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Politics and Economics
A Kiwi Chef in NYC Uses Receipt To Remind People ‘Immigrants Make America Great’
Mark Simmons – “a Kiwi chef residing in New York City has found the perfect way to throw some subtle shade at U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial immigration policies,”…
Helen Clark To Step Down As UNDP Chief In April
“Helen Clark, the highest ranking woman at the United Nations, is stepping down as director of the UN Development Programme in April”, as reported on Channel News…
Scotland’s Labour for Independence Youngest Member
The youngest member of the newly relaunched Labour for Independence group New Zealand-born Ben McKinlay, 17, from Earlston in the Scottish Borders, has voiced his full backing for an…
Hot House-Hunting in Auckland
Auckland is “going through a building boom,” Ross Hawkins, a salesman with New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty told the New York Times, noting that at the moment you can…
Chris Liddell appointed to the White House
In an unparalleled achievement for a New Zealander, Chris Liddell has been appointed to one of the most senior roles in the White House, Assistant to the President. He…
New Zealand Debates Tramping Track Fee
“New Zealand’s chief conservation officer, Lou Sanson, caused a stir in October by suggesting that it might be time to start charging tourists for using the country’s wilderness tracks,”…
Bill English Is NZ’s New Prime Minister
“New Zealand’s ruling National Party appointed Bill English as the country’s new prime minister on Monday following last week’s shock resignation of his predecessor John Key,” as reported in…
David Shearer to Lead UN Mission in S Sudan
New Zealand lawmaker David Shearer, 59, who has led UN aid efforts worldwide has been named UN mission chief in South Sudan, one of the world’s toughest peacekeeping jobs.
Shearer,…
NZ-Tehran Trade May Reach $1bn Turnover
New Zealand has made its first trade mission to Tehran in 12 years after sanctions were lifted following the historic nuclear deal signed in 2015. During the meeting in…
John Key “Played Hand Of Fate Exceptionally Well”
“Imagine a Tory Prime Minister stepping down after nearly ten years at the top on his own terms. The budget was back in surplus, troublesome referendum results had been…
Trump Undermines America’s Tattered Authority – Rigg
“Hillary Clinton and the Democrats deserved to lose the presidential election,” writes Bob Rigg, Wellington-based researcher and writer specialising in nuclear issues, the Middle East, Central Asia, and US…
Is it Time for Disgruntled Americans to Move?
“The prospect of a Trump presidency led to some prominent Americans – including Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg – joking, or perhaps half-joking, that they would move to…
Economy Milks Clamour for Middle Earth
Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit series have proved to be as precious to New Zealand’s economy as any magical ring with millions flocking to the country…
Helen Clark Rallies Caribbean in UN Bid
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, the administrator for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) recently lobbied Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries as she seeks to replace Ban Ki-moon…
Cruise Industry Growing in New Zealand
New Zealand’s cruise industry is experiencing an increase in cruise passengers. More than 254,000 passengers and 92,000 crew members visited the country during the August 2015 to June 2016…
NZ Tops IMF’s Housing Unaffordability List
New Zealand has topped the International Monetary Fund’s list for housing unaffordability and has outpaced 31 other countries in the house prices to income ratio category. It…
NZ’s Anti-Nuke Win Approaches 30th Anniversary
When the Royal New Zealand Navy celebrates its 75th birthday in November, US warships will be there. It will be the first time any American military ship has entered…
RBS CEO Ross McEwan Still Optimistic Despite Brexit
While the Royal Bank of Scotland share price did sink to levels reminiscent of the 2008 crisis, when the bank ran out of cash and only survived because of…
Comic Artist Roger Langridge Responds to Brexit
For days, Roger Langridge wrote, he was boiling with rage over the United Kingdom’s “stupid, stupid referendum result.” But then someone wrote to ask him: “Why do you hate…
Report Exposes Human Trafficking Shortfalls
A United States report outlining New Zealand’s shortcomings in tackling human trafficking shows New Zealand is “oblivious and ignorant” about forced labour taking place under our noses, anti-trafficking organisation Stand…
Helen Clark Named One of World’s Most Powerful Women
Helen Clark has been ranked #22 on Forbes Magazine’s “World’s Most Powerful Women” list. The former New Zealand Prime Minister and head of the United Nations Development Program is…
Former PM Jim Bolger Calls for Inter-Korean Talk
While ramping up global pressure is key to hampering Pyongyang’s nuclear development, Seoul should chart a path to restart denuclearisation talks to defuse tension and move toward an ultimate…
Helen Clark Says World Needs Action on Forest Land Rights to Meet Climate Goals
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has “warned that global climate change goals cannot be achieved without a united push to secure land rights for the world’s indigenous…
Helen Clark Launches Campaign to Lead UN
New Zealand’s former prime minister Helen Clark has begun her campaign to become the first woman to lead the United Nations, saying in Paris that, “peace really matters to…
Bank of China New Zealand Signs Agreement with Immigration NZ
Bank of China (New Zealand) Limited has signed a partnership arrangement with Immigration New Zealand, which will simplify visa application processes for their high net worth customers wishing to…
Helen Clark’s Leadership Capabilities Outshine Her Zip Code
“‘I can offer the style of leadership needed today’. Such words sound unremarkable coming from a politician in this messy and pivotal election cycle. But when they come from…
Global Media Hail Helen Clark’s UN Bid
Former Prime Minister Helen Clark’s announced candidacy for the position of Secretary-General at the United Nations has been hailed around the world by international media.
