Today's Top Scoops - November 22, 2007
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LEAD STORY------------
Legal Shocker: PM Protests Saudi Rape Victim's Sentence Of 200 Lashes - Prime Minister Helen Clark said today that she has asked New Zealand diplomats to raise dismay over the sentencing of a 19-year-old Saudi rape victim. The Shi'ite woman and an unrelated man were abducted from a shopping mall in early 2006 and she was subsequently raped by a group of seven men. She was originally sentenced in October 2006 to 90 lashes. That sentence was more than doubled to 200 lashes and six months in prison by the Qatif General Court. More >> [1]
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NZ POLITICS------------
QUESTIONS OF THE DAY:Questions For Oral Answer - Thursday, 22 November 2007 [1]
Enemies of Kiwiland: She Did In Paul - Is the NZ Economy Next? - Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton is disappointed that UK celebrity Heather Mills has lent her name to a claim that
meat and dairy can't be environmentally sound products. Ironically, in launching the campaign, Ms Mills arrived in a
carbon-spilling four wheel drive. More >> [1]
Legislation: '1984' Type NZ Foreseen By Worryworts/Democracy's Champions? - The images of the Wellington protest against the Electoral Finance Bill are brought to our readers in glorious sepia
tones. This move is in honour of the totalitarian state depicted in the classic sepia toned movie 1984 - a state many on
the march believe Godzone will morph into should this bill pass.More >> [1] ALSO:Images - Electoral Finance Bill Counter Protest [2] Green Party - National Must Come Clean on EBs Slogan [3] National - TVNZ banned from running election ads [4]
Foreign Affairs: Diplomats Retake London Post - New Zealand's next High Commissioner to the United Kingdom will be career diplomat Derek Leask. He takes up his
appointment next April, replacing Jonathan Hunt. More >> [1]
Economy: Cullen Talks About Monetary Policy and Political Consensus - Address to the Wood Processors Association of New Zealand Annual Conference, Civic Suite, Wellington Convention
Centre, 111 Wakefield St, Wellington. More >> [1]
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BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH------------
Motoring: UK Experts Reject Whole Of Vehicle Marking - Whole of vehicle marking (or 'microdot' technology), which is on schedule to become mandatory for vehicles entering
the New Zealand fleet, has received the 'thumbs down' from the UK's leading vehicle crime investigators. The Thatcham
Autocrime forum is comprised of members representing 43 regional police forces from throughout the UK. More >> [1]
Tourism Ventures: THL To Enter Joint Venture With InterCity Group - Tourism Holdings Limited (THL) and the owners of InterCity Group (NZ) Limited have agreed to form a joint venture to
build on the strengths of their nationwide bus and coaching operations and their Northland leisure cruising businesses.
THL will receive a 49 percent shareholding in the joint venture. The remaining 51 percent will be held by the current
owners of InterCity Group (NZ) Limited (ICG). More >> [1]
By The Book: Auckland Airport To Consider Changes To Commerce Act - Auckland International Airport (Auckland Airport) said today that it will consider in detail the proposed changes to
the Airport Authorities Act and the Commerce Act relating to the regulatory environment for airports in NZ. These
proposed changes were announced by the Ministry of Economic Development last night. Chief executive, Don Huse, said "We
commend the Minister and Ministry on the thorough process". More >> [1]
Down Sized: Manufacturing No Longer The Biggest Employer - Property and business services replaced manufacturing as the biggest employer for the first time in the Linked
Employer-Employee Data (LEED) series, Statistics NZ said today. The property and business services industry had 238,200
filled jobs during the September 2006 year. The manufacturing industry now has the second largest number of filled jobs
(237,000). Textiles, clothing, footwear and leather manufacturing was the key driver of the decline in filled jobs. More >> [1]
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WORLD------------
War Footing: Bush Presses Congress For Iraq War Funding - President Bush is pressing Congress to approve his latest budget request for the war in Iraq, where he says leaders
are beginning to make progress toward political reconciliation. When Congress returns from its Thanksgiving break,
President Bush wants quick action on more supplemental funding for the war in Iraq, without the preconditions of a troop
withdrawal being pushed by Democrats. More >> [1]
Chemical Reaction: Bromide Suspected Cause Of Mystery Illness In Angola - Toxicological tests carried out on blood samples from victims of an outbreak of a mystery illness in Angola have
detected very high levels of bromide, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) reported today. The tests, conducted in
Germany, found the high bromide levels in five of the six samples taken from patients, and additional samples are now
being sent to the UK for further analysis. More >> [1]
State Of Palestine: U.S. Announces Annapolis Conference On Mid East - Forty nine nations, organizations and individuals have been invited to attend. "The Annapolis Conference will signal
broad international support for the Israeli and Palestinian leaders' courageous efforts and will be a launching point
for negotiations leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state and the realization of Israeli-Palestinian peace,"
McCormack said at a State Department briefing. More >> [1]
Bad Sports: Falun Gong Adherents Barred From 2008 Olympics - The Chinese communist regime would allow athletes and tourists to bring religious objects for self-use during the
Olympics. However, this policy would not apply to Falun Gong practitioners: "Falun Gong texts, Falun Gong activities in
China are forbidden," and, "Foreigners who come to China must respect and abide by the laws of China." (AP) More >> [1]
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COMMENT------------
Sri Raman: The Battle Lines in Pakistan - If you look at it as a battle between individual leaders and parties, the battle lines cannot be more blurred. The
lines have been changing frequently, leaving everyone wondering who is fighting whom in Pakistan. If you look at it as a
battle between the people and a system, of... More >> [1]
Bill Berkowitz: Robertson and Giuliani: A Not-So-Odd Couple - Not long after Saddam Hussein was captured in 2003, Rudy Giuliani and Pat Robertson shared a flight back from Israel.
"We had a lot of time coming back from Israel to talk about our understanding of how important Israel is to the United
States, how important they are in this whole vast effort that we're involved in this terrorist war against us,"... More >> [1]
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LIFESTYLE------------
Media: TVNZ Thieves RNZ's Business Economics Reporter - Corin Dann is one of New Zealand's leading economics and finance reporters. As Radio New Zealand's economics
correspondent, he provided expert commentary on the issues affecting the New Zealand economy. More >> [1]
Lounge Lizarding: Kiwis Get More Than Just Mr Ferry - It's just been confirmed that Danny McCrum & Ben Jurisich will be opening for Bryan Ferry & Joan Armatrading at the Logan Campbell Centre on December 3rd & 4th. More >> [1]
Pop: Brunettes Back Home After New York Bust Up - The Brunettes return home for one Auckland show in December. That's right. Three months on the global tour road and
the Brunettes have clocked up more than just gig miles! An 8 page spread in sassy New York magazine, Bust. More >> [1]
And those were the Top Scoops on this day, November 22, 2007
:)
ENDS