UPDATE: More on the Death of James Patrick Smith – The British Tourist Killed in Queenstown

The Otago Daily Times has published some more on the mysterious death of British man James Patrick Smith in Queenstown, New Zealand who was found at the rear of the Base backpacker hotel in the early hours of yesterday morning. The comments of the manager of Base (who originally “declined to comment”) are rather interesting…

"Is Increased Violence Damaging NZ’s Image Abroad?"

That’s the onging question repeatedly asked of readers of the on-line edition of NZ Herald since January 2008 and there are over 60 pages of replies. The questions received another airing following the attack during the weekend on French rugby player Mathieu Bastareaud. The responses make for interesting reading, here’s a fairly typical selection of…

Brutal Attacks on Teens

There have been reports of a number of seemingly random, unprovoked attacks on teenagers in New Zealand over the last week or so. On Saturday night a 19-year-old man was rushed to intensive care after he was seriously injured on Shirley Road outside Shirley Primary School, Christchurch at 11:30 pm. Police want to talk to…