Top Scoop Stories - 03 August 2007 News Summary

Friday, 3 August 2007, 2:00 pm
Article: The Scoop Editor

Today's Top Scoops - August 3, 2007

LEAD STORY:

Gordon Campbell Series: Zaoui - the Algerian Connection

NZ POLITICS:

Setchell Affair: Brownlee Attacks Prebble's Wonky Memory
Scoop Satire: Make Your Own Child Abuse Press Release
Census: Who responded as 'New Zealander'?
Politics: Maharey Launches 'Word Bomb' At Key
Scoop News: Graeme Hunt Authors Book on New Zealand Spies

BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH:

Internet: CallPlus offers free WiFi to Auckland
Employment: Stress Can Be Bad For You - Study
Toys: Licensed Toys In Lead Paint Recall
Work Permits: Horticulture Industry Caught By Immigration Changes

WORLD:

Environment News: Pollution Is Melting Himalayan Glaciers - UN Study
Navy News: Australian Navy Rescue Mission A Success
UN News: Africa To Be Focus Of Security Council This Month
Disaster News: Minnesota Bridge Collapse Focus Shifts to Recovery

LIFESTYLE:

Comedy: Carry On Laughing With Real Doctors Doing Skits
Fashion: Mandatory's White Label – It's the New Black!
Dance: Size does matter: Footnote proves it
Media Backslapping: How the West’s Won!
Ballet:RNZB Tackles Tale Of Housemaid Stalked By Prince
Spareroom Video: Before Flight of the Conchords

Gordon Campbell Series: Zaoui - the Algerian Connection - The headline ‘Top Al Qaeda Member Surrenders’ in Wednesday’s Herald certainly suggested the forces of freedom had landed a big fish this time, but well, no….not exactly. The surrendering fellow turned out to belong to one faction of a shrinking militant group inside Algeria, and the guy happened to be giving up because his faction actually opposed being linked to al Qaeda. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0708/S00032.htm

Setchell Affair: Brownlee Attacks Prebble's Wonky Memory - National Party State Services spokesman Gerry Brownlee says Mark Prebble’s apparent ‘forgetfulness’ in the Madeleine Setchell sacking has made a mockery of the State Services Commission and its inquiry into the scandal. “If Mr Prebble was told by Environment Ministry boss Hugh Logan of David Benson-Pope’s interference two months ago, who else knew? More >> [1]

ALSO:

• National - PM must say if Prebble has her confidence [2]
• State Services Commission - Setchell Investigation: Terms of Reference [3]
• Public Service Association - PSA Welcomes SSC’s Investigation of Setchell Case [4]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0708/S00049.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0708/S00059.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0708/S00026.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0708/S00039.htm

Scoop Satire: Make Your Own Child Abuse Press Release - Recent events, highlighting our national habit of toddler-killing, have provoked widespread outrage, much of which has been aired in public. Perhaps, like many otherwise normal people, you have yet to put out a press release on the subject. Don't worry - Scoop is here to help you. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0708/S00014.htm

Census: Who responded as 'New Zealander'? - 429,429 people gave 'New Zealander' as the only or as one of their responses to the ethnicity question in the 2006 Census. This represents 11.1 percent of New Zealand's total population, and compares with 2.4 percent in 2001. The New Zealander response has been growing with each census since 1986. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0708/S00047.htm

Politics: Maharey Launches 'Word Bomb' At Key - John Key should use National’s conference this weekend to explain some of the slippery, and at worst dishonest, statements he hopes might have escaped the attention of New Zealanders, Labour Minister Steve Maharey said today. “Mr Key makes a virtue of avoiding specifics, making things up on the hoof or disregarding his own party’s position. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0708/S00044.htm

Scoop News: Graeme Hunt Authors Book on New Zealand Spies - The history of New Zealand's intelligence agencies and those it has spied on have been laid bare in a book by Auckland-based journalist, author, and historian Graeme Hunt. Spies And Revolutionaries – A History of New Zealand Subversion details how several prominent New Zealanders spied for the former Soviet Union. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Scoop News - Graeme Hunt: Spies and Revolutionaries Chapter Two [2]
• Scoop News - Spies and Revolutionaries – Chapter Three [3]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0708/S00002.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0708/S00016.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0708/S00030.htm

Internet: CallPlus offers free WiFi to Auckland - CallPlus has responded to a Request for Information (RFI) from Auckland City by offering to build a 1,000 strong WiFi hotspot network for Auckland City. “The RFI did not go far enough in helping to build a world-class wireless network, offering little more than access to council sites, power and facilitation. I despair that we will be left further behind than ever” says CallPlus Chairman Malcolm Dick. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Auckland City Council - Brighter prospects for broadband access [2]
• InternetNZ - InternetNZ Encouraged by ISP Survey [3]
• Commerce Commission - Draft report on mobile roaming, co-location [4]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0708/S00070.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0708/S00026.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0708/S00046.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0708/S00063.htm

