Wellington  - Michael Swann, 47, was sentenced Wednesday to nine years and six months in prison for New Zealand's biggest-ever fraud by a worker on his employer, news reports said.

Swann was found guilty in December in the Dunedin High Court of embezzling 17 million New Zealand dollars (8.5 million US dollars) over six years while working as chief information officer of the Otago District Health Board.

Wellington  - The New Zealand government on Wednesday announced a scheme to pay workers to take one day off every two weeks to save them from the threat of losing their jobs in the current recession.

Under the scheme, workers and their bosses in New Zealand's largest companies that are suffering in the economic downturn will negotiate voluntary agreements to cut their hours, Prime Minister John Key told a news conference.

Hamilton (New Zealand), Mar. 10 : The Black Caps have reportedly decided to switch tactics against India in Hamilton tomorrow provided, of course, skipper Daniel Vettori gets the option and the pitch is of its usual good standard.

Down 2-0, with two to play, New Zealand coach Andy Moles feels it is time to switch tactics in an attempt to put the Indians under some heat, which is possibly another way of saying his bowlers simply have the yips and are losing them games.

Hamilton (New Zealand), Mar. 10: Hamilton's Indian community is expected to turn out in force to vocally voice their support for Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s boys during the fourth one day international to be played against the Black Caps at Seddon Park.

The Indian team with international superstar cricket reputations wasn’t expected in the city until today, but Indian fans were waiting outside the Novotel Hotel last night for autographs.

Kiwi fans tend to rest easy on the ground''''s grassy banks, but Indian fans prefer to be nearer to their cricketing heroes and spend much of the game lining the boundary fence.

They''''ll also be making their presence felt the same as England''''s travelling fans, The Barmy Army.

Hamilton (New Zealand), Mar. 10: New Zealand cricket team coach Andy Moles is optimistic his troops can recover from the battering India has inflicted on them in the fourth match of their one-day series in Hamilton tomorrow.

According to the Waikato Times, Moles is upbeat about Black Caps fighting back at Seddon Park.

Skipper Daniel Vettori is back following the birth of his son and fellow spinner Jeetan Patel has been retained in the

Wellington  - Fiji military strongman Commodore Frank Bainimarama is delivering his country "a passport to poverty" with his refusal to hold democratic elections, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said Monday.

"He needs to recognize that if he wants Fiji to progress and to be taken seriously by both the (British) Commonwealth and the Pacific Forum leaders he needs to demonstrate that he has got a willingness for democracy to be restored," Key told reporters at his weekly news conference.