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New Zealand PM: Parts of quake-hit Christchurch City to be abandoned...

WELLINGTON:  New Zealand — Some 10,000 houses and several hundred commercial buildings in Christchurch will have to be demolished because of earthquake damage, while some parts of the city will have to be abandoned altogether, New Zealand's leader said Monday.

The magnitude 6.3 temblor that hit Feb. 22 shattered homes, heritage buildings and office blocks, and caused 166 confirmed deaths. Officials expect the toll to rise to more than 200 as rescuers continue to search for bodies in the rubble.

Prime Minister John Key said some 10,000 houses will have to be demolished in the city, including 3,300 that were damaged by an earlier magnitude 7.1 quake on Sept. 4 that caused far less damage. Several hundred commercial buildings in the downtown area also will have to be bulldozed, he said.

"Potentially there are some ... areas of Christchurch which will need to be abandoned and we will have to provide other alternatives for people to live in because the land has been so badly damaged, we can't fix it -- certainly not in a reasonable time frame," he said.

Earthquakes can cause sections of earth to liquefy and push up to the surface as watery silt, a process called liquefaction. In Christchurch, 260,000 tons of silt have already been scraped away.

"There are some parts of Christchurch that can't be rebuilt on" due to damage from liquefaction, Key told reporters.

He said modular homes will be brought in to provide temporary housing for some of the many thousands of displaced.

Work crews are still clearing rubble from the earthquake, which badly hit the downtown area and cut water and power services across the city. Almost all electricity supplies have been restored, but residents in the city are being told to boil tap water because of the risk of contamination.

Officials say some 70,000 people -- one-fifth of Christchurch's population of 350,000 -- have left the city temporarily as a result of the quake.

A national memorial service is planned for March 18, and Key said the open-air service in a city park could attract up to 100,000 people.


KR says:  This is all speculation at this stage. John Key thinks he is the Mayor of Christchurch as well. Decisions will be made later after consultation with all parties involved.

Acknowledgements: CTV News

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The burka is "un-Australian" claims Aussie senator...



An Australian senator reportedly called the burka "un-Australian" and claims it should be banned - causing intense anger among the country's Muslim community.



Senator Bernardi from Soth Australia claims the full veil is repressive domination of women by men, and established different sets and expectations within Australian society.



His comments were posted on his blog, after an armed robbery by a man in a burka and sunglasses.



Opposition Liberal leader, Tony Abbot, who stopped short of supporting such a ban, said most Australians find the garment confronting.



Prime Minister Rudd accused the Liberals of a cynical political stunt. Australian Muslims have condemned talk of such a ban.

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Australians have paid tribute to the three Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel, killed when their Iroquois helicopter crashed north of Wellington...


The three pilots were remembered as part of Anzac Day commemorations in Hobart, Tasmania, yesterday.



Australian Peacekeeper and Peacemaker Veterans' Association of Tasmania, Phil Pyke, said many Australians had served alongside Flight Lieutenant Hayden Peter Madsen, who was one of those killed yesterday.



Mr Pyke said Mr Madsen served in the Solomon Islands as operations officer for the for the aviation group as part of the Joint Task Force.



"We remember their families and Squadron members at this difficult time," Mr Pyke said.



Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he was deeply saddened by the deaths, the Australian newspaper reported.



"I extend, on behalf of the Australian government and people, our condolences to the families of the victims, to the service men and women of the New Zealand Defence Forces, and to the government and people of New Zealand."







Mr Rudd said the date of the accident compounded the helicopter tragedy.



"This tragedy is an especially poignant reminder of the risks that our men and women in uniform continually face on behalf of our two nations and for our freedoms," he said.



Flight Lieutenant Madsen, 33, Flying Officer Daniel Stephen Gregory. 28 and Corporal Benjamin Andrew Carson, 25, were all killed when the Iroquois crashed into the side of a mountain while on their way to take part in Anzac commemorations in Wellington.



Their bodies were found by an Air Force crewman who ran 2km through steep and rugged uphill terrain to get to the mangled helicopter wreck.



The man was on board one of three Iroquois helicopters flying in formation from Ohakea air base to Anzac Day services in Wellington, when another of the aircraft crashed in heavy cloud, killing the three men shortly before 6am yesterday.



Another crewman survived and was last night in a stable condition in Wellington Hospital.



Several investigations have started into the tragedy, which came on the day New Zealand remembered those who gave their lives for their country.

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