Auckland, Feb. 19 : An exhibition football game with superstar David Beckham and his LA Galaxy has ended up costing the Auckland Regional Council a disastrous
1.79 million dollars.

"This is a very disappointing outcome and it has been a disaster for the ARC," stuff. co. nz quoted ARC CEO Peter Winder, as saying.

Beckham and the Galaxy played at Mt Smart Stadium on December 6 in a game against an Oceania All Stars team. While 6,500 children from 130 schools saw Beckham, not enough people paid to go the game.

Wellington  - The grounding of the cruise ship Ocean Nova in the Antarctic highlighted the need for stricter controls on tourism in the area, New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said Thursday.

"If nothing is done, it will be only a matter of time before there is a disaster in the Southern Ocean," he said. "The international community must take steps to ensure that never happens."

Wellington  - A New Zealand man who spent 10 years in prison for a murder the Court of Appeal found he did not commit was denied compensation Thursday after a lawyer's report that he probably had carried out the crime.

Justice Minister Simon Power told reporters the lawyer who investigated the case found that Rex Haig had "not established his innocence on the balance of probability."

Wellington - Internet users staged a protest outside the New Zealand Parliament Thursday to draw attention to an amendment to the country's copyright laws due to come into effect next week.

The change instructs internet-service providers to block online access to anyone accused of repeatedly flouting copyright regulations by illegally downloading films and music whether they have been convicted or not.

Mumbai, Feb. 18 : Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said on Wednesday that the forthcoming tour of New Zealand would be a tough assignment, as India has not won a series there since 1996.

Vadodara, Feb 18 : Cricketer Irfan Pathan on Wednesday said the Indian cricket team would seek to improve on its past dismal record against New Zealand in the forthcoming series.

Pathan told reporters here that the objective is to give our best performance.

"This would be a very important competition. If you see in the past, the Indian team has not given a good performance in New Zealand. So, we''ll try our best. We''ll be able to present a good game. We would try to win of course, and would definitely give our best," said Pathan.