Author: Press Room

A southern-based firewood business has blamed shortage of wood, staffing difficulties, theft of cut wood and Covid-19 for its insolvency position. KD Firewood, which originated in Invercargill and later took over Wanaka Firewood, was put into liquidation by a special resolution of shareholders earlier this month. The company, which was incorporated in October 2019 and ceased trading at the end of last year, was jointly owned by Kerry John Dixon and Owen Fredrick Dixon who were also its directors. In his first report, liquidator Iain Nellies of Insolvency Management Ltd said the total amount owed to creditors was just over…

A boil water notice has been issued for Woodville this afternoon after rodent droppings were found on rafters above the town’s treated reservoir earlier today.Tararua District Council said the droppings were detected at the Woodville Water East Treated Reservoir this morning. A photograph shows the droppings on rafters above the surface of the water.”To date, this is the first occurrence of animal entry into this reservoir,” it said in a post to Facebook.Pests had previously been found inside the nearby Woodville Water West Treated Reservoir.Residents were advised to boil water before using it for drinking, making ice, food preparation, brushing…

The development, which was announced by the White House on Tuesday, came after three days of talks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. ADVERTISEMENTBoth Ukraine and Russia support a proposed ceasefire in the Black Sea, the US has announced. In two statements released on Tuesday, the White House said that Kyiv and Moscow “have agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea”. The development comes after three days of talks between the US and the two adversaries in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh. The meetings did…

A Dunedin-based photo printing firm — which has counted e-commerce giant Amazon among its customers — will continue to trade while liquidators explore the possibility of selling the business. Earlier this month, Trevor and Emma Laing, of Laing Insolvency Specialists, were appointed liquidators of Accelerando Ltd, which trades as HappyMoose, by shareholder resolution. In their first report to creditors and shareholders, the liquidators said a decision was made in October last year to sell the HappyMoose business and use the proceeds to fund the international expansion of Keepers Photos Ltd, which developed a photo storage application and was wholly owned…

A tyre specialist says the damage caused to dozens of cars from driving through roadworks in Napier is the worst he has ever seen, and there is “no solution” for drivers who were caught in it.By 3pm on Monday, Napier City Council had received 35 service requests from drivers who had travelled through the works on Meeanee Rd on Sunday.Motorists caught in it have described loose tar and chip seal piling onto their tyres, slowing their cars to an almost undriveable speed, while stones shaking loose from other vehicles chipped at their paintwork and windscreens.One reported receiving eight windscreen chips…

A recent monitoring flight observed evidence of “intermittent explosive activity” on the crater floor at Whakaari/White Island as the volcano continues to emit gas and steam plumes, volcanologists say.A Volcanic Alert Level 2 remained in place, indicating moderate to heightened volcanic unrest, and the Aviation Colour Code remained at Orange.GNS Science duty volcanologist Brad Scott said webcams had recorded steam and gas plumes with a “minor but variable” presence of volcanic ash.Recent gas and observation flights confirmed what had been seen from the coast, Scott said, with a flight on Friday recording a slight enlargement of the active vent area.”We…

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake has rocked the lower South Island this afternoon.The quake struck at 2.43pm and was centred 155 km north-west of Snares Islands at a depth of 12km.It was assessed for tsunami risk by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and GNS Science.No risk was identified for land, but NEMA warned coastal areas would experience “strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges” at the shore.”Strong currents and surges can injure and drown people. There is a danger to swimmers, surfers, people fishing, and anyone in or near the water close to shore.”People in or near the sea in…

The military deal signed by Albania, Croatia and Kosovo has angered Serbia at a time of growing concern over defence capabilities across the continent. ADVERTISEMENTAs concerns grow over the future of US support for European security and EU nations ramp up defence spending, three countries in southeastern Europe have signed a military agreement that they say will boost regional stability.The defence ministers of Albania, Kosovo, and Croatia last week met in Tirana to sign a joint declaration of cooperation intended to boost defence capacity, advance military technology and improve regional interoperability through shared training and exercises.However, the new alliance has…

Rising tensions between rival gangs in Gisborne have led to a series of “concerning incidents” that posed a “very real threat” to the public and those involved. Police said eight incidents involving assaults and firearms were reported between March 16 and March 23. While police and gang leaders have been working to ease tensions, the escalation in the conflict has “forced [police] to draw on additional powers”.Police were issued a gang conflict warrant yesterday afternoon, giving police special powers to search vehicles and occupants of vehicles of suspected gang members and to seize firearms, weapons, and vehicles.”Officers from across the…

Citizens are also demanding greater competitiveness from the EU, as well as the strengthening of the economy and industry to meet global challenges. ADVERTISEMENTIn the face of geopolitical challenges, including Russia’s war in Ukraine and incoming US tariffs on European products, a majority of the continent’s citizens firmly believe the European Union must invest further in security and defence.The European Parliament shared this information on Tuesday when it presented its Eurobarometer Winter Survey 2025, which was conducted between 9 January and 4 February this year.The survey also shows a notable growth in Europeans’ demand to strengthen competitiveness and industry to…