Kiwi war talk won't help Korean crisis

New Zealand's Opposition says Prime Minister John Key's comments about a potential war on the Korean peninsula are totally inappropriate. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

• New Zealand PM said war is "a remote possibility"
• Kiwis have long and proud history of supporting South Korea
• Labour leader David Shearer says Key's remarks are "irresponsible"

NEW Zealand Prime Minister John Key has been accused of "ramping up the rhetoric" and talking up the prospect of war with comments about New Zealand's role in another Korean conflict.

Mr Key has since distanced himself from those comments, saying war between South Korea and North Korea is "a remote possibility" and he doesn't want to speculate on New Zealand's role.

North Korea may be planning missile launch

He earlier told reporters in Guangzhou, during his visit to China, that New Zealand could support old allies the US and Australia if there was a war in the Korean peninsula.

"I wouldn't want to speculate, but obviously we have got a long and proud history of coming to the support of South Korea," he said.

Labour leader David Shearer says the international community is trying to calm the situation.

"No one should be talking up the prospect of war, the international community is focused on de-escalation," he said.

"John Key's comments were irresponsible, he must be more careful."

Green Party co-leader Russel Norman says Mr Key "totally jumped the gun ... the last thing we need is the prime minister of New Zealand going to China and talking about a war on the Korean peninsula."

In his later comments, Mr Key denied saying New Zealand would follow the United States and Australia.

"What I said was if there was a situation that got to the extreme, New Zealand would consider its position."

Asked if that could see Kiwi troops deployed, Mr Key said: "I think you're just so far off the planet, don't worry about it."

Mr Key discussed the Korean stand-off with China's new President Xi Jinping at a meeting yesterday, and said the gravity of the situation was not lost on China.

"They are totally committed to peace and to a peaceful outcome so they are going to, I'm sure, work extremely hard with all the partners to ensure there's peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula."

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Slain diplomat's dad: 'She loved her job'

Anne Smedinghoff was killed on April 6 in southern Afghanistan, the first US diplomat to die on the job since last year's attack on the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi. Picture: AP/Courtesy of Tom Smedinghoff Source: AP

ANNE Smedinghoff had a quiet ambition and displayed a love of global affairs from an early age.

So when the 25-year-old suburban Chicago woman was killed on Saturday in southern Afghanistan - the first American diplomat to die on the job since last September's attack in Benghazi, Libya - her family took solace in the fact that she died doing something she loved.

"It was a great adventure for her ... She loved it," her father, Tom Smedinghoff, told The Associated Press on Sunday. "She was tailor-made for this job.''

Smedinghoff died when the group she was traveling with was struck by an explosion in southern Zabul province. They were en route to donate textbooks to students. A civilian employee with the U.S. Defense Department and three U.S. soldiers were also killed in the attack.

Anne Smedinghoff grew up in River Forest, Illinois - an upscale suburb about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of Chicago - the daughter of an attorney and the second of four children. She attended the highly selective Fenwick High School, followed by Johns Hopkins University, where she studied international relations and became a key organizer of the university's annual Foreign Affairs Symposium in 2008. The event draws high-profile speakers from around the world.

Those who knew Smedinghoff described her as a positive, hard-working and dependable young woman.

While a student at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, she worked part time for Sam Hopkins, an attorney near campus. He described her as ambitious "but in a wonderfully quiet, modest way."

Her first assignment for the foreign service was in Caracas, Venezuela, and she volunteered for the Afghanistan assignment after that. Her father said family members would tease her about signing up for a less dangerous location, maybe London or Paris.

"She said, 'What would I do in London or Paris? It would be so boring," her father recalled. In her free time, she would travel as much as possible, her father said.

Smedinghoff was an up-and-coming employee of the State Department who garnered praise from the highest ranks. She was to finish her Afghanistan assignment as a press officer in July. Already fluent in Spanish, she was gearing up to learn Arabic, first for a year in the U.S. and then in Cairo, before a two-year assignment in Algeria.

Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday at a news conference in Turkey that Smedinghoff was "vivacious, smart" and "capable." Smedinghoff had assisted Kerry during a visit to Afghanistan two weeks ago.

He also described Smedinghoff as "a selfless, idealistic woman who woke up yesterday morning and set out to bring textbooks to school children, to bring them knowledge."

Her father said they knew the assignments were dangerous, though she spent most of her time at the U.S. Embassy compound. Trips outside were in heavily armored convoys - as was Saturday's trip.

"It's like a nightmare, you think will go away and it's not," he said. "We keep saying to ourselves, we're just so proud of her, we take consolation in the fact that she was doing what she loved."

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Man trapped after head-on crash

A MAN was trapped in his car for several hours after a head-on collision in Sydney's north-west this morning.

Emergency services were called to Richmond Rd, Marsden Park, following reports of a head-on collision.

A man, aged in his mid-20s, was trapped in his vehicle as a result of the crash.

It is understood he sustained an injury to his shoulder in the accident.

Paramedics and fire crews worked for several hours to free the man.

He was transported to Westmead Hospital for treatment.
 

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Unions challenge electoral donation laws

NSW unions are launching a High Court challenge to the state government's electoral donation laws, arguing they breach constitutional rights of freedom of political expression.

The laws, passed by the NSW parliament last year, ban all but individuals from donating to political parties.

Mark Lennon, secretary of Unions NSW, which is leading Monday's court action, says the laws hinder working people from expressing their political views.

"If they're allowed to stand, the O'Farrell government's electoral donation laws will muzzle debate and silence the voice of working people in NSW," he said.

"Our High Court action is about the right of working people to ensure their collective voice is heard."

He said the laws were a cynical attempt by the government to undermine the political strength of its opponents.

The laws ban unions from paying affiliation fees to political parties, combine caps on election spending for political parties and affiliated unions and ban peak councils such as Unions NSW from levying its affiliates to run movement-wide election campaigns.

The NSW Greens warn the court challenge could have the unintended consequence of returning the state to the days when millions of dollars flowed to political parties from vested corporate interests.

Greens MP John Kaye said the outcome could "reopen the floodgates to corporate donations and the corrupting influence they had on political parties".

"It would be unfortunate if the unions' case delivered a springboard for the developers and the alcohol, tobacco and gambling industries or other corporations to once again corrupt state politics," he said in a statement.

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Airport worker's corrupt customs

AN airport worker, whose part in a plot to smuggle illicit pills from Thailand helped trigger a major security review, joined a culture which was rife with corruption, a court has heard.

The claims came as former customs officer Paul Katralis, 25, faced a sentence hearing in the District Court for helping drug trafficker Joseph Harb import 65,000 flu tablets into the country in August.

Katralis was one of two officials arrested last year amid revelations a corrupt "cell" with underworld links was operating out of the Sydney international terminal.

The arrests followed a two-year investigation by the AFP and other authorities which resulted in the federal government forming a customs reform panel under the watch of retired judge James Wood.

Katralis was to have received $50,000 from Harb for smoothing the passage of the drugs through customs and providing detailed, inside knowledge on how to avoid security measures.

The pills contained enough of the precursor chemical pseudoephedrine to make pure methamphetamine - also known as the drug ice - with a street value of $2.3 million, according to court documents.

Both men admitted their roles in the plot after police intercepted a series of incriminating phone conversations, ending in Harb and his female companion's arrest as they tried to leave the airport with the tablets.

Katralis told Harb to pack the drugs in vacuum-sealed bags and take an early flight when the airport would be busy, even boasting in one recorded conversation that another person "did it last time and there was no issue".

But on Friday, his barrister Philip Boulten SC told a judge Katralis had become part of a team at the airport that was "infused" with corruption.

"The culture existed when he got there," he said.

The court was also told there was a "pervasive culture" among customs staff of "fast-tracking" family members through security.

