News of New Zealanders via Global Media

New Zealand: ‘It really is Paradise’ Says Bollywood’s Vidya Balan

New Zealand: ‘It really is Paradise’ Says Bollywood’s Vidya Balan

Vidya Balan, one of Bollywood’s biggest superstars, rates New Zealand as her favourite place. She spoke to Filmfare, India’s leading film magazine, about her trip and shared some of her New Zealand photos with…

Our Inimitable All Black Captain

Our Inimitable All Black Captain

Captain “fantastic” Richie McCaw has led the “all-conquering All Blacks” to a 20th successive match without defeat beating Wales 33-10 at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff. No player in world rugby is better in…

Russia Loses A True Champion

Russia Loses A True Champion

“The world of finance offers bigger stages, but none of its actors has so captivated an audience as Jennings did in Russia,” Bernie Sucher of investment bank ATON, writes for The Moscow Times…

Waiting for Nature to Move in

Waiting for Nature to Move in

Absolute silence on the meltwater lake at the base of the Tasman Glacier surprises West Australia Today’s Elissa Blake, who notes the lack of birds and trees, on “the rough, rocky shores of the…

We, Family

We, Family

New Zealand-born director Barnaby Southcombe, 40, has cast his mother, English actress Charlotte Rampling, 66, in the title role of his latest film, I, Anna. The adapted screenplay was written by Southcombe based on…

Directing the Big Guns

Directing the Big Guns

Wellington-born director Andrew Dominik, 45, who has lived in Australia most of his life, said it took 45 minutes via text message to hammer out a deal with Brad Pitt to produce their latest…

Metal Work Wins Steel Oscar

Metal Work Wins Steel Oscar

Inventors of the world’s first container tilter, New Zealand company A-Ward, have won this year’s Swedish Steel Prize for the MiSlide, a flexible system for compressing and packing metallic scrap in containers….

Film Moving Economy

Film Moving Economy

“For better or worse, Key’s government has taken extreme measures that have linked its fortunes to some of Hollywood’s biggest pictures, making this country of 4.4 million people, slightly more than the city…

Unexpected Tourism Drawcard

Unexpected Tourism Drawcard

The international publicity from recent eruptions at Tongariro’s Te Maari crater may actually be helpful, according to local tourism operators. Te Maari crater erupted for about five minutes last week, emitting a plume of…

Filmmakers Galore

Filmmakers Galore

When it comes to supporting fledgling filmmakers, part of New Zealand’s challenge is the sheer number of them. Inspired by Peter Jackson’s success, young people are swarming film schools here. Weta Digital itself is…

Financial Literacy for Kids

Financial Literacy for Kids

New Zealander Lucas Remmerswaal, 52, is in the United States on a mission to increase the financial literacy of children through the lessons of American business magnate Warren Buffett. Remmerswaal is in North America…

Irish Coaching Role for Smith

Irish Coaching Role for Smith

New Zealander Darren Smith has been named the new Ireland women’s hockey national coach. Napier-born Smith, 39, takes up the role following six years as assistant coach to the New Zealand men’s team who…

Tolkien Enamoured

Tolkien Enamoured

This month, Telegraph readers named New Zealand as their favourite country in the world. Royd Tolkien, great-grandson of the writer, is equally besotted. “When I was eight I fell in love for the first…

Change At the Top

Change At the Top

Former AIA head New Zealander Mark Wilson, 46, has been appointed chief executive of Britain’s second-largest insurer, Aviva. Wilson ran AIA – the Asian arm of US insurer AIG – between 2006 and 2010….

Natives Thrive in California

Natives Thrive in California

New Zealand native plants and trees are thriving in San Francisco with both the San Francisco and University of California botanical gardens boasting impressive specimens of rimu, kauri and others. “One has even become…

Supermodels Need Bees

Supermodels Need Bees

Thames-raised model Kylie Bax has endorsed the highly effective lifting properties of raw bee venom, and specifically, the New Zealand-made Kalon Skincare signature cream, Anna’s Pocket Bee Venom Vitality Cream Mask. The company’s founder,…

When in Rome

When in Rome

The All Blacks continued their European Tour, taking on Italy in Rome on Saturday. Despite winning by a comfortable 42 points to 10 the Italians made the All Blacks work hard for the win,…

Real and Unreal Worlds

Real and Unreal Worlds

“As the Wellington premiere of The Hobbit approaches, New Zealand’s picturesque landscapes are set to take centre stage once again,” Charles Anderson begins in a story for the International Herald Tribune. “Ten years ago,…

Candid For Nikon Ad

Candid For Nikon Ad

New Zealand singing star Kimbra sings Nina Simone’s “Plain Gold Ring” in this first in a Nikon-sponsored series of “Women In Music”-themed “Candid Covers.” “I was aware of Nina Simone as a kid growing…

