some sort of trophy.”

Dame Kiri – whose company Mattase was ordered to pay $A128,000 to Leading Edge in expenses incurred – told the court in 2007 she withdrew after watching footage of Farnham’s previous concerts.

Dame Kiri, 65, was quoted by London’s Daily Telegraph last month as saying a concert in the German city of Cologne next April “will be my last”.”

Asked about the coincidence of the pair performing on the same night in the same city tomorrow, Dame Kiri said: “Good luck, can we move on?”

Meanwhile, British reports of her impending retirement were also given the short shrift.

But she told reporters in Sydney: “No, I have not announced it (retirement).

She cited an exhausting schedule and was quoted as saying opera was “mainly for young people”. I didn’t say a thing.

“The press might have announced it. I’m not retiring. I don’t know why they’re trying to retire me.

“You don’t retire. . But retiring means you don’t do it any more. You just move on to something else if you want.. I’m working morning, noon, and. I mean, I do 20 concerts a year, I do charity. I mean, I do 20 concerts a year, I do charity… how can I retire?”

She said the door was open to more operatic roles, beyond her performance in Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier in Cologne.

Dame Kiri said she was kept busy through her work developing young New Zealand opera talent.

She planned to bring three of her students from the Solti Academy and Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation to London to perform alongside her at the Tower of London in September.

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A seriously ill man accused of sending MP Sue Bradford death threats says his Twitter account was hacked and he never sent the MP threatening messages.

Henk van Helmond, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and a heart condition, says his life has been made “hell” since Ms Bradford told media outlets of death threats made against her on the internet. .

Mr van Helmond says his Twitter account was hacked and the message had been sent to Ms Bradford without his knowledge. I’m a pacifist, I don’t believe in violence, I have MS and a heart condidtion, why would I make a comment like that?”

Mr van Helmond says his account was “picked on” because he hosts website CYFSwatch and is “absolutely anti her bill.

“Someone got into my account and made these death threats, I know it wasn’t me.

“I apologised to her because it came from my account, even though I didn’t say it, I caused it to be said.”

He said he had already apologised to Mrs Bradford on the website and sent out a tweet explaining the situation.

“If Sue had allowed police to do their job, this whole thing could have been sorted out straight away and the media wouldn’t have been involved.”

Mr van Helmond said he had not been contacted by the police.”

Mr van Helmond says he has no idea who would hack into his account, but has changed his passwords to prevent it occuring again.

“Sue is too keen on publicity of any kind, she’s a media hound.

He said he had not received such threats himself but had been the recipient of obscene and threatening emails.

Kiwi Party leader and pro-smacking advocate Larry Baldock told Radio New Zealand earlier today he did “certainly not condone” the threats Ms Bradford had received.

KEY SLAMS THREAT

Prime Minister John Key today said there was “no place” for threats to politicians in New Zealand politics.

Ms Bradford said she had not spoken with police about the tweet from Mr van Helmond’s account and was unsure of further action.

“People write stupid comments on social networking sites, so I don’t know whether there’s anything really sinister behind it, but there’s no place for it in our political debate,” he told Newstalk ZB.

Mr Key said New Zealand prided itself on having “fierce debates”, but “we don’t resort to political assassination”.

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The family of the New Zealander killed in last Friday’s twin bombings in Indonesia has released a statement recalling a dedicated family man who did not suffer fools lightly.

Tim Mackay was at a business meeting at the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta when a bomb blast ripped through the hotel at the same time as another bomb was detonated at the close toby Ritz-Carlton hotel. Seven others were killed in the blasts. He died in hospital after suffering severe leg as well as facial wounds.

“Tim was a quiet man with a mischievous sense of humour.

In a statement released today the family of Mr Mackay said the response to his death reflected Mr Mackay’s character and the fact that New Zealanders felt a loss keenly when a Kiwi was killed in such a way. . He was a dedicated family man, not just to his own family but also to wider family,” they said.”

The family said Mr Mackay, 62, had a passion for sailing and enjoyed fishing and hunting when he was younger. At the same time he was not a man to suffer fools lightly.

The Mackay family said they wished to thank people throughout New Zealand and internationally for their support since the death of Mr Mackay, who as well as being the president director of the cement company Holcim Indonesia was involved in a number of charities to help struggling Indonesians.

They acknowledged the support from the Indonesian people and from Mr Mackay’s friends and colleagues who helped return his body.

The bombings are believed to be linked to a group known as Jemaah Islamiyah, an Al Qaeda affiliate responsible for the Bali bombings in 2002.

