Top Scoop Stories – 30 December 2008 News Summary
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LEAD STORY------------
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today demanded that Israel and Hamas halt their acts of violence, take all
necessary measures to avoid civilian casualties, and that Israel keep open all border crossings necessary for the
continued provision of humanitarian supplies to Gaza.“A ceasefire must be declared immediately,” Mr. Ban said in a
statement he himself read to the news media. “They must also curb their inflammatory rhetoric. Only then can dialogue
start.”He faulted regional and international partners are not doing enough. “They should do more. They should use all
possible means to end the violence and encourage political dialogue, emphasizing peaceful ways of resolving
differences,” he said. More »[1]
ALSO:
Statement on Gaza [11]
[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00595.htm [10]
[11] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0812/S00266.htm [11]
[12] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00593.htm [12]
[13] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00592.htm [13]
[14] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00591.htm [14]
[15] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00588.htm [15]
[16] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00587.htm [16]
[17] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00586.htm [17]
[18] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00585.htm [18]
[19] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00458.htm [19]
[20] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00581.htm [20]
[21] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00306.htm [21]
[22] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00305.htm [22]
[23] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00575.htm [23]
[24] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00451.htm [24]
[25] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00566.htm [25]
[26] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00565.htm [26]
[27] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00564.htm [27]
Gush Shalom - More »[1]
ALSO:
A Poem for Gaza [7]
[12] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00580.htm [12]
[13] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00594.htm [13]
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NZ POLITICS------------
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's ship Steve Irwin has driven the Japanese whaling fleet out of the Australian
Economic Exclusion Zone. "We have chased the whalers for over 800 miles since last Saturday through bad weather and
heavy ice conditions," said Captain Paul Watson. More »[1]
ALSO:
Foreign Minister Murray McCully says the Fiji Interim Government this afternoon moved to expel New Zealand’s Acting High
Commissioner, Caroline McDonald.
“At 5pm New Zealand time today the Acting High Commissioner was called to the offices of the Fiji Foreign Ministry and
given a notice declaring her persona non-grata. She has been given one week to leave Fiji,” says Mr McCully. More »[1]
ALSO:
New Zealand's economy shrank for at twice the pace predicted by the central bank in the third quarter, raising the
prospect of more interest rate cuts to revive the worst slump in 10 years. Gross domestic product fell 0.4% in the three
months ended Sept. 30, according to Statistics New Zealand. More »[1]
Lindsay Shelton writes: The Wellington City Council wants me to have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I discovered the council’s message
when I was waiting for a bus – not exactly the place where you expect to receive seasonal greetings. More »[1]
Scoop co-editor Selwyn Manning writes that investigations into the Police special investigations groups reveal that it
had used a complaint of tagging to dig into the private life of a peace advocate, political groups, and a US owned
defence company. Was this a waste of Police resources? More »[1]
ALSO:
[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00261.htm [10]
[11] - http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2008/12/police-spied-on-case-against-them.html" target="_blank [11]
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BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH------------
Dec. 24 – New Zealand’s benchmark NZX 50 index is headed for its worst annual slump in 18 years, as global growth
stumbled and the domestic economy fell into recession, hurting retailers, tourist operators, and commodity producers. More »[1]
Energy and Resources Minister, Gerry Brownlee, says it's time for local oil companies to stop monitoring and start
nudging down fuel prices for New Zealand motorists. International crude oil prices have been sitting at a record low of
between US 35 and 37 dollars a barrel in recent weeks, while at the same... More »[1]
ALSO:
Dec. 23 – The Securities Commission has laid charges against directors of Nathans Finance and the remaining directors
of Bridgecorp over misleading documents. The commission, which has been looking into all of the nation’s failed finance
companies... More »[1]
ALSO:
Dec. 24 – The New Zealand dollar fell after data confirmed the economy sank deeper into recession, heightening concern
that it will continue to spiral downward next year. More »[1]
ALSO:
[3] - http://business.scoop.co.nz/?p=1955 [3]
"This man needs a funny bone transplant," was the response of Kiwibank founder Jim Anderton to the recent description by
former BNZ chairman Kerry McDonald of the Kiwibank 'join the resistance' advertising campaign as 'reprehensible' and
'outrageous'. More »[1]
Qantas Airways Limited (Qantas) and British Airways Plc (BA) are announcing that after detailed discussions about a
potential merger of the companies, talks have ended. Despite the potential longer term benefits for Qantas and BA... More »[1]
- Dec. 18 - New Zealand’s government finances are heading for wider budget deficits over the next few years on a weaker
track for economic growth that will give the central bank more room to cut rates, according to the Treasury’s latest
forecasts. More »[1]
ALSO:
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COMMENT------------
By now, most of the world is aware of the horrific news of death and destruction that visited upon the people of Gaza .
