New Zealand Herald

Wilson Out - Team NZ - Cup Fallout - Fiji Coup- Govt Intervention- Paraplegic Assault - Premature Twins - Brain Drain- Mt Eden Prison Search - IRD Breach - Green Nats - Mother’s Day Rape

WILSON OUT: Jeff Wilson spared the new All Black selectors a delicate decision yesterday when he decided to take an "indefinite" rest from rugby. The most prolific try scorer in All Black tests was under severe threat for his place this season after a run of ordinary Super 12 games and top form from a number of challengers.

TEAM NZ: A hardcore of Team New Zealand sailors have pledged their loyalty to the next America's Cup defence, but there are serious concerns that the defection of their leaders could open the floodgates. The new Team NZ are relying on a pile of envelopes on the table this week to stop the flow of crew losses to rival Cup syndicates.

CUP FALLOUT: After a weekend of bitter fallout, maybe it is not so surprising that Russell Coutts and Brad Butterworth bailed out of running the next America's Cup. The telltale signs were there. Disputes with the old guard, long absences on the other side of the world, a kind of reticence as their crewmates back home grew more and more confused about their own futures.

FIJI COUP: Fiji's coup came to Auckland yesterday with a mass protest in Aotea Square ... and an anxious time at the airport for one Fiji Indian man as he waited for his family to arrive from strife-torn Suva. Thousands of people, mainly of Fiji Indian descent, crammed into Aotea Square after marching from the Auckland Domain.

GOVT INTERVENTION: The firepower of New Zealand's military and police elite remained firmly in the Government's holster last night amid fears international intervention in Fiji could result in bloodshed. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Phil Goff, said last night it was "unlikely" specialists such as the Special Air Service or police anti-terrorist unit would be dispatched to Suva to help end the hostage crisis.

PARAPLEGIC ASSAULT: WHANGAREI - A paraplegic man fled from an attacker in his Whangarei home by wheelchair, pushing himself more than half a kilometre down city roads while still bleeding from his wounds. The police have been criticised for a slow response to the incident, which led to the arrest of a 37-year-old Whangarei woman who faces assault charges.

PREMATURE TWINS: Twins Edmund and Phillip Weetman have been battling for survival from the moment they were born 16 weeks premature. Weighing only 735 and 805 grams at their birth on December 28, the Takanini twins spent 31/2 months fighting for life in a number of hospitals.

BRAIN DRAIN: CANBERRA - The election of Helen Clark's Government has failed to stem the haemorrhage of New Zealanders across the Tasman. Despite Helen Clark's impassioned pleas to Kiwis to stay at home - and a March Herald-DigiPoll survey revealing rising optimism in the nation's future - New Zealanders have continued to pack up and move across the Tasman at a disturbing rate.

MT EDEN PRISON SEARCH: A North Shore lawyer is suing the police for $40,000 for what he says was a demeaning search at Mt Eden Prison. John Mather says he was appalled at the way visitors were subjected to a "pat-down" search and made to turn out their purses and pockets in full public view.

IRD BREACH: WELLINGTON - Breaching a woman's privacy by disclosing details of her high income to her partner's former wife has cost the Inland Revenue Department $5000 in damages. The woman complained after the former wife made several abusive telephone calls, said a Complaints Review Tribunal decision.

GREEN NATS: National is looking to the fertile patch of "green" voters in its search for regrowth. Opposition leader Jenny Shipley preached an environmentally friendly message to delegates at the party's Canterbury-Westland regional conference at the weekend.

MOTHER’S DAY RAPE: South Auckland police have arrested the driver of the car they believe was used in the Mother's Day rape in Manurewa and have linked him to another vehicle used in another sex attack. Detectives detained the driver on matters unrelated to the rape. They found the stolen black Honda, with false SY9509 registration plates, on Saturday.

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