Top Scoop Stories - 10 April 2008 News Summary

Thursday, 10 April 2008, 2:04 pm
Article: The Scoop Editor

Today's Top Scoops - 10 April 2008

LEAD STORY:

Former PM Watch: Mike Knows Best

NZ POLITICS:

Questions For Oral Answer - Thursday, 10 April 2008
Welfare: Tough New Rules Miss The Mark
Ethical Investment: Greens Welcome ACC Moves Out Of Nukes
Trade/Foreign Affairs: Peters Takes Aim At Alleged Benefits of FTA
Tertiary: Student Debt Reaches $10b

BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH:

Environment: 110-150 Hector's, Maui's Dolphins Die In Gill Nets
Commerce: 2007 Telecomms Market Monitoring Report
Economy: No Need For Banks, Businesses To Hibernate: RBNZ

WORLD:

Statement On Zimbabwe Situation: Mugabe Abusing Position Over Results Delay
Market Forces: UN Wants Urgent Action On Spiralling Food Prices
Nepal: Top UN Official Urges Restraint Following Pre-Poll Killings
Raising The Flag: Shootings And Arrests Spread Fear In West Papua

COMMENT:

Stateside With Rosalea: San Francisco Leg of Olympic Torch Relay
DRC: How Rich Whites Caused Five Million Blacks to Die
Jason Leopold: 'Power of the Purse' - Changing the Iraq Strategy
William Rivers Pitt: Remember - They Are Liars

LIFESTYLE:

40th Anniversary: Wahine Survivor Seeks To Contact Rescuer
TV3 Video: Dunedin Fringe Festival In Second Week
Sport: Barefooters Eye World Champs

Former PM Watch: Mike Knows Best - "It's moving from farce to tragedy. I can't think of another country in the world which would have a Foreign Minister who opposes what his Prime Minister says is a big deal, the NZ/China Free Trade Agreement. Another Minister says he supports the deal but will boycott a reception. Three parties that have pledged to support the Government will vote against the Agreement. The Agreement will pass because the Opposition will correctly support the Government." More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0804/S00157.htm

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY:

• Questions For Oral Answer - Thursday, 10 April 2008 [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0804/S00269.htm

Welfare: Tough New Rules Miss The Mark - Next Monday sees the roll out of new identity standards across Work and Income offices nationwide... "This is a knee jerk response, done with little consultation and hits those who already find the benefit process terrifying, not the professional criminals who do all the damage". More >> [1]

ALSO:

• University of Auckland - Beneficiaries treated like 'second-class' citizens [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0804/S00155.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0804/S00130.htm

Ethical Investment: Greens Welcome ACC Moves Out Of Nukes - The Green Party today welcomed the announcement by Maryan Street, the Minister for ACC, that the Accident Compensation Corporation will exclude investments in companies involved in the design, testing, assembly and/or refurbishment of nuclear explosive devices... "We hope that the New Zealand Super Fund will get on board and follow ACC by getting out of nukes." More >> [1]

ALSO:

• NZ Govt - Street: Socially Responsible Investment [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0804/S00257.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0804/S00254.htm

Trade/Foreign Affairs: Peters Takes Aim At Alleged Benefits of FTA - NZ First Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters told reporters at a press conference this afternoon there was not enough gains for New Zealand in a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China for NZ First MPs to support it. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Scoop Full Coverage - New Zealand-China FTA [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0804/S00116.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0804/S00096.htm

Tertiary: Student Debt Reaches $10b - Students and graduates around NZ will be marking collective student debt reaching an astonishing $10 billion tomorrow with events and protests. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• NZ Govt - Individual student lot continues to improve [2]
• Greens - Debt milestone highlights economic millstone [3]
• Otago University Students Association - Student Debt Equal to Cost of 53 Stadiums [4]
• Massey Albany Students Association - Student Debt Reaches$10 Billion Millstone [5]
• Otago Polytechnic Student's Association - We call it a mess, they call it life [6]
• Auckland University Students Association - 24 hours for $10 Billion [7]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0804/S00147.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0804/S00250.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0804/S00268.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0804/S00143.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0804/S00142.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED0804/S00021.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED0804/S00018.htm

Environment: 110-150 Hector's, Maui's Dolphins Die In Gill Nets - A new Government commissioned report by the National Institute for Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) confirms that Hector's and Maui's dolphins are being fished to extinction. The report substantiates urgent calls for action from Care for the Wild International. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0804/S00020.htm

Commerce: 2007 Telecomms Market Monitoring Report - The Commerce Commission has released its 2007 telecommunications monitoring report analysing the state of New Zealand telecommunications markets. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0804/S00192.htm

