The Silver Ferns Farm meat processing plant has signalled the loss of nearly 250 jobs, with the closure of the sheep and lamb slaughter operation at its Canterbury processing plant near Christchurch. After a month of turning off the lights and cutting the heat, it seems nature has come to the rescue - the power crisis is over. Grant Calder has always been a farmer at the top of his game at the top of the high country. The Iraqi man involved in a three-hour standoff with police at an Auckland city apartment will now face two murder charges, in addition to the possession of a knife charge that was laid yesterday. The interest in Fred and Myrtle's paua house in the Canterbury Museum is so strong, visitors have been queuing out the door to get a taste of kiwi kitsch. The proposed the hunting will take place in an enclosed fenced basin, but opponents of the plans say one thing that cannot be guaranteed is the safety of neighbouring residents.
The Stirling Smith will be the only Scottish venue to host the show, which will also visit three other museums and galleries across the country in 2008 and 2009. Ten works from the Royal Collection, which contains the world’s most important group of drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, will be on display. They are normally preserved in the royal library at Windsor Castle and are among the greatest treasures of the collection. The exhibition will visit The Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum in Stirling from August 9 to November 2, 2008. They were held to celebrate the millennium, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002 and her 80th birthday in 2006, though they did not go to Stirling.
A 47-year-old man convicted of leading a gang of robbers who beat and hog-tied victims was sentenced Friday to more than 62 years in federal prison, much of the time mandatory because he used a gun. On orders from Calabrese, a gang member tried to break the tattoo parlor owner’s hands with a hammer because he had tattooed the underage daughter of a Chicago mob boss, prosecutors said in court papers. Calabrese is not believed to be related to the Calabrese family that was at the center of one of the biggest mob trials in the city’s history last year. Eve said federal law required her to sentence Calabrese to a minimum of 57 years for using a gun in multiple offenses and more time for pulling the robberies.
Pope Benedict XVI waves before embarking on a flight to Australia for a 10-day pilgrimage, in Rome’s Fiumicino airport, Saturday July 12, 2008. ROME - Pope Benedict XVI has left Rome on a flight to Australia for a 10-day pilgrimage. A special Alitalia flight with Benedict, Vatican officials and journalists aboard departed from Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport Saturday morning. The 20-hour flight and the public events during the pilgrimage to Sydney will test the elderly pope’s stamina. The trip is the longest of Benedict’s three-year-old papacy. His journey centres around the Catholic Church’s World Youth Day events, which include a vigil service with a crowd of young people and an outdoor Mass.