Employment: Stress Can Be Bad For You - Study - New research has shown that work-related stress is a cause of clinical depression and anxiety among young adults. In a study of almost 900 32-year olds, 14 per cent of women and 10 per cent of men experiencing stress at work – and with no prior mental health problems – had a first episode of depression or anxiety at age 32. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Mental Health Foundation - Working Well and Reducing Stress in the Workplace [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0708/S00008.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0708/S00058.htm

Toys: Licensed Toys In Lead Paint Recall - Mattel (NZ) today announced a voluntary consumer recall of select Fisher-Price Licensed Character Toys including Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer and other children's toys, purchased from 1 May to 2 August 2007. Surface paints on the affected toys may contain increased levels of lead, which if ingested, may have health ramifications. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0708/S00060.htm

Work Permits: Horticulture Industry Caught By Immigration Changes - Horticulturists say the government’s plan to drop the Seasonal Work Permit scheme will mean the industry, which is already facing significant labour shortages, will have several thousand fewer workers next season, leaving tonnes of fruit and vegetables unpicked and unable to be exported. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• NZ Govt - Making seasonal labour work [2]
• NZ Govt - National confused and divided on seasonal labour [3]
• National - Labour refuses to budge over RSE scheme [4]
• National - Action needed, not more talk [5]
• National - Fudging won't do for seasonal work [6]
• NZ First - Introduce Migrant Integration Criteria Now [7]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0708/S00015.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0707/S00536.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0708/S00038.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0708/S00043.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0708/S00026.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0708/S00025.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0708/S00022.htm

Environment News: Pollution Is Melting Himalayan Glaciers - UN Study - A new study of the role played by pollution-filled "brown clouds" over South Asia offers hope that the region may be able to arrest some of the alarming retreat of Himalayan glaciers which provide a lifeline for billions of people by feeding the major rivers in the region. The hope lies in reducing this pollution, which, combined with the heating effect of greenhouse gases, is enough to account for the retreat of Himalayan glaciers observed in the past half century. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0708/S00081.htm

Navy News: Australian Navy Rescue Mission A Success - A lone yachtsman has been plucked from his vessel following a dramatic rescue by the Royal Australian Navy. The sailor became stranded when his yacht ran aground on Elizabeth Reef, approximately 160 kilometres north of Lord Howe Island. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0708/S00087.htm

UN News: Africa To Be Focus Of Security Council This Month - The August 2007 work programme for the Security Council will focus largely on issues affecting Africa, its President for the month announced today. Briefing reporters at UN Headquarters in New York, Ambassador Pascal Gayama of the Republic of the Congo (ROC) said that the 15-member body will discuss the political aspect of the Darfur crisis next Thursday. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0708/S00086.htm

Disaster News: Minnesota Bridge Collapse Focus Shifts to Recovery - Authorities in the upper midwestern U.S. city of Minneapolis, Minnesota are searching for the bodies of more victims after a major highway bridge collapsed and plunged 20 meters into the Mississippi River below. The confirmed death toll from the collapse of the eight-lane bridge is four, with as many as 30 people missing. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0708/S00065.htm

Comedy: Carry On Laughing With Real Doctors Doing Skits - If you’re a Desperate Housewives fan, make sure you get along to the University of Auckland Medical School Desperate Housesurgeons Med Revue this month. The two hour revue will be staged at the Maidment Theatre and includes skits, songs, dance, parodies and more. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0708/S00015.htm

Fashion: Mandatory's White Label – It's the New Black! - Are New Zealand men ready to take their sense of fashion flair to new levels? Iconic Wellington fashion designers Mandatory think so, today launching a new high-end range of clothing exclusively for men: the Mandatory White Label. More>> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0708/S00037.htm

Dance: Size does matter: Footnote proves it - The best things in life come wrapped in small packages – and to prove it, New Zealand's national contemporary dance company Footnote Dance present their 2007 Forte season. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0708/S00013.htm

Media Backslapping: How the West’s Won! - Outrageous Fortune dominated the Air New Zealand Screen Awards last night taking out six awards. bro’Town reminded us it’s ‘Morningside 4 Life’ with top honours for UKTV Best Comedy and newcomer ‘Run’ is our Rialto Channel Best Short Film. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Sticky Pictures - Screen Awards 2007 Win [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0708/S00023.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0708/S00024.htm

Ballet:RNZB Tackles Tale Of Housemaid Stalked By Prince - Everyone hates deadlines and poor Cinderella is no exception. Having to flee the society event of the year by midnight might save her some dignity – but will it be at the cost of her future happiness? The Royal New Zealand Ballet is delighted to announce the world premiere of Christopher Hampson’s Cinderella. More>> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0708/S00011.htm

Spareroom Video: Before Flight of the Conchords - Video: two grin-inducing animated short films called The Pen, about two sheep having a few quiets at their local. Written, directed and voiced by Guy Capper and Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords). More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0707/S00413.htm

ENDS

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