3 Jun 2010

Morning Report: local papers

8:17 am on 3 June 2010

Thursday's headlines: Slain teenager came to New Zealand with dreams of a better life; women may have been exposed to potentially fatal virus in Melbourne; funeral gatecrasher brought tupperware containers to fill with food.

NZ Herald

The New Zealand Herald reports teenager Jiayi Li came to New Zealand with dreams of a better life.

Instead, her family and friends are grieving after the body of the 18-year-old Chinese student was found in the boot of her car on a Hamilton street, 125km from where she was last seen.

Up to 55 New Zealand women may have been exposed to an apparent deliberate attempt to infect them with a potentially fatal virus at a Melbourne abortion clinic.

A brothel in suburban Auckland will close after its customers took the neighbours' parking spaces and came knocking on their doors, looking for the business.

Dominion Post

The Dominion Post says motorists used to driving 10km over the maximum speed limit will not get away with it this weekend, as police trial a zero tolerance policy to cut road deaths.

An aspiring Maori leader and school principal, Hawea Vercoe, died what's described as an unnecessary death, the victim of unprovoked violence.

But the paper says his family are suffering fresh anguish: they learned on Wednesday his killer could be free in 17 months. They describe his sentence of two years and 10 months a joke.

A fake mourner who repeatedly gatecrashed Wellington funerals was so keen on the food that he brought along tupperware containers to fill up and take home.

The Press

The Press reports a revamped Central Plains Water irrigation scheme has been approved after a $10 million consents process.

A wheelchair-bound man is critical of organisers of this weekend's Christchurch marathon, after being told he cannot compete because of safety concerns.

Hundreds of people who booked ski holidays to Wanaka through Fly Direct could be out of pocket after the company went into liquidation on Wednesday.

ODT

The Otago Daily Times says the carpentry contract for the Forsyth Barr Stadium is said to have been let without the knowledge of the Carisbrook Stadium Trust, bypassing an agreed process with main contractor Hawkins Construction.