The funeral will be held in Wellington tomorrow.

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French seamen on a New Zealand-bound warship have rescued one of Auckland’s top medical specialists and his family from their dismasted yacht 375 kilometres north of North Cape. .

On a medical website Dr Bradfield lists his interests as “Sailing, Sailing, Sailing, Sailing, making children.

The yacht ran into the storm that caused foul weather across the North Island last weekend and knocked three yachts out of the Auckland to Noumea yacht race.”

The family left Auckland in May and stayed in Tonga before setting sail for home last week.

The New Caledonia based 55-metre patrol boat La Glorieuse, which was on the way to Auckland, was guided to the scene by the Hercules.

Dr Bradfield activated his distress beacon yesterday afternoon and an RNZAF Hercules flew to the scene, reporting the yacht had dismasted.

Sailors onboard the 55-metre patrol boat La Glorieuse found their 12.

The yacht had become dismasted, its rigging tangling around the rudder and keel while travelling from Tonga to New Zealand.6m sloop Carenza at 10pm yesterday, about five hours after the yacht’s captain had activated an emergency beacon.

No-one had been injured, Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand search and rescue officer Christine Wilson said.

Surviving yachts in the Noumea yacht race were alerted to be aware of La Glorieuse cross the fleet’s path.

La Glorieuse rescued the family and was ordered to sink Carenza because it was a hazard to shipping.

The warship stayed alongside the yacht overnight, evacuating the New Zealand-resident family about 7am today.

La Glorieuse is due in Auckland on a scheduled visit tomorrow morning.

La Glorieuse is due in Auckland on a scheduled visit tomorrow morning.

“It’s a long way.

“We’ve had a reasonable day with a few showers -somehow this time the trip feels a lot slower and we are keen to be home,” Dr Bradfield said.

“This dead downwind sailing under head sail – although easy – has an unpleasant motion, and the kids have spent most of the day sleeping with the lethargy that comes with a bit of sea illness.

“We are looking forward to a more northerly wind shift tomorrow and an increase in boat speed.

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Josh added on the blog that time was going slowly: “only 3 things to do on board, sleep, stare aimlessly at the empty horizon or cough up your guts overboard

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Thieves have broken into the Invercargill pound in what has been described as a planned commando attack, and stolen two mastiff dogs who mauled an elderly woman last week.

The 68-year-old victim, Noeline Shaw, said she was horrified the dogs had been broken out of the pound and were back in the community.
Mrs Shaw had been delivering pamphlets in Holloway St last week when the two large mastiff dogs got out of their property and lunged at her, biting her arm and pulling on her clothing, she said. She feared someone else would be attacked. She was still feeling shaken by the attack.
Her bite wounds had since become infected and she was put on antibiotics.
“They should have been onto the job and shot them there and then.
The dogs should have been destroyed immediately, she said. That breed shouldn’t be allowed in the town boundary. Why should they have still been in the pound? They nearly killed me.
The owner of the two dogs, Renee Bartlett, said she had no idea who had stolen her dogs or where they were. They are vicious,” she said.
“People have been after those dogs for a long, long time . She blamed for the thefts as the paper had named her as the dogs’ owner, which had alerted people to the identity of the dogs in the pound, she said… . I feel maybe they are going to use them to breed…
It is understood the thieves cut through a wire fence to gain access to the city dog pound on Saturday night.”
She did not believe the dogs were a threat to the public, adding she had received hate mail since it was revealed they had attacked Mrs Shaw.
The council’s environmental and services director William Watt said it was a “planned commando attack”. They then used boltcutters to gain access to the locked main enclosure and locked cages holding the dogs. “I think security is a problem. “I think security is a problem. It’s a facility that’s been there for a number of years.”
Responding to claims the dogs should have been destroyed immediately, Mr Watt said the council had been unable to do so because the owner had not given permission. The dogs were being held in the pound pending court action to get them destroyed, Mr Watt said.

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The family of an elderly man killed in a road rage attack says “justice will be done”.

The relatives spent Tuesday night praying for his survival before watching him die.

Jasmatbhai Pancha Patel, known to friends as Jasmat, died in Auckland Hospital’s intensive care unit yesterday, never regaining consciousness after being dragged from his van and beaten on a busy street.

However, shock set in when the Te Atatu grandfather of five died barely 30 hours after coming face to face with an irate motorist, following a minor prang in Auckland’s rush hour.

Son Suryakant “George” Patel, 53, said family members kept a bedside vigil “hoping and praying” the 78-year-old would recover.”

