National News

Shining light on a viable alternative

PAUL EASTON - © Fairfax NZ News

New Zealand is far from a star when it comes to tapping our world-class solar resources, says a leading scientist.

Internet law change 'unjust'

GREER MCDONALD - © Fairfax NZ News

Their mouths may have been taped shut but the protest message rang clear a call for the Government to remove or delay "unjust" changes to internet copyright laws.

Kiwi trainer top dog of screen

MICHAEL FIELD - © Fairfax NZ News

Wall Street is in meltdown, the economy on life support, but the news is all good for New Zealand's animal movie stars.

Lieutenant-Colonel demoted after indecent assault

A New Zealand Army lieutenant colonel was demoted to major and severely reprimanded today for indecently assaulting a female officer on a training course in which he was chief instructor.

Army officer guilty of indecency

A senior army officer will be sentenced today after being found guilty of indecently assaulting a female officer.

Six-week wait for Barlow verdict

Convicted double murderer John Barlow now has a nervous six-week wait for the law lords at the Privy Council in London to decide his fate.

Tribute for 'forgotten' service

Old salts honour their merchant navy training ship Vindicatrix

STACEY WOOD - © Fairfax NZ News

The "forgotten service" has been remembered in Wellington with the unveiling of a memorial dedicated to the merchant navy training ship Vindicatrix.

Barlows wait for Privy Council news

Angela Barlow has probably become quite good at waiting.

Cricket to crack down on chuckers

It was just one plastic bottle, but it's enough to have caused a security scare at Wellington's Westpac Stadium.

Waiting on lords' word

Convicted double murderer John Barlow's lawyer has scorned FBI forensic evidence during a "successful" start to clear his client's name.

Wanganui's battle of the 'h' heats up

The battle for Wanganui's controversial 'h' is heating up, with mayor Michael Laws calling a special council meeting to debate it tomorrow.

Interpol called in for jewel inquiry

KELLY BURNS - © Fairfax NZ News

A Romanian couple found with more than $100,000 in jewellery have been reported to Interpol.

Exploding gas bottle causes fire

Firefighters are battling a fire at a two-storey building in Sanson, 24km northwest of Palmerston North.

More firms losing work to China

KAY BLUNDELL - © Fairfax NZ News

More small provincial clothing manufacturers are battling to survive after the Government slashed their contracts, sending the work to China.

Govt pressured over 'stab in the back'

The Government is facing calls to buy Kiwi-made after a Levin manufacturer revealed he was losing a $2 million Defence Force contract to China.

Five-star cuisine school put on hold

TANYA KATTERNS - © Fairfax NZ News

The planned August opening of a Le Cordon Bleu School in New Zealand has been abandoned, with the venture's partners refusing to say whether the school will be built at all.

E-bail bungle led to burglary

A blunder in setting up a New Plymouth man's electronic bail allowed him the freedom to burgle his neighbour's house.

Police get paedophile away from protesters

A convicted paedophile needed police help to get out of Patea after protesters surrounded his house.

Five die on roads

A motorcyclist killed in a crash in Wairarapa was part of a fishing crew that saved a three-year-old girl from drowning in icy waters off Cape Palliser two years ago.

Rock hurled through Laws girls' window

KELLY BURNS - © Fairfax NZ News

The "h" debate is being blamed for an early-morning attack on the home of Wanganui Mayor Michael Laws.

Bottles, concrete hurled at police as street fights erupt

KATHERINE NEWTON - © Fairfax NZ News

More than 80 people clashed in street fights in Wairoa and Gisborne - leaving one man critically injured - with brawlers hurling bottles and lumps of concrete at police.

The woman accused of the body-on-the-bonnet murder of her former partner decided to kill him because she suspectted him of molesting their two-year-old daughter, the High Court at New Plymouth has been told.

Teacher undergoing surgery after bus crash

KATHY WEBB AND NZPA - © Fairfax NZ News

Eight pupils from a Gisborne high school were discharged from hospital in Hastings today after a bus crash on the Napier-Wairoa road.

No injuries in truck vs train crash

A train and a truck have collided in an industrial area of Napier.

Climber adapts to life after fall

MIKE WATSON - © Fairfax NZ News

Taupo builder Troy Grimwood once helped install wheelchair ramps at the town's hockey pavilion.

Calm before the storms

It is the last day of summer and the sendoff could not be much worse as the North Island braces for a drenching.

Kingdom film still coming, say makers

TOM FITZSIMONS - © Fairfax NZ News

The makers of would-be biblical epic Kingdom Come have, for the first time, acknowledged their difficult financial state.

Army shifts $2m contract to China

What do I tell my staff, asks clothing manufacturer

KAY BLUNDELL AND MARTIN KAY - © Fairfax NZ News

A small-town clothing manufacturer has been dealt a blow on the eve of the Government's jobs summit after being told a $2 million contract to supply the army is shifting to China.

Small steps in giant leap back from brink

A year after the stroke that nearly killed him, Rebecca Palmer's father is learning to walk again

REBECCA PALMER - © Fairfax NZ News

The discharge report was chilling. Dad had few remaining functions at all the ability to raise his eyebrows and one elbow, to shrug, and to think. His request for treatment had been made by blinking in answer to questions from doctors. He couldn't even smile.

Working to create real jobs

Finding the silver lining in the middle of a recession is a tall order

Home furniture cleaning services are apparently a boom business in the United States right now, as the recession bites hard. Penny-pinched home owners are buffing up the old, rather than splashing out on the new.

Probation plea fails to impress Collins

Corrections bosses want at least 134 extra probation officers to fill gaps in parole, but have been told to resubmit a funding request after it was found to be below standard.

Clark in NY for job interviews

Former prime minister Helen Clark arrived in New York last night for talks over a top United Nations posting.

Probations funding on minister's agenda

MAGGIE TAIT

Corrections Minister Judith Collins today met senior managers at her department to discuss funding for probation.

PM disputes 'three strikes' cost

Prime Minister John Key says estimates that the ACT Party's "three strikes and you're out" sentencing policy will cost more than $30 billion over 25 years do not stack up.

20 ways to save the economy

They are the country's movers and shakers. Two hundred of our top business, government, banking and union leaders, who gathered in a giant auditorium yesterday to brainstorm over how to get the country through a prolonged, and probably nasty, recession.