Gisborne Concert Off - Auckland Concert Getting Better - US Shootings - US Children And Guns - INCIS - South Asian Tension - Prince Philip Gaffe

GISBORNE CONCERT OFF: Gisborne official Millennium concert is off. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa will now almost certainly appear on the beach. But problems remain for hundreds of people who paid for tickets. People on streets of Gisborne seem unconcerned about it. Concert organiser Bruce Bell says the prices were justifiable as it was to be a long concert. Mayor says 100,000+ are still coming. "Less than 1% were coming for that event." 250 ticket holders don't know if they will get money back. Three men who lost $10,000 between them hope to get money back.

AUCKLAND CONCERT: Split Enz and David Bowie move to Auckland. Split Enz confirmed for Bastion point gig. Ian Magan - agent - says both Split Enz and Bowie were looking forward to playing Gisborne and are sad. Negotiations continue to get Bowie to the New years gig at Bastion Point . "To be honest its an awful long way to go", says Bowie. Organisers want Bowie to play "Ch..ch…changes" to bring in the Millennium at 12.15am on New Years Day.

US SHOOTINGS: Another Mass Shooting In US: Five injured in latest gun attack. Preschool Jewish centre attacked by man with a 9mm automatic Uzi machine gun. Most seriously injured boy hit twice. Four others injured. Parents ran to the scene to be held back by police. Jewish leaders call for gun control. Car with huge ammo load found. Gunman not yet found after hijacking a car.

US CHILDREN AND GUNS: The number of children expelled for bringing guns to school has fallen to 4000.

INCIS: Police PR in overdrive defending the INCIS project. Police say it is a powerful tool already. But police say core of system still missing. Case information and case management interface with courts is uncompleted. IBM says it is sick of doing unpaid work. Finance Minister rejects IBM claims. "There are no large amounts of money owing" - Bill Birch. Phill Goff says it is a mess.

SOUTH ASIAN TENSION: Pakistan has just announced that its armed forces are on full alert following the attack on a Pakistan navy aircraft shot down by Indian forces. Wreckage of plane shown as war of words erupts.

PRINCE PHILIP GAFFE: Prince Phillip makes a racist remark about a fuse box having been put in by an Indian. Indian community are annoyed. Buckingham Palace apologises for inappropriate light-hearted remarks. List of previous gaffes. He once told deaf youngsters once that he wasn't surprised they were deaf because they listened to loud music. He told English students in China that if they stayed too long they would get slitty eyed.

© 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.

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