Two a penny

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Spanish police are searching for a third man who was at the apartment of Boyzone star Stephen Gately, after the singer was found dead in his holiday home in Majorca after a night out, a UK newspaper reports.

Gately, 33, was a singer with the Irish boy band Boyzone and made headlines when he came out as gay a decade ago.

He was believed to have been found dead on Saturday afternoon by his partner Andrew Cowles.

The Daily Mail reported that Gately was thought to have “died after choking on his own vomit after a drinking session”. The couple, who wed in a civil union in 2006, were on holiday on the Spanish island of Majorca. He was found squatting down on the sofa almost in a praying position,” a police investigator told the newspaper.

“He was in a strange position.

London’s The Times reported that there was no suicide note or sign of violence but a Bulgarian man, who was invited back to the couple’s holiday home, was being sought by police.

A Gately family friend, Gerald Kean, said the singer died of natural causes, although these were not identified.

“We do not think this man is involved in any way in Stephen’s death but his testimony could prove vital,” Spanish police told the newspaper. It’s just a tragic accident is what we’ve been told, and we’re happy that that is correct information,’’ Kean said.

“There’s no foul play involved, and it’s not suicide. It’s not drugs, we don’t believe.

“There is nothing untoward. It’s not suicide. It’s not suicide. That’s what we’ve been told. It’s not a fight.

Members of Boyzone arrived at Palma de Majorca international airport on Sunday afternoon.’’

An autopsy is expected to be conducted on Tuesday. .

Gately’s bandmates – Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham and Shane Lynch – said they were “completely devastated by the loss of our friend and brother, Stephen”. He lit up our lives and those of the many friends he had all over the world.

“Stephen was a beautiful person in both body and spirit. We love you and will miss you forever, ‘Steo’.

“Our love and sympathy go out to Andrew and Stephen’s family. Gately had also released several solo singles and appeared in stage musicals, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Gately had also released several solo singles and appeared in stage musicals, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

He revealed his sexual orientation to a British newspaper in 1999.

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A Nelson police officer is to stand trial on assault charges after pepper-spraying a cyclist not wearing a helmet and then ramming him into a bank with his patrol car.

Justices of the peace Donald Horn and Mary Harley yesterday committed Senior Constable Garry Dunn to trial after a two-day depositions hearing in Nelson District Court.

Nelson chef Shaun Robert Taylor told the court Dunn used excessive force against him for not wearing a helmet on February 10 this year. Dunn, who faces two charges of assault, has been stood down from duty on full pay. Mr Taylor said he ran away and when Dunn saw him cycling toward Tahunanui, Dunn did a speedy U-turn in rush-hour traffic, mounted the footpath and rammed him into a bank.

Mr Taylor said he was stopped and pepper-sprayed by Dunn after an argument.

Detective Senior Sergeant Wayne McCoy, of Nelson CIB, told the court he interviewed Dunn on May 7.

Mr Taylor said he “flew” over the bonnet and landed against the driver’s door.

In the statement, Dunn said he first told Mr Taylor to get off his bike just past the Richardson St intersection with Rocks Rd, but Mr Taylor kept cycling. Dunn gave him a written statement, which Mr McCoy read to the court. He said he got back into his car and told Mr Taylor to stop, put on his lights and siren, and Mr Taylor eventually stopped around Magazine Point.

Dunn said he pulled into Basin Reserve car park and Mr Taylor crossed the road.

He said he thought he would have trouble physically restraining Mr Taylor, partly because Mr Taylor was so sweaty and he believed he would be overpowered.

Dunn said Mr Taylor would not tell him his name or address, so he told him he was under arrest for failing to stop.

Dunn said he first showed Mr Taylor the spray. Because Mr Taylor was resisting him he decided to use pepper spray for his protection.”

Dunn had told Mr McCoy that Mr Taylor ran away after being pepper-sprayed and he called for backup. . It was necessary to go up to the bank to block his escape. He said he did a U-turn to head back toward Nelson and saw Mr Taylor riding towards him. Resisting arrest and failing to stop were punishable by imprisonment.

Mr McCoy said not wearing a bike helmet was punishable by a $55 fine.

Dunn was remanded to December 16. He said charges of failing to stop, resisting arrest and escaping custody were dropped.

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Auckland bus services will be suspended from tomorrow following a notice of industrial action from drivers, NZ Bus says.

