Author: Press Room

After almost three decades of supplying Dunedin with exotic fashion from across the globe, a longtime George St shop-owner is excited for a new adventure — retirement. On January 31, Yaks n Yeti’s Dunedin store will close its doors after 28 years. Yaks n Yeti’s owner Nicole Bainbridge said at 63 years old, it was simply time to start winding down and go into semi-retirement. Every year she delayed was another year doing the heavy lifting while being a year older. She said it was “something that was always going to happen eventually”. “It’s an end of an era. “It’s…

Netflix struck a deal to buy Warner Bros Discovery, the Hollywood giant behind Harry Potter and Friends, in a US$72 billion (NZ$124.7 billion) deal that would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.Beyond its namesake television and motion picture division, Warner owns HBO Max and DC Studios. Netflix is ubiquitous with its vast selection of on-demand content, and its production arm has released popular titles such as Stranger Things and Squid Game.“For more than a century, Warner Bros. has thrilled audiences, captured the world’s attention, and shaped our culture,” David…

The fate of a proposed North Canterbury housing development is no closer to being known, more than two years after the Waimakariri District Council first rejected it.Rolleston Industrial Developments Limited has withdrawn its Environment Court appeal against the council’s November 2023 decision to reject a private plan change for the proposed 850 home sub-division.But the company is proceeding with an appeal against the Waimakariri District Plan, which was adopted in June.It is one of 21 appeals against the District Plan.The proposed Ohoka housing development was included for consideration in the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Act, along with proposed sub-divisions in west…

Enterprising Oamaru couple Shane Carter and Hayley Newlands-Carter are continuing to expand their involvement in the human waste industry. They talk to business editor Sally Rae about their flush with success.  They are in the business of bums on seats — literally. Dealing with human waste might not appear the most glamorous industry but Shane Carter and his wife Hayley Newlands-Carter provide a welcome service at some of the South Island’s most swanky functions and events. It has been a milestone year for the Oamaru couple who celebrated 15 years of ownership of their Laser Plumbing business and recently added Awamoa Sanitation to…

A Wairarapa council’s climate-change adaptation programme is showing early signs of success.From no-mow trials in public parks, to soft plastic recycling and addressing water processing issues, Carterton council is adopting sustainable practices across its business units.The council’s policy and projects subcommittee was updated on the programme’s progress at its meeting on Wednesday.“We are doing really well,” a spokesperson said.“There is some great stuff happening. Things like the composting trials, waste-minimisation and progress on our district plan. There are good things in there from a climate perspective.”A report presented to the committee described climate-adaptation successes in the council’s parks and reserves,…

Simon Flood will replace Chris Gallaher as chairman of Pacific Edge following the company’s board meeting on December 18. Mr Gallaher delayed his retirement in September last year until a successor was appointed. Mr Flood joined the board as a director this week. In a statement, Pacific Edge said he brought a wealth of experience in business leadership and a global perspective on capital markets and investment management. He has held senior investment management and leadership roles in London, Hong Kong and Singapore with Mercury Asset Management, Axa Investment Management, Lion Global Investors and Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. He has…

In a few weeks’ time, West Coasters will be able to find out if their home – or one they’re planning to buy – may be at risk of damage or even demolition in a landslide.Regional council staff are working on the final parts of a natural hazards portal on the council website that lets the public zoom around on the map and check out the threats posed by nature in a given area.That included flooding, storm surge, liquefaction and, now, the risk of landslide – triggered either by rainfall or earthquake.The addition of landslide hazard maps to the portal…

Published on 05/12/2025 – 16:54 GMT+1 For the fifth episode of our podcast, “Brussels, my love?”, we are joined by Irish author and professor Donnacha Ó Beacháin, Swedish correspondent with Svenska Dagbladet Teresa Küchler and Euronews’ own Mared Gwynn Jones. We dive straight into the corruption scandal that shocked the EU capital this week that saw the former foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini arrested as a suspect in probe into procurement fraud. Donnacha Ó Beacháin said that depending on how it ends, this could be a good news story for the EU as it could serve as a trigger for…

A new twice-weekly flight route connecting Auckland and Buenos Aires will take off later tonight, marking what the Government is calling a milestone for the tourism sector.China Eastern Airlines launches its Auckland to Buenos Aires service tonight, adding to its existing daily Shanghai to Auckland flights and positioning the city as a transit hub between Asia and South America. Tonight’s flight departs just before 9pm. Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown said he would be representing New Zealand on the inaugural flight, celebrating his successful advocacy on the issue.”I think we’ve been living at the mercy of the Mercator projection; this most…

Published on 05/12/2025 – 15:00 GMT+1 It looks like a manufacturing plant but it’s actually a huge research facility. Inside Borealis’s Innovation Hall in Linz, Austria, raw materials with bizarre names — like polymers — are mixed with additives, antioxidants or glass fibre to test the manufacturing of a wide array of everyday products. “The different products we design could be pipes or bumpers, or of course packaging material to wrap a sweet,” explains Doris Machl, the Head of the Competence Center at Compounds & Recyclates. From insulating materials to fully recyclable transparent films, these real-size manufacturing lines enable developers…