World Leaders in Arbitration

World Leaders in Arbitration

New Zealand has the perfect conditions to become a seat for international commercial arbitration, world-leading lawyer in the field, American Lucy Reed says. Reed, who leads the arbitration group Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in New…

All Blacks Kick the Scottish

All Blacks Kick the Scottish

The All Blacks have enjoyed a great start to their European Tour, beating Scotland 51-22 at Murrayfield on Sunday. Despite a competitive Scottish side, the experienced All Blacks team played in a different league,…

Running on Sunshine

Running on Sunshine

Tokelau has become the first country to have all its electricity needs met through renewable energy sources. The pacific nation — which is administered by the New Zealand government – was running an archaic…

New Zealand’s Yellowstone

New Zealand’s Yellowstone

“When I read about Rotorua’s Lady Knox Geyser that erupts at 10:15 every morning, I knew this was something I wouldn’t see in Yellowstone,” Pat Bellinghausen writes for the Missoulian. “While Lady Knox erupts…

Magic Manifested

Magic Manifested

Hedge fund billionaire Julian Robertson Jr. first visited New Zealand in 1978 on a year-long sabbatical from his asset manager’s job at Kidder, Peabody. The year in New Zealand turned out to be fruitful….

Non-farmers Get Look In

Non-farmers Get Look In

“The only truly global New Zealand company, with annual revenue of almost $20 billion, Fonterra operates in 100 countries and has 10,500 farmer-owners,” The Economist writes. “Rabobank of the Netherlands ranks it the world’s…

Diamond Blacks Qualify

Diamond Blacks Qualify

“Starved of funding, given little public attention, and overshadowed by a more popular close cousin, baseball has had it rough in New Zealand, the sport’s chief executive Ryan Flynn concedes. But all that could…

What Stead Reads

What Stead Reads

Author C.K. Stead, 80, talks to the Financial Times about which books changed his life and what he’s currently reading. “The cat is on the bedside table, the books are on the floor,” Stead…

Impressive Role Reversal

Impressive Role Reversal

On 10 November New Zealander Glen Jackson will jog out at Twickenham to referee England’s opening autumn Test versus Fiji. It will be Jackson’s first tier one international and represents one of sport’s more…

Rider Requests

Rider Requests

Ladyhawke wants sandwich ingredients on her rider, thanks, and some socks. Speaking to the Irish Times’ Tony Clayton-Lea, ahead of a recent Dublin show, Ladyhawke said that on her “fantasy rider”, she’d have a…

Art Grows on Trees

Art Grows on Trees

A survey exhibition of New Zealand artist Billy Apple’s work is planned for 2013 at the Auckland Art Gallery to celebrate the brand’s 50th year. The artist formerly known as Barrie Bates talked to…

Top Travel Spots

Top Travel Spots

Wellington Airport and the pensioners at Auckland Airport feature in this year’s ‘Monocle Travel Top 50’ list. Wellington International Airport sits at No 14 as the ‘Best New Air Terminal’. “Gehry-esque in ambition and…

Adventure for Real

Adventure for Real

“You could go to New Zealand just for the golf and not be disappointed – in fact, it might turn out to be the most memorable golf trip you’ll ever experience,” Stephen Szurlej writes…

Greener Pastures

Greener Pastures

Retailers in Britain should sell New Zealand-produced lamb if they want to help protect the environment, experts claim in a report called ‘Climate Change and Food Systems’. The suggestion, likely to outrage British farmers,…

Landscapes a Drawcard

Landscapes a Drawcard

Foreign buyers are mostly drawn to the Auckland area, or to the lake and mountain views near Queenstown on the South Island, according to The New York Times. Bill Sandston, a real estate lawyer…

Doctor Turned Astronaut

Doctor Turned Astronaut

New Zealand actor Martin Henderson, 38, has been cast as the lead in a new NBC soap thriller from executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer, The Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives. “Henderson will play Kyle…

Imagine the Growth

Imagine the Growth

Growing ties between New Zealand and China are giving new optimism to everyone from coffee chains and jade producers to organic farmers, universities, tour operators and real estate brokers. The increasing number of Chinese…

Exquisite Cutlery

Exquisite Cutlery

New Zealand artist Francis Upritchard has collaborated with London art collector Valeria Napoleone on a cookbook of Northern Italian recipes, with Upritchard contributing a piece entitled, ‘Balata dining’, (2010) featuring in the ‘meat’ section….