The lockout is expected to disrupt the travel plans of up to 80,000 commuters.On Sunday, the four unions, representing about 1000 drivers, issued a work to rule notice from early on Thursday morning following five months of unsuccessful pay negotiations.”We apologise sincerely to our customers.NZ Bus general manager operations Zane Fulljames announced today that all Go West, Waka Pacific, LINK and City Circuit services would be suspended from 4am tomorrow. “Our customers have had to cope with the threat of ongoing industrial action now for many weeks. This is not a course of action we have taken lightly. It is taking its toll and having an impact on the number of people travelling by bus.He said the unions’ decision to take the industrial action was hugely disappointing.”Mr Fulljames said other train, ferry and bus services run by other operators would continue to operate as usual and encouraged people to think of alternative ways to get to work.”Drivers, who earned between $14. .75 an hour, have rejected increases of 4.05 and $16.2 percent, 3.2 percent, 3.

.3 percent over each of the next three years

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Norway’s defence chief has revealed a military secret the New Zealand government wanted to suppress – the location of New Zealand’s Special Air Service contingent in Afghanistan and the jobs they are likely to do.

General Sverre Diesen told the Oslo- based newspaper VG last week that the SAS would replace a Norwegian special forces contingent that has been based at Kabul and recently completed an 18-month deployment.

The Norwegians had been involved in the arrest of “several wanted insurgent leaders responsible for planning and running suicide attacks against targets in the Kabul region”, Diesen said.

Tom Bakkeli, the journalist who wrote the VG story, told the Sunday Star-Times he understood the SAS would continue some of the Norwegians’ work, including missions with commandos from the Afghanistan government’s Task Force 24.

The SAS would “take over” from the Norwegians, who were involved in counter-narcotics work as well as “frustrating the efforts of suicide bombers who were examining to create a bloodbath in Kabul around the presidential election”. One Norwegian commando had been killed in Logar province, south of Kabul. “All the operations are high-risk,” said Bakkeli. He said details of the number and fate of prisoners taken by Norwegian special forces were sketchy.

Prisoners taken in Afghanistan by non-United States forces are generally transferred to Afghani authorities, who have been implicated in cases of mistreatment, torture and extra-judicial executions. The prisoner issue is a sensitive one for Norway’s government and military, as it is for their counterparts in New Zealand. .

The Defence Force would not discuss the Norwegian disclosure, saying it was policy to not discuss SAS operations.

The Star-Times learnt the location and other details of the current SAS contingent when an SAS commander spoke last month of concerns held by some of his men about the dangerous missions they will be sent on. In 2002 Prime Minister Helen Clark was forced to confirm the SAS was in Afghanistan after the White House website revealed their presence. The newspaper initially decided to withhold the information, which is now widely available. The newspaper initially decided to withhold the information, which is now widely available.

Bakkeli said the location of Norwegian special forces had been reported during their deployment although details of their missions had been withheld. It was ridiculous to suggest that knowing where the SAS is based and the broad details of their mission threaten their security, he said.

. “Their operations were very secret,” he said

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Prime Minister John Key says he is well aware of the danger New Zealand’s Special Air Service (SAS) troops face in Afghanistan and sending them there again wasn’t an easy decision.

At a press conference this afternoon, Mr Key said the troops left for Afghanistan last Wednesday. . Troops will be there for 18 months in three rotations.

It is the fourth SAS deployment to Afghanistan.

Mr Key said the SAS would operate only in Afghanistan, and would not take part in any anti-terrorist actions in neighbouring Pakistan.

The troops will be under the control of the Nato international security assistance force, but NZ Defence Force chief Lieutenant-General Jerry Mateparae retains full command of the task group through the SAS commander in the field.

He would not confirm where in Afghanistan the troops were operating.

“I recognise this is a dangerous environment,” Mr Key said at his post-cabinet press conference today.

Labour previously criticised the Government for its decision to send the SAS back to Afghanistan.”Mr Key said the SAS, who are part of an international force, were there with the aim of helping stabilise Afghanistan.”The Italians lost six people last week, that is the very real risk our people face, and it wasn’t an easy decision to send them.”Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government is beleaguered by fraud accusations following the August 20 election, and Mr Key was asked whether he was concerned that the SAS could be seen to be propping it up.”I think the alternative is that we are left with a country where control is ceded to the Taleban, where in all probability more terrorist activities will be planned and schemes will be hatched.”No.”No.It is the fourth SAS deployment to Afghanistan, the last being in 2005 under the previous Labour government.About 140 New Zealand Defence Force personnel are running a provincial reconstruction team in Bamyan province, which the Government intends gradually winding up.The US asked for the SAS to be again sent to Afghanistan, and Mr Key today denied his announcement was timed to coincide with his trip.Mr Key made the arrival announcement just before leaving for New York, where he is expected to briefly meet United States President Barack Obama..”We made a commitment.that plan has been in process for six or seven weeks, this was always the time they were due to leave,” he said..Mr Key first announced the decision the previous month, when Labour opposed it.The SAS operations would be confined to Afghanistan and they would not be in neighbouring Pakistan.”We feel the provincial reconstruction team is both a more effective contribution in Afghanistan and is a lower risk to the individuals concerned.”We feel the provincial reconstruction team is both a more effective contribution in Afghanistan and is a lower risk to the individuals concerned.”Mr Goff said there were big question marks around the legitimacy of the Karzai administration and the legitimacy of the election.”I think a growing number of people in New Zealand and elsewhere in the world are concerned that we would be sending our people to die for a regime that we don’t believe is an effective governor of Afghanistan.”Green Party foreign affairs and defence spokesman Keith Locke said the election had been “obviously fraudulent” and questioned why the SAS should be risking their lives to support it.”The American-led war is destabilising the country and causing many civilian casualties,” he said.”It’s crazy to send the SAS just as Western public opinion is turning against the war and most commentators describe it as unwinnable.”