As Harb approached immigration checks, Katralis sent him text messages with instructions to first "wait" and then "come" at the right time so the drug importer could pass through the airport without customs or quarantine staff searching his bags.

Katralis claimed in court he was due to join the AFP - the same agency which busted him for his corrupt dealings - four days after his arrest.

He said Harb eventually agreed to give him six boxes of the growth hormone Gen-Tropin, which was worth up to $2500 a box, in exchange for his help so he could "bulk up" for his planned career change.

Katralis will be sentenced on April 26.

Harb is due to be sentenced on Friday.

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Slipper forced to plead not guilty

Former Speaker Peter Slipper faces faces charges relating to three occasions in which he allegedly dishonestly used Cabcharge dockets.  File picture: Ray Strange Source: news.com.au

UPDATE: FORMER parliamentary speaker Peter Slipper has been ordered to enter a plea of not guilty over the alleged misuse of taxpayer-funded taxi vouchers.

Mr Slipper's Queensland-based lawyer Peter Russo today asked for a further adjournment of the matter which was denied by ACT magistrate Bernadette Boss.

Ms Boss entered a not guilty plea for Mr Slipper to progress the matter.

The former Liberal MP-now-independent will be required to front the court on May 23 at 11am for a case management hearing.

Mr Russo said he was seeking a five week adjournment over the matter.

"We are in a situation where we are awaiting advice from counsel in relation to the matter," Mr Russo told the court.

Ms Boss said due to the matter having been adjourned twice before in February and March she could not justify pushing the matter back any further.

Prosecutor Karen Musgrove said she was awaiting evidence from a geospatial expert in order to complete the brief of evidence on the matter.

Peter Slipper's lawyer, Peter Russo, addresses the media after an earlier hearing. Picture: Gary Ramage

She said she envisioned it would be complete in six weeks time.

Mr Slipper was originally given leave not to attend today's hearing on the proviso he enter a plea.

Mr Slipper, who stood down from the role of Speaker of the House of Representatives amid controversy last year, faces charges relating to three occasions in which he allegedly dishonestly used Cabcharge dockets to visit Canberra wineries in hire cars in 2010, amounting to $1194 in charges to the taxpayer.

He faces the possibility of a jail sentence, with the offences carrying a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment if he is found guilty.

Mr Slipper last year denied misusing Cabcharge dockets, saying allegations against him were a "complete farbrication".
 

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13 best baby names of 2013, one of them's Bruce

Bruce Wayne is Batman. So if you think your kid will become Batman then, sure, go ahead and call him Bruce. Picture: Warner Bros. Source: Supplied

• Hottest names include: Bruce, Thor, Wilder 
• Nameberry unveils top 13 names of '13
  
• What are your favourite names of 2013?

HOLLYWOOD is seriously warping the baby-name trend.

Bruce Wayne. Thor. Olivia Wilde. They're all influencing some of the hottest, yet oddest, new names in 2013.

Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, is an obvious choice. Christopher Nolan's epic film series concluded in style last year and no one is suaver than Mr Wayne.

Thor, ok, The Avengers, fair enough. But who wants to be called Thor when they're 24 and rake-thin and not in the least resembling the hulking, hammer-wielding Chris Hemsworth?

With those inclusions, here are the hottest 13 baby names for 2013, according to Nameberry:

• Bruce
• Thor
• Marnie
• Marlowe
• Christian
• Nelly
• Mavis
• Severine
• Wilder
• Phaedra
• Mingus
• Linnea
• Finnegan

Thor. Hammer not included. Picture: Disney Source: Supplied

Before we let you go, a few observations: Severine, honestly, is just not a word; Mingus sounds like a TV character who specialises in "search terms", wears thick glasses, talks fast, but still gets a lot of hot girls; Finnegan, at best, is an Irish surname.

If your name is Bruce and you're offended, please lodge your complaint on Twitter @christoforpaine | newscomauhq

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