Millions have watched in utter shock the footage depicting Israel ’s indiscriminate and disproportionate bombing of Gaza
. More »[1]
ALSO:
Abstract: While the military might of the world’s leading nations continues to expand, it has become apparent that
western colonialism is abruptly coming to an end, yet the consequences are still not clear to any of the pundits
traditionally... More »[1]
Author's note: Cheney’s admission during an interview with the Washington Times this week about his role in approving
the waterboarding of three Guantanamo detainees and the so-called ''enhanced interrogation'' of 33 prisoners was,
disturbingly, not ... More »[1]
Condoleezza Rice finally lost her temper. When Michele Keleman from National Public Radio asked the outgoing Secretary
of State if Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe's discussion of human rights at the UN made it more difficult for her to talk about
human rights, ... More »[1]
The global financial bubble burst in 2008 — and that’s a good thing. It means that the bubble economy will stop draining
the real economy . Instead of capital being invested in fraudulent mortgage securities, derivatives portfolios, and
companies... More »[1]
Walter Brasch writes: The chairman of the Republican National Committee may have begun an irreversible descent into a future as a fear-bound
paranoid victim of functional amnesia, possibly caused by a hysterical post-traumatic event such as the overwhelming
victory of Democrats ... More »[1]
Over the next fortnight or so, the mainstream media will be providing Year in Review space fillers aplenty, so enough
already for the Barack Obama/John Key recaps, and lets all try to forget that Sarah Palin and Owen Glenn ever existed…
Personally, I’d like to thank anyone/everyone who has dropped by this column over the last seven months. More »[1]
Or for the non-Spanish-speakers, Uh! Ah! The Amendment is coming! Article 230 of the Venezuelan Constitution, which
limits the presidency to two six-year terms, is proposed to be amended to remove the words ''... for two terms only, ''
allowing presidential ... More »[1]
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LIFESTYLE------------
The Ministry of Fisheries nationwide photography competition was launched today, Monday 22 December, and we’re calling
for your best shots! More »[1]
The installation of ‘angel rings’ at high risk rock fishing spots on Auckland’s west coast beaches could help save lives
this summer, but wearing a lifejacket should still be the number one priority for rock fishers. More »[1]
In what will be the last home game this year for the Wellington Phoenix, players turned out in force to promote tomorrow
night’s match against the Central Coast Mariners at Westpac Stadium. More »[1]
Chugg Entertainment today confirmed that Coldplay will visit New Zealand following their eleven arena shows in Australia
next March. The show will be part of their “Viva La Vida” world tour, in support of their new album of the same name. More »[1]
ALSO:
Car wrecks, discarded furniture and other urban detritus barricaded Stout Street at the corner of Lambton Quay in
central Wellington for 24 hours on Sunday. This large-scale art intervention, created by British artists Heather and
Ivan Morison, was part of the year-long One Day Sculpture series. More »[1]
ALSO:
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WORLD------------
Richard S. Ehrlich writes: In this mimic-happy land brimming with counterfeit designer goods, illegal software, duplicated movies, sham medicine,
forged passports, and other professionally faked items, genuine fear has suddenly appeared. More »[1]
23 December 2008 – The worst cholera epidemic ever recorded in Zimbabwe is still not under control after infecting
nearly 24,000 people, with the death toll approaching 1,200, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported today. More »[1]
ALSO:
23 December 2008 – Sudan’s military and child welfare authorities have partnered with the United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) to protect children’s rights and prevent the recruitment of child soldiers in the war-torn African nation. More »[1]
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today extended his condolences on the passing of General Lansana Conté of Guinea, and
stressed the need for a peaceful, democratic and constitutional transfer of power, following a reported coup attempt. More »[1]
ALSO:
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has partnered with schools in England to provide nutritious meals next
month to school children in some of the world’s poorest countries. More »[1]
6pm 22nd December 2008 - Neta Golan, an Israeli citizen and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM),
has been arrested by Israeli police while attempting to leave Gaza through the Erez border crossing. More »[1]
ALSO:
Eighty-five Pakistani troops arrived in Darfur during the past two days to bolster the strength of the joint United
Nations-African Union peacekeeping force, known as UNAMID. More »[1]
ALSO:
ENDS