Bio O’Brien, 27, an engineering student, appeared in Auckland District Court this morning, where Judge David Harvey remanded him in custody until April 27. “We tried to talk to him but he couldn’t come out [of his coma].

The court appearance lasted for less than 20 seconds.

George Patel said that, as a Hindu, his father was a very religious man and believed in the principles of Mahatma Gandhi, including forgiveness.

Police say they cannot yet confirm whether he will face homicide charges. He [the attacker] will do the justice and it will be in this life time not afterwards.

But, pointing to the sky, Mr Patel said: “Justice will be done.”

The alleged attack happened about 7. He will pay for it.50am on Tuesday as the elder Mr Patel was driving his blue van to the family’s foodmarket in Mangere.50am on Tuesday as the elder Mr Patel was driving his blue van to the family’s foodmarket in Mangere.

The incident reportedly happened in front of children outside a primary school.

O’Brien, a student at Unitec, allegedly leapt from his car and began punching Mr Patel, pulling him from his vehicle and continuing the attack. He was taken to hospital and put in an induced coma.

A witness saw Mr Patel lying on the grass verge, his eyes closed. I don’t know how I’m going to cope without him.

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George Patel said: “He did everything.

He helped with the family business four days a week, did the accounts for the household, tended the garden and virtually raised the grandchildren, taking them to all their sports games.”

Jasmatbhai Patel came to New Zealand from India 33 years ago and lived with his two sons, their wives and five grandchildren in a large house in West Auckland.

“If you were ever in trouble he was always the first person I went to,” he said. Grandson Mukesh Patel said the family was struggling to come to terms with the loss. .”

Despite his age, Mr Patel could still lift 30kg boxes, his son said.

“He was still helping us on his last day alive.”

Yesterday O’Brien stood with his head bowed in court during an earlier 10-minute appearance and entered no plea. Media applications to photograph him were turned down by Judge Eddie Paul.

His lawyer, David Nevin, had requested that his client be remanded in custody until today.

There is a suggestion that Mr Patel fell after the assault, hitting his head on the ground.

O’Brien comes from a prominent family on the Pacific island Funafuti, capital of the Tuvalu group. His father was prominent in local government on Funafuti.

A person who knew O’Brien said he had moved to New Zealand last year as a student and married a Tokelauan woman.

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Trade Minister Tim Groser said last night that he had just discovered he still held shares in a company he resigned from in February to avoid any possibility of conflict of interest.

Mr Groser was a director of Indian Overseas Group Ltd and resigned as a director after he was appointed trade minister.
The Labour Party has previously raised questions about the gap between his appointment in November and his resignation as a director on February 15, which was a few days before Mr Groser announced New Zealand was going to negotiate a free trade agreement with India.
“I discovered that I had 2000 shares in Indian Overseas Group Ltd, representing my initial start-up capital contribution,” he said.
Mr Groser said tonight that after receiving a media call he checked the companies register.
“I have taken immediate steps to divest myself of this shareholding.
“I was unaware that when I resigned as a director on February 15 2009 that I had a continuing financial interest, given that I believed the shareholding had no value because the company is inactive and there is no prospect of it becoming active. .
Mr Groser was once a director of New Zealand Aviation as well, but he resigned from it in January.
Mr Worth was reprimanded by Prime Minister John Key for going to India on a private trip and then speaking in his capacity as a minister while he promoted an aviation company he had an interest in.
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Passengers see fuel pour from plane

By TOBY ROBSON Monday, 09 February 2009

Rattled passengers were told not to take photos as fuel streamed out of the wings of an Air New Zealand jet bound for Los Angeles.
Flight NZ6, with 365 people on board, was forced to turn back about 20 minutes after leaving Auckland on Saturday night when the pilots were unable to retract the landing gear.
"People were pretty calm, but there were a few nervous moments there when they started dumping fuel," a passenger told The . They were telling people to stop taking photos, I'm not sure why.
"It looked like it was raining down, it was streaming from the wings.
"They said that was why the plane was vibrating so much, as a result of the drag of the landing gear," the passenger said."
The pilot told passengers a sensor in the cockpit had gone off and that they were going to dump fuel before returning to Auckland. "We flew around for about an hour then they landed again."
Another passenger, David Duignan, told Radio New Zealand many people applauded when the plane landed safely. .30pm and returned to Auckland 90 minutes later.
An Air New Zealand spokeswoman said the plane took off at 7. The aircraft landed without incident. "Following standard procedure a local standby was declared. Engineers are currently inspecting the aircraft. Engineers are currently inspecting the aircraft.

