Author: Press Room

In a letter to Health Commissioner Oliver Várhelyi, health ministers from 12 countries urge the Commission to step up its fight against tobacco and novel nicotine products. ADVERTISEMENTHealth ministers have urged the European Commission to step up its fight against tobacco and questioned the blocking of several pieces of tobacco legislation in a letter to Commissioner Várhelyi seen by Euronews. In the letter, dated 21 March, health ministers from Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia, and Spain, at the initiative of the Netherlands, voice their concerns over the increasing use of new nicotine products among youth, cross-border…

A Christchurch moving company has developed its own app so customers can pick live timeslots with fixed hourly rates. Happy Helper Moving Company owners want to eventually develop the software further so clients can track the movement of their possessions in much the same way as Uber rides. Founder Tony Joyce started the moving company three years ago and was joined recently by software developer Fabian Johnson, who has taken an equity share in the business. Mr Joyce said the new logistics and booking app had sped up the service and helped remove the stress of moving houses for clients.…

A world-leading study is starting in Aotearoa, investigating why large numbers of Fijian people are developing heart disease at young ages, with heart attacks killing some still in their 20s.Fijians make up just 2% of New Zealand’s population, but 20% of people suffering heart attacks or angina here are under the age of 40.Many of them are otherwise fit and healthy until the heart disease strikes.University of Otago scientists believe there is a genetic link, and are recruiting people with premature heart disease, or a family history of the disease, who are under 55 and living in New Zealand.They hope…

The Common European System for Returns aims to speed up deportation of asylum seekers who aren’t permitted to stay in the European Union. In an unexpected move, it also opens the possibility to build the controversial detention centres outside the bloc. ADVERTISEMENTThe revised regulation fills a gap within the Pact on Migration and Asylum to be implemented from July 2026 and aims to address the fact that only about 20% of yearly deportation orders are carried out, according to EU institutions.Lists of safe countries of origin and safe third countries to which rejected asylum applicants may be sent should be defined. In…

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…