Universal Appeal

Universal Appeal

New Zealand children’s film Kiwi Flyer has won the Audience Award at the Schlingel – 18th International Film Festival for Children and Young Audience held in in Chemnitz, Germany. Tony Simpson, director…

Unexpected Welcome

Unexpected Welcome

Over the next few months at Wellington Airport, a giant 13m Gollum diving for 4m fish, will welcome visitors to ‘the middle of Middle Earth’. Designed by Weta Workshop, and built by Japanese artist…

Wildcat Spark Plug

Wildcat Spark Plug

Hawkes Bay basketball player Everard Bartlett, 26, is fast establishing a reputation as Perth’s spark plug, emerging as yet another scoring weapon for the Wildcats as it looks to build on an impressive 3-0…

Catch Yourself a River Prawn

Catch Yourself a River Prawn

“Hurl yourself out of a plane, swim in a lake that’s bigger than Singapore and catch Malaysian prawns,” Joleen Lunjew writes for The Malaysia Star. “Welcome to the Great Lake Taupo.” “What’s so great…

Treasures Travel to Beijing

Treasures Travel to Beijing

Te Papa is sending an exhibition of pounamu to China, where it expects a flurry of interest among museumgoers who haven’t seen how other cultures work with the precious stone. ‘Kura Pounamu: Treasured Stone…

Revival Vest a Finalist

Revival Vest a Finalist

The James Dyson Award has nominated 22-year-old Victoria University graduate James McNab as one of 15 finalists in its 2012 design competition. After the death of McNab’s friend Jacob Beck-Jaffurs, who suffered a shallow…

Vertigo Top Yacht

Vertigo Top Yacht

New Zealand has won awards at the latest International Superyacht Society (ISS) Design Awards, held in Fort Lauderdale in Florida. The winner in the category ‘Sailing yacht 40m +’ was won by the ketch,…

Epic Story About Epic Men

Epic Story About Epic Men

A new book about New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s ascent of Mt Everest “is one of courage, perseverance and jingoism”, author Justin Cartwright writes for The Observer. “Mick Conefrey’s moving book…

Jackson’s Empire Five

Jackson’s Empire Five

“There’s a new Jackson Five in town,” Empire magazine says. “The December issue of Empire five gorgeous 3D lenticular covers to celebrate The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” “Your choices are; Galadriel (Cate Blanchett),…

Honouring the Greats

Honouring the Greats

Prince Charles is greeted with a hongi by Bruce Simpson from the Ngati Ranana London Maori Club during a reception at St James’s Palace for prominent New Zealanders, Australians and Papua New Guineans….

Unexpected Genetic Diversity

Unexpected Genetic Diversity

Genome sequencing of the first-known four New Zealanders has revealed surprising genetic diversity, according to new research by the University of Otago. The complete mitochondrial genomes of the individuals – found buried at Wairau…

Super Swap for Winger

Super Swap for Winger

Canterbury Crusaders winger Sean Maitland, 24, has signed a contract with Super Rugby side Glasgow Warriors and could be eligible for the national team immediately due to his Scottish grandparents. “We’re delighted to be…

Best of Both Hemispheres

Best of Both Hemispheres

Wellington-born composer Lyell Cresswell has lived in Edinburgh since the early 1980s writing regularly for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO). “His latest piece for them, a triple concerto premiered here with the Swiss Piano…

McIndoe’s Genius on Stage

McIndoe’s Genius on Stage

The life of New Zealand-born plastic surgeon Archibald McIndoe was portrayed in The Guinea Pig Club, a play recently on at York Royal Theatre. The play explored the unorthodox techniques of the man. At…

New Contemporary Novel

New Contemporary Novel

Award-winning New Zealand novelist C.K. Stead, 80, was a guest on BBC series The Forum talking about his latest novel, Risk, which tells the story of a lawyer who turns to banking…

Anniversary of Loss

Anniversary of Loss

Twenty-one New Zealand veterans, aged between 88 and 96, attended a service in Egypt at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery on 19 October to mark the 70th anniversary of the…

Farewell to a Favourite

Farewell to a Favourite

Sir Wilson Whineray, who captained the All Blacks 67 times between 1957 and 1965, has died in Auckland, aged 77. Judged by renowned rugby writer Terry McLean as the greatest of All Blacks captains,…

What’s Not to Like

What’s Not to Like

Raised in the North Island town of Ruawai, Sydney-based actor Roy Billing, 65, lives with his New Zealand wife Linda Tizard, a former entertainment industry executive, in the suburb of Coogee. Coogee, Billing says,…

Talent Embedded in Genes

Talent Embedded in Genes

Up-and-coming actress Alice Englert, 17, the daughter of New Zealand film director Jane Campion (“similar talents seem to be embedded in her genes”), stars in Ginger & Rosa, “an evocative and beautifully shot portrait…