Snow – ENZA – Kinleith Fire – Tauranga Murder – IRD Search Powers – Macedonia – War Crimes – Southerner - Security

SNOW: Snow is continuing to fall in the central North Island. All the roads in the area are closed with snow. An Army spokesman thinks it will take a while to open the roads. Tranz Rail says all its ferries are now sailing again – yesterday around 1200 were stranded by the stoppages.

ENZA: Uncertainty remains over whether a new deal will end the row between ENZA and apple growers. The deal depends on a significant majority of growers accepting the deal.

KINLEITH FIRE: Firefighters are dampening down a fire at the Kinleith Paper Mill in Tokoroa. The fire started in a paper machine below the roof in a large building. There are still hot spots in the debris.

TAURANGA MURDER: Tauranga Police want to speak to former tenants of a woman found dead in her flat. The flats had been home to a number of semi-transient people.

IRD SEARCH POWERS: Concern is being raised over new search powers for the IRD included in a discussion document on compliance and penalties. A tax expert and ACT’s Rodney Hide do not like the proposal.

MACEDONIA: NATO has approved a plan to send 400 troops to Macedonia in the next few days. The deployment will prepare the ground for a larger NATO task force. The full force will have a 30 day mission to collect weapons.

WAR CRIMES: A Bosnian Serb army officer has given himself up to face trial for the massacre at Srebrenica. He will be the fourth person to stand trial for the massacre.

SOUTHERNER: The Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt said his council simply did not have enough time to organise a subsidy for the Southerner passenger rail service. The chairperson of West Coast Rail says his company may be prepared to reinstate the service.

SECURITY: Police have found some dubious people working for security firms.

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Alastair Thompson

Scoop Publisher

Alastair Thompson is the co-founder of Scoop. He is of Scottish and Irish extraction and from Wellington, New Zealand. Alastair has 24 years experience in the media, at the Dominion, National Business Review, North & South magazine, Straight Furrow newspaper and online since 1997. He is the winner of several journalism awards for business and investigative work.

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