The Moriori who created a non-violent tribal culture were conquered by warlike mainland tribes in 1835
Posted in General on 27. Aug, 2010
The Moriori, who created a non-violent tribal culture, were conquered by warlike mainland tribes in 1835. Mixed-blood descendants still live on the islands.The tribunal report said after they were conquered, Moriori were housed inadequately, forced into extreme labour, brutalised and, for a time, killed by Maori. “In 1862, Moriori elders made a plea to the government for relief, listing the names of 226 killed and 1,366 who, they wrote, had died of ‘despair’,” said the report. “The government did not respond.”The Moriori claimed the government was in breach of its treaty obligations by failing to take reasonable steps to secure their release from slavery. The tribunal said the government knew of their plight, and failed to intervene to help them.The tribunal also called for return of the Chathams 18,000 hectare (45,000-acre) lagoon to Moriori ownership, and the allocation of marine reserves and fishing resources.Under New Zealand law, the tribunal can only make recommendations for resolving grievances to the government, which then negotiates with the tribe.
The government of Prime Minister Helen Clark declined comment on the report.. Infobank, which sells software to enable companies to trade on the internet, is cutting 40 per cent of its staff infurther cost-cutting. Infobank, which sells software to enable companies to trade on the internet, is laying off 40 per cent of its staff in further cost-cutting. This will mean the loss of 115 jobs but should leave the business with enough cash to take it to profitability, the company said yesterday. Infobank will also “significantly” reduce its annual spending “to align it more closely with revenue over the next 12 months” Its shares closed up 0.5p at 57p. At the height of the internet bubble, its shares rose to more than £40.
David Pollock, Infobank’s finance director, said: “We’ve restructured our business so that even on the most pessimistic of assumptions, we’ve got enough cash to last for … two years.”Infobank, which is being renamed Izodia, is also scaling back its Nordic operations, which will include closing two offices. The moves, combined with previous cost-cutting, will reduce Infobank’s annualised operating costs by more than £15m since the start of the year, to levels close to £35m a year It is thought to have about £65m cash remaining. Analysts forecast that the business will generate sales of £10m-£12m this year and do not expect it to be profitable until late 2002 to early 2003.The restructuring followed the appointment of Tony Stepanski as chief executive in March. He has been focussing on cost reduction and product development while driving sales. Infobank said yesterday it had won two new customers for its core InTrade product, worth more than a combined £1m.. Pay-outs on maturing endowment policies this year have fallen by the largest amount in the last decade.
Pay-outs on maturing endowment policies this year have fallen by the largest amount in the last decade.The findings of an authoritative report, published today, will back criticism that this type of long-term investment policy is becoming outdated and unsuited to today’s economic environment.The report, compiled by the accountants KPMG and the magazine Money Marketing, found a particularly dramatic decline in 25-year endowments, which returned nearly 6 per cent less to investors this year compared to last.These and shorter-term policies suffered because last year’s negative stock market returns meant that terminal bonuses part of the maturity value of endowments were reduced drastically.There could be more cuts in bonuses still to come, as the decline in share values in the first quarter of this year will probably adversely affect bonus calculations for next year’s pay-outs.The decline in the average values of endowments has triggered an industry-wide review of how mortgage payments are progressing, as the endowment policies are a popular way to finance home loans. Lenders have been forced to send out letters alerting borrowers as to whether their endowments will pay off their mortgage, ranging from “red” for unlikely, through to “green” for very likely.. Redstone Telecom, which provides telecom services to small and medium sized business customers, is expected to unveil its funding plans early next week, despite increasing market speculation that the company might not pull through its financial troubles. Redstone Telecom, which provides services to small and medium-sized business customers, is expected to unveil its funding plans early next week, despite increasing market speculation that it might not pull through its financial troubles. The loss-making telecoms provider has come under intense pressure to outline how it will raise money to stay in business.
Fears it was running out of cash have caused its shares to slide dramatically.Last night, Redstone stock closed up half a penny at 6.75p, having traded as high as almost £9.50 at the height of the internet boom last year.Sources still insisted last night that the company was continuing talks with its advisers over both a deeply discounted rights issue and a share placing to raise the cash It is thought that the company is looking for about £20m. Speculation has been rife that the shares have fallen so far that the company could find it impossible to gain emergency refinancing.On Monday, Redstone confirmed that it was “seeking an increase” in its working capital and said it was in discussions with “a number of providers of both debt and equity”. It said it planned to make an announcement by the end of next week, alongside results from the year ended 31 March.The move followed the resignation last month of the company’s finance director, Alan Harrold, and the departures of a other key executives in March. They included John Karrington, non-executive chairman; Glyn Thomas, chief operating officer; and Bob Cushing, group strategy and business development director. Redstone is thought to have spent almost all of £125m raised via a rights issue last year in trying to become the UK alternative network operator of choice.. President Bush weighed into the row over the European Commission’s refusal to approve General Electric’s $42bn (£30bn) takeover of Honeywell yesterday, saying that he was “concerned” at the development. President Bush weighed into the row over the European Commission’s refusal to approve General Electric’s $42bn (£30bn) takeover of Honeywell yesterday, saying that he was “concerned” about the development.
His intervention raised the political stakes dramatically and increased the possibility of retaliation from the US if the deal does founder on what GE’s chairman Jack Welch described as the EC’s “extraordinary demands”.