Gene Pool Publication – Ambulanceman Trial –Copter Crash – Submarine Crash – Third World Takeover Shocker – Dawn Raids – Nelson Mandela Speech

GENE POOL PUBLICATION: The size of the human gene pool is a lot smaller than expected. 10 years of research produce the first reading of the genetic code. This is the beginning of a new era say scientists. The genome project may give people power over their own lives medically eventually. Surprises include the fact that actual genes make up only 1% of DNA. The code is also unexpectedly simple. Human’s only have 36,000 genes with lots of big barren patches in the code.

AMBULANCEMAN TRIAL: An Auckland ambulance officer is on trial for dangerous and reckless driving. He is charged with killing an 85-year-old woman in St Hellier’s. The driver was driving at 90-95kmh with flashing lights and without a siren going at the time of the collision. The woman was struck by the center of the ambulance. Margorie McGill didn’t hear a blast on the horn because she didn’t have her hearing aid in . The accused nearly lost control at an intersection earlier and gave the fingers to a motorist.

COPTER CRASH: A helicopter pilot is dead near Motueka where a helicopter crashed in a gully. Forestry workers say it looked like there was a big explosion. The helicopter was the only one of its type in the country. The pilot had just refuelled. Access to the crash was difficult. Sliced trees show the path of the helicopter.

SUBMARINE CRASH: The US Coastguard are continuing their search for nine missing Japanese people lost when a US nuclear submarine crashed into a fishing boat while demonstrating a “pop” emergency surfacing. The captain of the fishing boat cried and expressed surprise at the speed with which his boat sank. Sixteen civilians were observing aboard the submarine as the accident happened. The ship was sunk in 10 minutes.

THIRD WORLD TAKEOVER SHOCKER: Lion Nation stepped into the stockmarket today and bought a majority stake in Montana wine. Applications were made today from 5000 shareholders today to sell 23 million shares. But only nine million were required by Lion Nathan and by close of play the share price had fallen by more than a dollar. The Montana debacle has led to calls to introduce the promised takeovers code, due to come into force in June, immediately. The Government admitted today the Montana situation was unfortunate. Paul Swain says he has gone as fast as he could given that National had five years and did nothing. Analysts say the damage has been done. “International investors will look at this and say why should we bother,” says one. “This is third world”.

DAWN RAIDS: Four months after the Ministry of Immigration wrongly deported a Philippine family before dawn and brought them back, the Minister still doesn’t know what time the “dawn raid” was actually conducted. Minister Lianne Dalziel was given three different times four months ago as to when the raid was taken and hasn’t been updated since. The PM says she thinks there is more to this than meets the eye. Dalziel says she won’t talk until there is a report from her Department. In a statement the Labour Department says that the personal grievances are unrelated to the Minister’s comments, and relate instead to subsequent events. The PM says she will be releasing information on the personal grievances.

NELSON MADELA SPEECH FOUND: Nelson Mandela’s April 1964 pre-sentencing speech under the Apartheid regime in South Africa has been released following the discovery and rehabilitation of an audio tape recorded by the court stenographer. Mandela was not heard from again for 26 years during which time he was imprisoned. The speech was a three hour long epic and has been restored by a British library. Years of imprisonment could not dim Nelson’s words when his hopes for a free and democratic society came true.

© Scoop Media

Alastair Thompson

Scoop Publisher

Alastair Thompson is the co-founder of Scoop. He is of Scottish and Irish extraction and from Wellington, New Zealand. Alastair has 24 years experience in the media, at the Dominion, National Business Review, North & South magazine, Straight Furrow newspaper and online since 1997. He is the winner of several journalism awards for business and investigative work.

CONTACT ALASTAIR THOMPSON

• Mobile - 021707044
• Twitter - @althecat
• Google+

• Linkedin
• Facebook
• Email - alastair@scoop.co.nz