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Air New Zealand put the passengers up in a hotel for the night, shouting them pizza for dinner, and most left for Los Angeles in the morning

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Mangere fire victims still seriously ill

Thursday, 08 January 2009

/The
FLORAL TRIBUTE: Flowers outside the burned Mangere house, in memory of the four children who died there.

Twovictims of a fire that killed four children remained in hospital with serious burns as the mother of two of the children who died flew to Auckland to join the grieving extended family.
Mr and MrsEvile were burned as they tried frantically to rescue their trapped children from the house but were beaten back by the intense heat, blinding smoke and flames.
Fetu Evile, 39, who lost a daughter and grandson in the Mangere house fire on Tuesday, was discharged from hospital yesterday but her husband, Misi Evile, 50, is still in a stable condition in Middlemore Hospital.
Yesterday, police named the children who died.
Mrs Evile's 19-year-old son, who was also caught up in the fire, is in a serious but stable condition in hospital.
The fire started when a pot of hot oil used to cook chips was left on the stove and burst into flames, which spread rapidly through the small brick house.
They were Mrs Evile's 15-year-old daughter Brenda Simati, her one-year-old grandson Tyreece Simati, and Mr Evile's two daughters, Taua Evile, 11, and Mia Evile, 8.
She planned to visit her daughters at a Mangere funeral home and also wanted to visit the scene of the fire.
The mother of the Evile sisters, Helen, arrived in Auckland yesterday from Christchurch, where she lived with the girls.
The girls had been staying with their father for the holidays. Yesterday a tribute of soft toys and flowers was placed outside the charred shell of the house.
Mr Ponifasio said MrEvile had to undergo surgery for a second time yesterday.
Life Church pastor Lui Ponifasio said it was possible their bodies would be taken back to Christchurch for burial.
Mrs Evile's 19-year-old son was having difficulty breathing and his face and back were badly burned. He had burns to the back of his head, torso and legs.
The fire had prompted 30 residents who lived nearby to ask the Fire Service to install smoke alarms in their homes.
Mr Ponifasio said family members were still traumatised by what had happened but were getting over the initial shock.
Despite findings by Fire Service investigators that there was no evidence that working smoke alarms were installed in the Sau house, Mr Thompson said he had twice visited the house in the past 10 years. .

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The first time was to install smoke alarms and the second was to replace batteries

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Police name dead Chch taxi driver

Saturday, 06 December 2008

RICHARD COSGROVE/
NASTY SCENE: The body of taxi driver Abdulrahman Ikhtiari lies in Worcester St just east of the intersection of Barbadoes in Christchurch after he was murdered in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Police hunt taxi killers

Taxi drivers consider protective screens

Christchurch police are hunting for two people seen running from the scene of a fatal stabbing of a taxi driver in Christchurch early on Saturday.
The 39-year-old driver, originally from Afghanistan, died where he was stabbed in Barbadoes Street near Worcester St in central Christchurch shortly after midnight. .
Police namedhim as married father-of-five Abdulrahman Ikhtiari, police said.
They were described as in their mid-20s, about 1.
He was found lying dead near his taxi about 1am and witnesses told police they had seen two men running from the scene, heading east.8m tall, both with dark skin, of medium athletic build with short dark hair.
He was found lying dead near his taxi about 1am and witnesses told police they had seen two men running from the scene, heading east. One man was wearing a white bandanna or cap and dark clothing, and the other was wearing a white top and dark trousers.
A post mortem was due to be held later today and police appealed for information from anyone who may know the killers or details that would help.
Police cordoned off the scene today and put up the tent over his body to protect the area while they hunted for clues.
The dead man was described by his work colleagues as a "lovely guy" and a peaceful family man.
The Christchurch taxi industry was shocked at the news.
Police have said little about the killing.
Police have said little about the killing.
"He was a peaceful man.
Manager Lynne Ellwood it was bad news and had upset all the drivers in the fleet. I knew this driver for a long time."
"It is a sad time for all of us."
Others in the industry said it was "a dirty business" and taxi companies would have to start thinking about providing protection for their drivers. He was a really nice, quiet family man.
He said drivers on the night shift knew there was a risk and knew not to do anything to upset people.
One worker in the industry who did not want to be named, said the driver would not have been antagonising or provoking the people who stabbed him.
Johnson said it was "a tragic crime which someone will know or have been told about.
"It's a dirty business and it is not getting any better," he said.
Policeappealedto anyone with information about this crime to contact the Christchurch police on 3637400.
Policeappealedto anyone with information about this crime to contact the Christchurch police on 3637400.
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