Economy: No Need For Banks, Businesses To Hibernate: RBNZ - Banks should avoid overreacting to the economic downturn, Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard told the Marlborough Chamber of Commerce today. "The New Zealand economy remains fundamentally sound and creditworthy," he said. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• J P Morgan - Bollard attempts to restore confidence [2]
• Russell Investment Group - Recession not seen for NZ [3]
• New Zealand Business Roundtable - Inflation aplenty already in the pipeline [4]
• J P Morgan - Aust consumer confidence falls further in April [5]
• TV3 Video - Bollard's attempts to placate business - too late? [6]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0804/S00162.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0804/S00169.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0804/S00184.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0804/S00186.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0804/S00182.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/business/6777.html

Statement On Zimbabwe Situation: Mugabe Abusing Position Over Results Delay - Government officials in Zimbabwe have manipulated the release of the official presidential electoral results. The current leadership has grossly abused their political positions to alter and postpone the electoral results. We are preparing to protest. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0804/S00127.htm

Market Forces: UN Wants Urgent Action On Spiralling Food Prices - Warning that soaring food prices could lead to increased poverty and unrest, several senior United Nations officials have called for urgent measures to tackle the global crisis, which threatens to hit the world's poor the hardest. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0804/S00122.htm

Nepal: Top UN Official Urges Restraint Following Pre-Poll Killings - The top UN official in Nepal has called on all parties to exercise restraint after at least seven people died in two separate incidents on the eve of Constituent Assembly elections. At least six members of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist were killed. More >> [1]

NEPAL ELECTION BUILDUP

• Nepal Election Preparations 'In Good Order' - UN [2]
• Nepal's Leaders Must Ensure Polls Are Free, Fair [3]
• Final UN Report Before Historic Polls In Nepal [4]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0804/S00126.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0804/S00108.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0804/S00095.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0804/S00092.htm

Raising The Flag: Shootings And Arrests Spread Fear In West Papua - Thirteen indigenous Papuans were arrested on 13 March in the town of Manokwari, West Papua, for taking part in peaceful demonstrations against the 2007 law banning the display of the Papuan Morning Star flag. Survival is concerned. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0804/S00129.htm

Stateside With Rosalea: San Francisco Leg of Olympic Torch Relay - A recent blog post about Western media coverage of last month's events in Tibet featured a screenshot of a YouTube page which had been... More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0804/S00143.htm

DRC: How Rich Whites Caused Five Million Blacks to Die - How many Congolese must die to illuminate one hand-held computer game? Nobody knows, but five million have already been slaughtered in the greatest mineral extraction grab in the history of the planet... More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0804/S00140.htm

Jason Leopold: 'Power of the Purse' - Changing the Iraq Strategy - Tuesday's highly anticipated Congressional testimony by General David Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, appeared to be an exercise in futility. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0804/S00138.htm

William Rivers Pitt: Remember - They Are Liars - George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Condoleezza Rice, along with a slew of administration underlings and a revolving-door cavalcade of brass hats from the Pentagon, have been making claims regarding... More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0804/S00120.htm

40th Anniversary: Wahine Survivor Seeks To Contact Rescuer - Kate Watson was 19 when the Wahine capsized and sank, with the loss of 51 lives on that day. As New Zealand remembers its worst maritime disaster 40 years on, her story of rescue and heroism is told as part of the feature on the event at www.NZHistory.net.nz [1] . More >> [2]

ALSO:

• Maori TV - Maori Television Commemorates Wahine Disaster [3]
• TV3 Video - 40 years since Wahine disaster - could it happen again? [4]

[1] - http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/culture/wahine-disaster
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0804/S00082.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0804/S00076.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/national/6774.html

TV3 Video: Dunedin Fringe Festival In Second Week - The world's southern-most fringe festival is giving Dunedin audiences plenty to see and do. Over sixty acts, ranging from comedy and music, to film and visual arts are spread across the city and some are leaving people very confused. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Footnote Dance Company - Killer dance moves: 2008 Made in New Zealand [2]
• Dunedin Fringe Festival - Dunedin Fringe Flies High [3]
• Out-Link - Dunedin Fringe Festival [4]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/entertainment/6779.html
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0804/S00100.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0803/S00258.htm
[4] - http://www.dunedinfringe.org.nz/

Sport: Barefooters Eye World Champs - A trio of Massey University students have secured top places in the national Barefoot Waterski Champs and a place in the development squad for the world champs in February next year. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED0804/S00026.htm

ENDS

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