Gzone brigade

A home in Resolution Pl, Marfell, New Plymouth, caught fire early Friday morning. Firefighters faced a potentially explosive situation while battling a blaze in a house in the New Plymouth suburb of Marfell on Friday morning. The fire is believed to have erupted in a shed at the rear of the property on Resolution Pl about 6.15am. The New Plymouth brigade were alerted to the blaze after multiple neighbours reported hearing explosions coming from the Kāinga Ora property. A fire investigator and police also attended. READ MORE: Large fire destroys shed, spreads to neighbouring property House fire extinguished in Epuni, Lower Hutt Tararua tractor fire claims rural shed The callout was quickly escalated to a second alarm and five fire engines with more than 20 firefighters and support staff were in attendance. Specialist fire investigator Andrew Cotter confirmed it appeared the blaze began in a shed at the rear of the property where gas bottles had been stored, … [Read more...] about House fire under investigation after reports of explosions

NEW YORK: Citigroup Inc is heading to trial on Wednesday, hoping to convince a Manhattan federal judge to undo a nearly US$900 million blunder where it used its own money to repay lenders of Revlon Inc, the struggling cosmetics company. The unusual case could provide insight into Wall Street banks' relationships with clients, and guidance on steps that banks must take to safeguard how money is moved. It stemmed from an Aug. 11 incident where Citigroup mistakenly wired US$893 million to Revlon's lenders, appearing to pay off a loan that was not due until 2023, rather than a planned US$7.8 million interest payment. The bank had been acting as the loan agent for Revlon, which did not have enough cash to prepay the loan. While some 200 Revlon lenders have repaid Citigroup, the bank is suing hedge fund and asset managers such as Brigade Capital Management, HPS Investment Partners and Symphony Asset Management to recover US$501 million that it said remains due. U.S. District … [Read more...] about Citigroup heads to trial seeking to undo nearly US$900 million Revlon blunder

NEW YORK: A federal judge on Thursday said Citigroup Inc's lawsuit to recoup some of the nearly US$900 million it mistakenly paid Revlon Inc's lenders appeared on track for trial next week after receiving assurances he had authority to conduct it. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan had late Wednesday said he could not be sure all the defendants were citizens of different states than the bank's South Dakota-based Citibank unit, a jurisdictional requirement for the planned Dec. 9 nonjury trial. But at a hearing, lawyers for Citigroup and the defendants said they were making substantial progress on that issue, and confident at least most defendants could stay in the case. "I'm relieved in that it seems like it won't blow up the trial on this issue," Furman said. The lawsuit stemmed from Citigroup's having on Aug. 11 sent US$893 million of its own money, rather than a US$7.8 million interest payment, to Revlon's lenders. Citigroup was acting as the loan agent for … [Read more...] about Citigroup on track for trial over US$900 million Revlon mistake

American airstrikes in Syria show that Iran can expect consequences for supporting militia groups threatening US interests and personnel, Joe Biden has warned. "You can't act with impunity. Be careful," the US president said when asked what message he intended to send with the airstrikes early on Friday morning on Syria 's eastern border with Iraq. Satellite images show a group of buildings before the airstrike and the obliteration of most of them after. The Pentagon said the strikes by two Air Force F-15E aircraft using seven missiles destroyed nine buildings and heavily damaged two others in eastern Syria used by Iran-backed militias. They added that the strikes were not intended to eradicate the groups using them for attacks inside Iraq but to show the US will act firmly while trying to avoid a widespread regional escalation. Advertisement US officials said the airstrikes, Mr Biden's first military action as president, were legal and … [Read more...] about Syria: After US airstrikes, Biden warns Iran of consequences for supporting militia groups

The U.S. military Thursday struck facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups in eastern Syria, a decision the Pentagon said President Joe Biden authorized in response to recent attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq. "Specifically, the strikes destroyed multiple facilities located at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups," including Kataeb Hezbollah and Kataeb Sayyid al-Shuhada, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. Here is a look at the history and some facts about the two Iranian-backed militant groups: Kataeb Hezbollah Kataeb Hezbollah, or "Brigades of the Party of God," is an Iraqi Shiite militia seen as the central nervous system of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force (IRGC-QF) in Iraq. Although the group was officially founded in April 2007, its leaders have been actively engaged in anti-Western, pro-Iran activities since the 1980s and expanded their influence beginning in 2003 following the U.S. … [Read more...] about Who Are Iran-backed Militants Struck by US in Syria?