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An elderly man was dragged from a burning Canterbury house but his rescuer was beaten back by flames as they went back to help a woman still in the house.

Firefighters managed to rescue the elderly woman in last night’s house fire at Rangiora, north of Christchurch, said Rangiora Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Ross Ditmer.Emergency services were alerted to the blaze about 9.The fire was spotted by a husband and wife and the husband made a snap decision to go in, Mr Ditmer said.20pm. However, when he went to get the elderly woman he was beaten back by the flames, Mr Ditmer said.He managed to drag the man out, who was just inside the house.Firefighters wearing breathing apparatuses found the woman on the floor in the bedroom. She was reported to be in a critical condition last night.She was taken to Christchurch Hospital with severe burns.Mr Ditmer said the key message was “get out, stay out”.St John Ambulance reported that two other people had minor injuries.”The cause of the fire would be investigated today but from early comments it appeared an electrical fault, possibly in an electric blanket, may have started the fire.”We believe one (of the occupants) tried to suppress the fire, and it nearly cost him his life.The fire started in the bedroom.The fire started in the bedroom.

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Greenpeace activists say they have blocked an Indonesian shipment of palm kernel from entering Tauranga Port, and are calling for the Prime Minister to halt imports of the product.

The protest comes with the use of palm oil and palm oil products under scrutiny over the level of destruction plantations cause to rainforests in Indonesia and Malaysia. Palm oil is used in a wide variety of products from food and cosmetics to biofuel. is seeking Fonterra comment. .

Activist Jo McVeagh said Fonterra’s involvement in rainforest destruction was “criminal”.

Twelve activists have chained themselves to the East Ambition several kilometres from the port to prevent it from unloading, Greenpeace said.

“This ship’s cargo has contributed to the release of up to 364,000 tonnes of carbon emissions. Fonterra and John Key have taken no steps to stop this climate crime which is why we’re taking action today. That’s the same as the emissions from 127,000 cars over a year.

“Fonterra’s intensification of the dairy industry is fuelling rainforest destruction, increasing greenhouse gas emissions here and abroad, putting pressure on the health of our land and threatening our clean, green reputation.”

Greenpeace New Zealand climate campaigner Simon Boxer alleged that Fonterra had been misleading about its links to rainforest and climate destruction in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Mr Boxer said it was hypocritical of the Government to call for a reduction in emissions while allowing palm kernel imports to carry on.

“We have no hope of slowing climate change if we continue to raze and burn the world’s remaining rainforests,” he said.

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LATEST:
Auckland will be ruled by up to 30 community boards, councillors voted from local wards and a beefed-up super mayor, the Government said today.

But half of Rodney will not be included in the new super city – the upper half of Rodney is destined to become part of Kaipara.The report has substantially changed the original Royal Commission proposals and got rid of some contentious aspects. .Len Brown said the committee had cemented stronger democracy by getting rid of ‘at large’ councillors, but the decision to cut off Rodney and also exclude chunks of Franklin were “puzzling.John Banks said the committee had clearly listened and achieved “common sense and common ground” but there were still plenty of tough decisions to come.

* The super council will have councillors elected by a ward system – originally the Royal Commission had said some councillor should be elected ‘at large’ from across all Auckland.”The key decisions in the report are:

* There will be 20 to 30 local boards which will be in charge of local decision with increased authority. Rodney will be effectively cut in half – north of Waiwera and Kaukapakapa. * There will likely be just one councillor for all of rural Franklin and one for rural Rodney areas.

* The super mayor will have increased powers to set the strategic direction of the region* It is recommended that Waiuku and Pukekohe be included in Auckland (originally they were cut off and put in Waikato) but key water catchments in the Hunuas are excluded from Auckland.* Decisions on how many wards there will be and how many councillors from each ward will be made by the Local Government Commission.

The report says the mayor should have greater powers and more of a role in engaging with the public.

The Government is expected to adopt the recommendations which will become part of the Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill to be passed into law.

