The Best Of It - Top Stories For The Week June 30

Timor: More Kiwi Troops Fly Out This Weekend to Troubled Country - More than 50 New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel will depart for Timor-Leste on Saturday 1st July. Soldiers from the 2/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment, at Burnham, and logistics personnel from Linton Camp will fly out on Saturday morning onboard a RNZAF Boeing 757. Burnham based soldiers will depart from Christchurch Airport, RNZAF Air Movements Terminal at 9.00am. The soldiers from Linton Camp will depart from RNZAF Base Ohakea at 11.25am See... More New Zealand Troops For Timor

ALSO:

Scoop Audio: Selwyn Manning and Simon Pound discuss on 95bFM: A deepening crisis in Timor Leste has resulted in the NZ PM Helen Clark calling on The UN to help end the violence. The United States has responded saying it will support a UN backed military operation in Timor. What does this mean for the fledgling country?

DWS: She Might Be Downes But She's Left Not Out! - The finale of Dancing with the Stars was a bit like watching a a classic Disney cartoon except there were no bad guys - everyone was the winner – particularly former Miss Universe Lorraine Downes. Ms Downes and her professional dancing partner Aaron Gilmore danced like one would expect a handsome prince and his princess to dance – moving across the linoleum of the Avalon studios in a similar fashion to a pair of delicate swans gliding atop a large marzipan packed wedding cake. See… The Final Of Dancing With The Stars

Scoop Satire: Parliamentarians Go To The Movies - The wild speculation of history's great creative minds has, I've often thought, rarely been able to match the droll and improbable events that occur in the politics of this nation. But recently a rash of occurrences in the life of Parliament had a particularly strong resemblance to the works of moving-picture artists. See... Lyndon Hood: Parliament Imitates Art

Scoop Politics

Politics: Robson Declares a Bad Week for Nats - The first report on the state of the economy in 2006 found that the value of goods and services produced in Aotearoa rose 0.7% in the three months to March 31, a bitter blow to National which had so gleefully predicted recession. See... Robson-on-Politics 28 June 2006

Scoop Multimedia

Scoop VideoCast: Pressure Mounts on Parliamentarians Over Taser Trial Scoop co-editor, Selwyn Manning, presents Scoop's video podcast, today reporting on how the New Zealand Police intends to trial the Taser stun gun on people from September this year. Opposition against the Police's use of the Taser is mounting and MPs are being called to stand up and be counted on this issue. So who is likely to be 'Tasered' by our boys in blue? Image and Video footage inserts courtesy of CampaignAgainstTheTaser.com. See... Scoop VideoCast: Pressure Mounts On MPs Over Taser

RECOMMENDED AUDIO and VIDEO:

95bFM Audio: Wallace Chapman interviews Terry Hicks the father of Australian David Hicks, who has been held for 4 and half years in Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay. Terry talks frankly to Wallace of the long running struggle to obtain a fair trial for David, and an eventual release from this legal 'black hole'.

Scoop Audio: Kevin List on Radio Active discusses: how Mr List is unsure whether he saw a vision at the Green Party bash; also mentions the deficit word enough to cause concern among econ-watchers!

Scoop Video: The Week's Movie Trailers – Sci-Fi Superman Returns; Sci-Fi Ultraviolet; Mel Gibson's Apocalyto; and a late run on the Da Vinci Code.

Scoop Audio: Selwyn Manning and Radio Adelaide 's Peter Godfrey discuss: The family of the murdered Kahui twins being interviewed by Police; Auckland City is to remain vulnerable to power-cuts for two years!; NZ Treasury has issued advice for Cullen to cut Govt spending.

Food: Public Health Inquiry Into Rugby Toffs' Ills Progressing - The investigation by the Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) into the cause of the Eden Park gastroenteritis outbreak is progressing. Interviews have been conducted on 407 patrons. Of those, 81 (20%) have reported illness. Of the four affected hospitality areas investigated the rate of illness was highest for the Hall of Legends where 36% of the 178 interviewed patrons were ill. See... Gastroenteritis investigation progressing

Scoop International

Scoop News: Global News Round-Up For Week June 26-30 - Israel: Hamas Members Will Be Tried Israel intends to try the Hamas activists, government ministers and parliament members captured during an early-morning incursion into the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Defense Forces said June 29. ALSO: U.K.: Iran Could Threaten U.K. Interests - Russia: Joining Turkey's 'Black Sea Harmony' - Kuwait: Polls Close - NORTH KOREA/CHINA: - G-8 and Iran: - SPAIN: and ETA. See... Global News In Brief: Israel To Try Captured Hamas

Scoop Comment

Greg Palast: Looking For A Better-Documented Conspiracy Theory - The US Congress will open hearings this week on the War in Iraq - a wee bit late one might think. But one question at the forefront of the minds of many on both the Left and the Right is sure not to be asked: Did the Jews do it ? I mean, after killing Jesus, did the Elders of Zion manipulate the government of the United States into invading Babylon as part of a scheme to abet the expansion of Greater Israel? See... Palast: The Invasion of Iraq A Jewish Conspiracy?