Archive >> May 2013

Anniversary of Death, Memories of Love

“This year marks the 90th anniversary of the death of Katherine Mansfield, who was famous for her short stories, sexual ambiguity and string of lovers,” Adam…

No Justice nor Kings Permitted

New Zealand’s Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages has released an updated list of banned newborn names. In the past 12 years, the agency has had to turn down…

Words of Praise for Lions Coach

World Cup-winning former All Blacks skipper Graham Henry believes New Zealander Warren Gatland, 49, is the perfect choice as Lions coach. “Warren is an outstanding coach with a…

NZ-Papua Training in Community Policing to Start in September

The New Zealand government has allocated Rp 20 million (US$ 2 million) in aid for the Papua Community Policing programme, according to The Jakarta Post. The funding will see…

Britten Bike Revs Up for Isle of Man Lap

One of the most iconic racing motorcycles of all time, the Britten V1000, brainchild of Christchurch-born John Britten, returns to the track on 26 August as part of…

Nature-led and Outstandingly Good

According to the World’s 50 Best Restaurants website, Attica is New Zealand chef “Ben Shewry’s innovative but nature-led Melbourne masterpiece”. Shewry “often rises before dawn to…

Kentucky Eventing Win for Nicholson

Seven-time New Zealand Olympian Andrew Nicholson, 51, has won the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in the United States. Nicholson maintained his lead after the cross-country riding Quimbo, jumping a…

Shrewd Choice for Poland Cook It Raw

New Zealand chef Ben Shewry is one of a selection of the “world’s finest chefs” to recall their experience of a Cook it Raw event for a recent…

Mr Pip the Film to Screen First in New Zealand

Paramount Pictures has confirmed that New Zealand will be the first nation to see Mr Pip, the film, on general release. Mr Pip is set on the island of…

NZ Veterans Visit Korea for Armistice Commemorations

Hundreds of Korean War veterans, and bereaved families of fallen soldiers arrived in South Korea to attend commemorative events marking the 60th anniversary of the armistice that ended the…

Sean Maitland: Scotland Rugby’s Newest ‘Kilted Kiwi’

Sean Maitland, ex-Canterbury Crusaders and now Scotland rugby winger has one of his two wishes. He’s just been selected for the 2013 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia….

Waddell Says Glasgow Will Host ‘amazing’ Games

Rob Waddell, head of the New Zealand Commonwealth Games team, told The Scotsman he is confident that Glasgow will host an ‘amazing’ Games next year. Speaking at the end…

Eastbourne Sisters Enjoy Giltedge Success

Eastbourne (Wellington) Giltedge Publishing directors and sisters Ann Husmann and Kate McFlinn have publishing in their blood, writes Jazial Crossley in the Dominion Post. Their father, Gil…

Harvard Studies Telecom Split

NZ companies Telecom and Chorus are being used by the Harvard Business School to teach its MBA students, writes Tamsyn Parker in the New Zealand Herald. In 2011, the…

China Overtakes Australia as NZ’s Biggest Export Market

China has overtaken Australia as New Zealand’s biggest export market for the first time, buying more meat, dairy products and pine logs, while shipments across the Tasman have fallen,…

Delegat’s Snaps Up Aussie Winery

Auckland-based Delegat’s Group has bought the assets of Australia’s Barossa Valley Estate out of receivership for $24.7 million, according to Australia’s Courier Mail. The winemaker, whose stable includes the…

Green MP Apologies for NZ Climate Change Failure

New Zealand Green MP Kennedy Graham has apologised to Pacific leaders on behalf of New Zealanders who disagreed with their government’s decision not to sign the Copenhagen Agreement on…

NZ Faces Climate Change Disasters Influx

Climate change is real, and its impact on small Pacific states will be severe. So severe that New Zealand and Australia need to prepare now for an influx of…

Record Heights over Franz Josef

“With a 19,500-foot parachute jump over New Zealand’s scenic South Island … one of the highest commercial sky-dives in the world that doesn’t require customised planes and breathing equipment,”…

Fiji-NZ Trade Benefits Both Countries

New Zealand exports more than $300 million worth of goods to Fiji. This is more than New Zealand exports to Russia or South Africa. And Fiji can benefit from…

Action-packed US Premieres for Bell

Auckland-born actress and stuntwoman Zoë Bell’s self-produced action/horror film Raze premiered at New York’s TriBeca Film Festival on 21 April. As well, Bell stars in Oblivion, alongside Tom Cruise,…

NZ Aid to Vanuatu Focuses on Shefa Province

‘New Zealand has an important relationship with Vanuatu and Shefa Province … and we are keen to work with you to develop your Province, ‘New Zealand High Commissioner to…

Olivia Lefebre’s Modeling Career Takes Off

From being discovered while shopping, at St Luke’s mall in Auckland, New Zealand, to strutting on the Paris catwalk– Cook Islander Olivia Lefebre is making a name for herself…

Miss Popularity Exceeds Half a Million Likes

Sixteen-year-old Hawkes Bay student Jamie Curry has amassed over 500,000 likes on her Facebook page, Jamie’s World, which she began in July last year. Seven million people a week…

Merleen Thomas, Inspirational Airline Engineer

‘One of the most satisfying things about my job is seeing an aircraft that you inspected take off and just seeing it fly in the air,’ Merleen Thomas, Air…

Looking on the Bright Side of Life

“The world’s most southerly capital city is a shining example of turning weaknesses into strengths,” David Whitley writes for Middle East newspaper The National. “Hemmed in between harbour and…

Differences of Time on and off Set

Actor and winemaker Sam Neill, 65, talks to the South China Morning Post about corks, cows and why action films are duller than they look. “Making good films and…

Pasifika Education Achievement on the Rise

There has been a 3.5% increase in the number of Pacific Island 16-year-old students achieving the NCEA Level 2 qualification, according to the latest New Zealand education statistics. Pauline…

Birds with Mirrors Take Flight for Australia

New Zealander Lemi Ponifasio’s dance works have been acclaimed by critics as nothing short of revelatory, spiritual, even. The self-taught choreographer’s productions, starring Polynesian dancers, have been staged…

NZ Told to Stop Fatty Food Exports

Nauru, the Cook Islands, Tonga, Niue and Samoa all rank in the 10 most obese nations on earth, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Obesity rates in all…

One of the World’s Best Guided Tours

Active Adventures New Zealand’s Five-Day ‘Kauri’ Essence of the North Island tour features in National Geographic Traveler’s eighth annual “50 of the World’s Best Guided Expeditions” list, which appears…

Keeping Track of North Korean News

Christchurch researcher Frank Feinstein has dedicated a website, to cataloguing dispatches from North Korea’s state media organization, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The website, called KCNA Watch, catalogues…

Pacific Leaders Choose Sustainable Development

Pacific leaders from 18 nations have rejected a call from the World Bank and New Zealand to free up trade, loosen regulation and shrink their public sectors, according to…

Ladyhawke Slips on Armani for Indie Cover

“Her songs like ‘Paris is Burning’ or ‘My Delirium’ are well-known all over the world, but hardly anyone knows her real name,” according to Austrian-based magazine, Indie –…