Amongst the major recommendations of the committee report is the role of the local boards.

The supercity mayor should decide the committee structure of the council and appoint committee chairpeople.”

It says they should control sports fields, parks, pools, libraries, community halls, local funding, graffiti prevention and promotion of local economic development activities such as business improvement districts

. The committee report says those boards should “ensure they reflect and enhance the particular character and preferences of their communities

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Blue Chip founder Mark Bryers has pleaded guilty to three charges in court today.

At least 3000 Kiwi investors are fighting to recover around $84 million from Blue Chip, which collapsed a year ago.

The first is for failure to attend a creditors meeting in regards to the company Bribanc and carries a maximum jail term of two years.

Appearing at the Auckland District Court today without his usual contingent of minders, Bryers pleaded guilty to three charges relating to failed investments.

One was for failure to attend watershed meetings and the other was failure to keep adequate accounting records.

The other two are in relation to Swordfish Lodge Management Ltd.

Earlier on in proceedings Bryers was facing 120 charges, which through various hearings have been whittled down to the three guilty pleas and the 69 still pending.

Blue Chip was a complex property investment business with various subsidiaries and associate companies – which have been painstaking unravelled by liquidators.

Bribanc was the main property management company within the Blue Chip group.

The charges all relate to allegations of no-shows at creditors’ meetings and failure to keep books and records.

Part of his dealings also saw him act as management of Swordfish Lodge. Its ownership was transferred from the main Blue Chip company to the franchise operation in 2007. It is unrelated to the collapse of the core Blue Chip companies.

Swordfish Lodge is an exclusive Gulf Harbour retreat on the Whangaparaoa peninsula, north of Auckland.

In return for his three guilty pleas, the Ministry of Economic Development, which brought the charges agreed to drop the four other charges. There were seven charges originally laid by the Companies Office around Swordfish stemming from complaints made by Bernard Montgomerie, whose firm is overseeing the liquidation of Swordfish Lodge Management. .

That leaves 69 other charges to which Bryers pleaded not guilty.

Bryers, who lives in a luxury waterfront apartment in downtown Sydney,flew to New Zealand to attend today’s court hearing.

Bryers main company Blue Chip collapsed 12 months ago owing thousands of Kiwis more than $84 million.

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Judge John Hole continued Bryers’ bail conditions which allow him to continue to fly to and from Sydney

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The SPCA is calling for a review of the Animal Welfare Act following an incident where a man cooked his pet dog in a backyard barbecue.

South Auckland man Paea Taufa was found roasting his pitbull terrier-cross in an umu pit at his home in Mangere, south Auckland.

The dog had been skinned and gutted and was partially charred when SPCA inspectors arrived.

He had decided to cook the dog because it was too skinny and had become unmanageable.

Mr Taufa said he was surprised when inspectors arrived, because dog was a delicacy in Tonga.

Under the Animal Welfare Act it is legal to kill a dog in New Zealand if the animal is slaughtered swiftly and painlessly. .

But SPCA Auckland chief executive Garth Halliday is calling for a review of the Animal Welfare Act to ensure such practices are condemned in the future.

“The law as it stands does not allow the SPCA to prosecute those who indulge in this habit if the animal is killed humanely, as it was in this case, neither does the law condemn the eating of domestic pets,” Mr Halliday said.

“Clearly this culture is totally unacceptable in New Zealand, however, we must understand that to certain immigrants from the Pacific Islands the practice is considered normal.

The Auckland SPCA, with the NZ Companion Animal Council, will produce multi-lingual brochures to provide basic animal welfare guidelines to island immigrants.

He said the SPCA agreed with Auckland Mayor John Banks, who said the focus needed to be on education.

The SPCA will also ask the New Zealand Food Safety Authority to impose firmer standards on what can or cannot be eaten.

The Royal New Zealand SPCA has also voiced its concern, and will talk to Tongan community leaders about preventing the killings of dogs for human consumption.

Royal New Zealand SPCA national chief executive Robyn Kippenberger said the issue might be viewed differently from other cultures.

Royal New Zealand SPCA national chief executive Robyn Kippenberger said the issue might be viewed differently from other cultures.”

Ms Kippenberger also planned to raise the animal welfare and human health risks involved in backyard killings with Pacific Island Affairs Minister Georgina Te Heu Heu.

“Over the next few days, we hope to talk to Tongan community leaders and enlist their involvement in making the community more aware that slaughtering and eating pets is unacceptable.

“In addition, we will be contacting the New Zealand Food Safety Authority and pressing for more robust standards over what can or cannot be eaten.

She will be seeking the minister’s involvement in discouraging this practice.

. The fact is that animals such as this domestic dog, slaughtered in back yards, may be disease-ridden and unsuitable for human consumption