Wellington

New Zealand negotiating compromise copyright agreement

New Zealand negotiating compromise copyright agreement Wellington  - Representatives of New Zealand's recording industry and internet service providers are negotiating a compromise copyright agreement after the government postponed a controversial new law, according to news reports on Tuesday.

The law, which instructs internet service providers to block online access to anyone accused of repeatedly flouting copyright by illegally downloading films and music, whether they have been convicted or not, was to have taken effect on Saturday.

Kiwi golf sensation wins Australian classic

Danny LeeWellington - New Zealand amateur Danny Lee elbowed the professionals aside Sunday to win the Johnnie Walker Classic in the west coast Australian city of Perth.

Lee, 18, claimed victory by one stroke in an event co-sanctioned by the European, Asian and Australasian tours.

Lee is the reigning United States amateur champion, and with his win in Perth became the youngest player to win on the European tour and only the second amateur to do so.

New Zealand warns of potential Antarctic tourism disaster

New Zealand warns of potential Antarctic tourism disaster Wellington  - The grounding of the cruise ship Ocean Nova in the Antarctic highlighted the need for stricter controls on tourism in the area, New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said Thursday.

"If nothing is done, it will be only a matter of time before there is a disaster in the Southern Ocean," he said. "The international community must take steps to ensure that never happens."

No compensation for man cleared of murder after 10 years in jail

No compensation for man cleared of murder after 10 years in jail Wellington  - A New Zealand man who spent 10 years in prison for a murder the Court of Appeal found he did not commit was denied compensation Thursday after a lawyer's report that he probably had carried out the crime.

Justice Minister Simon Power told reporters the lawyer who investigated the case found that Rex Haig had "not established his innocence on the balance of probability."

Qantas budget subsidiary taking over New Zealand routes

Qantas budget subsidiary taking over New Zealand routes Wellington  - Australia's Qantas Airways will hand over domestic services in New Zealand to its budget subsidiary Jetstar in June, the company announced Tuesday.

Jetstar will operate 84 weekly return services between Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and the South Island lake and ski resort town Queenstown on Airbus A320 jets

A statement said that passengers already booked on Qantas flights within New Zealand after that date would be switched to Jetstar services.

German woman tells of "horror house" stay with creepy internet friend

German woman tells of "horror house" stay with creepy internet friendWellington  - A German woman who flew to New Zealand to meet a man who wooed her on the internet with eloquent emails and poetry told a newspaper Tuesday of her time in a "horror house" with a stranger who was nothing like her online friend.

"He was quite intellectual and he knew the way to my heart," the 36-year-old musician and drama teacher from Leipzig, who identified herself only as Maja, told the Otago Daily Times.

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