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Showing posts with label New Zealand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Zealand. Show all posts

Monday, 10 March 2008

Nai Yin Xue arrived in New Zealand under US guard

Nai Yin Xue, 53, appeared in the Auckland District Court yesterday almost six months after sparking an international manhunt.He fled to the United States after abandoning his three-year-old daughter, Qian Xun Xue — nicknamed Pumpkin — at Melbourne's Southern Cross Station in September. A few days later the body of his wife, Anan Liu, 27, was found in the boot of his car outside their Auckland home.Xue was captured in the US late last month. He arrived in New Zealand under US guard early yesterday and was charged with his wife's murder.
Looking tired, he stood impassively in the dock. He was not required to enter a plea but occasionally nodded during the short hearing.
Prosecutors dropped a charge of unlawful removal of Qian Xun from her mother.
Judge Eddie Paul remanded Xue and adjourned proceedings to Wednesday next week to give defence lawyer Chris Comesky time to consult with his client. Mr Comesky said the impact of the wide media interest on Xue's right to a fair trial might need to be taken into account."There are obviously going to be difficulties," he said.
Detective Senior Sergeant Simon Scott, who led the investigation of Ms Liu's death, said further charges against Xue would be considered.
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Wednesday, 16 January 2008

Corey Worthington for Big Brother contract




Police have taken Melbourne's party boy and global media star Corey Worthington into custody.
A police spokeswoman said the 16-year-old had been taken to the Narre Warren police station in relation to the wild party at his parents house on Saturday night.
The latest development comes after Corey fled the studios of an FM radio station this morning during a sometimes hostile interview on live radio.
The 16-year-old from Narre Warren bolted out of the studio and fled down a fire escape after Fox FM's radio host Matt Tilley tried to remove his plastic yellow sunglasses, which he had kept on throughout the interview.
He was chased by several news camera operators and an anxious radio producer but disappeared.
Corey later returned to the studio and completed the on-air interview.
Before making his escape, Corey was asked if he had anything to say to his parents who might be listening.
"Sorry," he said.
Asked if he was planning to return to home, he said: "To get my clothes and stuff".
Asked if he ever wanted to go home again, he said: "I do sort of, but don't know right now".
Corey also said he had been approached by DJ Lako to run an underage club in Melbourne.
The hosts asked Corey if he was merely a brat who couldn't handle the truth, to which he replied, "Nuh".
Listeners who called the studio to speak with Corey were overwhelmingly hostile, with one woman telling him he had no respect for anyone else and a man calling him a "knob" and warning him to "watch out".
Corey, dressed in a white cap, fluoro yellow T-shirt and white high-top sneakers, appeared tense while being interviewed.
The teenager threw a house party on Saturday night while his parents were interstate, at which 500 teenagers spilled on to the streets, damaging property and throwing projectiles at police cars.
The out-of-control party and its aftermath have attracted media attention worldwide and drawn speculation that the teenager could earn big money by appearing on TV and promoting parties.
Victoria Police has also threatened to bill the boy's family $20,000 in damages.
The story was among the most-read on the BBC's news website last night. It was more popular than a report on the Taliban attacking a Kabul hotel.
Corey's farcical interview with Channel Nine's A Current Affair on Monday, during which he comprehensively steam-rolled host Leila McKinnon (wife of Channel Nine chief David Gyngell), was uploaded to the YouTube website yesterday afternoon, further expanding his notoriety.
Within minutes of going online, McKinnon's tabloid TV tut-tutting had backfired, transforming Corey, who was interviewed shirtless with his pierced nipple on show, from naughty schoolboy to international hero.
The boy's neighbours and Victorian Police would not have been amused, and nor would his mother and stepfather, Jo and Steve Delaney, who were on the Channel Seven show Today Tonight expressing their shame over his antics and their concern over the potential $20,000 fine.
Pursed-lipped McKinnon, clearly frustrated when Corey refused her repeated requests to remove his huge sunglasses and offer an apology on the show, went in for the kill, adopting a school ma'am tone to suggest the boy: "Go away and take a good long hard look at yourself."
But before she could cut the link, the boy shot back: "I have, everyone has and they love it."
In a rare moment of restraint, celebrity agents contacted by the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday said they would not be approaching the teenager with any lucrative contracts, despite his new found notoriety.
A spokeswoman from Harry M Miller's office, which already handles the dubious "talent" from the Big Brother reality TV series, said they were not interested in the teenager.
However, by last night rival agent Max Markson had changed his mind and admitted the boy's story was marketable, worth between $30,000 and $40,000 now it had gone international, but that he would only represent him "if they contact me".

AAP reported that the teenager was relaxing on the beach with girls yesterday, refusing to answer calls from his parents.

"I am not going home if they are going to go all crazy on me," he told the Nine Network. "It was pretty funny and I would do it all again. I have always had a bit of an attitude towards older [people] like my parents. That's just me. I would rather stay young and have fun and am not gonna change for anyone really."

Corey's parents returned to a home they say was disgusting.

"We've got our home back to some semblance of order," Mr Delaney told Channel Seven.

"There's been no respect, no regard. You can't chain them down.

"His arrogance that he's demonstrated is blase and obviously been hyped up because he's got all his mates onside egging him on … He just has to stop what he's doing, just stop it."

They said they did not know where he was.

"Obviously, we're keen to get him back home," Mrs Delaney said. "We need to work this through with him and the police. We need to sort everything out."
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Thursday, 10 January 2008

Bay of Islands Canterbury Trust

The Bay of Islands Canterbury Trust has admitted that the frigate is sitting 6m deeper than planned.
Julia Riddle, trust secretary and director of Northland Dive, said that was because delays during the scuttling ceremony had caused the ship to move from its original mark. She said the trust was ordered to sink it by the harbour master before they were able to move it back.
Phil Andrews, manager of Paihia's Dive HQ, said it was important to appreciate the dangers of any dive site and the Canterbury was no different.
Anyone who wanted to dive the wreck was encouraged to do so as part of an organised dive where there were supervisors in the water at all times.
"It's not a dive that many people would try to do off their own bat unless they were very experienced," Mr Andrews said.
He said divers who wished to dive the Canterbury on a Dive HQ excursion had to first prove they had enough experience beyond having their dive ticket.
If they weren't experienced enough they could only dive the wreck with an instructor.
Ms Riddle said there was an element of risk with any dive site and warned that people should not dive deeper than they were qualified to go. Divers who had an open water certificate could only dive to 18m and only those with an advanced diving certificate could descend to 30m.
"It's about diving to your ability and not exceeding your certification levels," she said.
Bay of Islands Canterbury Trust spokesperson Kelly Weeds said despite being deeper then the other wrecks he didn't believe the Canterbury was any more dangerous, provided divers were sensible.
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