The UN’s current top ranked…
Zero-Hour Contracts Banned in New Zealand
Zero-hour contracts have been outlawed in New Zealand after parliament unanimously passed a bill to ban the controversial practice, which is being hailed as a major victory for minimum…
Trans-Tasman New Pathways to Citizenship Deal Made
New Zealanders who have lived and worked in Australia for more than five years will find it easier to access citizenship under a deal reached by the leaders of…
James Bertram’s Mao Zedong Letter Sold at Sotheby’s
A letter from Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong sent to British Labour leader Clement Atlee and typed by New Zealand-born journalist James Munro Bertram, has sold at…
Helen Clark Says Living Standards of 2 Billion Better
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), led by New Zealander Helen Clark, says that 2 billion people have lifted themselves out of low human development in the last 25…
Face of Climate Change – Helen Clark
Helen Clark, Head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and former Prime Minister of New Zealand was featured in an article on the Deutsche Welle…
Celebrating Our Ties to Korea
“The New Zealand Embassy has kicked off a month-long festival in October to celebrate growing commercial and cultural links with Korea, expected to expand further after the free trade…
Helen Clark Comments on 70 Years of the UN
As the UN marks the 70th anniversary of its founding this autumn, those imperfections – and how the UN addresses them – have come to the fore as the…
New Zealand Negotiates Itself into the Future
Why can New Zealand negotiate vast trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the largest regional trade accord in history, while Britian continues to argue over markets of the…
John Key Talks Candidly with TIME
Just hours before Prime Minister John Key addressed the United Nations recently, the National Party leader, who has been in office since 2008, spoke with TIME’s editors about Vladimir…
Nina Hall Swims in Solidarity with Refugees
New Zealander Nina Hall, who is a post-doctoral fellow at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, recently swam from Turkey to Greece in solidarity with the refugees who…
South Pacific Secret to Breaking Poverty Cycle
“Migration to pick fruit is probably not the first thing you think of when you think of the World Bank’s work, or the broader global effort to eliminate poverty…
New Zealand FM Calls for Bigger UN Role in Middle East Peace Process
New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully called for the United Nations Security Council to have a greater role in the Middle East peace process.
“Secretary Kerry has been closely involved…
New Zealand Steps Up To Chair UN Security Council
Throughout July, New Zealand’s top UN diplomat Gerard van Bohemen will take on the responsibilities of the Presidency of the United Nations Security Council, and his cited…
New Zealand a Prosperity Index Success Story
While Greece, Spain and Portugal face a bleak scenario as they struggle on their road to recovery New Zealand, Canada, America and Britain emerge from the Legatum Institute’s Prosperity…
New Zealand’s Super Fund – World’s Best-performing Sovereign Wealth Fund
The New Zealand Superannuation Fund has outperformed all of its counterparts with its generated returns of more than 17 per cent a year over the past five years according…
New Zealand Elderly Protected from Crisis as Income Gap Widens
“Income inequality has risen in most OECD countries” in the last 30 years and the age profile of poverty has shifted “with young people replacing the elderly as the…
Helen Clark Ranked 23rd Most Powerful Woman
Helen Clark has been ranked #23 in Forbes annual audit – The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.
“As the most powerful woman in the United Nations (and…
Leon Grice and Milou Dogged Diplomats in LA
New Zealand’s consul-general to Los Angeles Leon Grice and his Bichon Frisé Milou feature in Monocle’s “Ambassadogs” series.
“The eight-year-old, named after Tintin’s companion, has accompanied the Grice’s through Leon’s…
New Zealand’s “Rock Star Economy” Takes Centre Stage
Australians are going to have to get used to New Zealanders going on about how much better their economy is, according to the Guardian.
Paul Bloxham, the HSBC economist who…
The tide turns in New Zealand’s favour
For more than 20 years, “the trans-Tasman migration tide” has been a one-way wave – a relentless flow of Kiwis to Australia. Australia was the land of milk and…
New Zealand Breaks Renewable Energy Record
The share of renewable energy on the grid in New Zealand is the highest it has been in close to 20 years, Energy and Resources Minister Simon Bridges said.
The…
New Zealand, Vietnam Agree to Increase Trade
New Zealand and Vietnam have announced ambitious new trade goals following a meeting between New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in Wellington.
“New…
Panicked Super Rich Buying up NZ Bolt Holes
Hedge fund managers are buying up remote stations and land in places like New Zealand to flee to in the event of civil uprising against growing inequality, it has…
ACT MLA Meegan Fitzharris Sworn in at Assembly
Incoming ACT Legislative Assembly member New Zealand-born Meegan Fitzharris introduced herself as “the first MLA from Gungahlin” at her maiden speech delivered when the former bureaucrat and…
Sheep Numbers Fall to Their Lowest for 75 Years
New Zealand has long been the butt of sheep jokes but latest figures show the nation’s woolly flock has slumped to its lowest number since World War II, with…
Monocle’s Forecast for NZ in 2015
There are three challenges New Zealand faces in 2015, according to Monocle magazine. Much of the success of Prime Minister John Key, who led the National party to a…
PM John Key Pushes National Rebranding with New Flag
Prime Minister John Key, recently re-elected to a third term, is a cast-iron monarchist, the Economist writes. “Even so, he is bent on coming up with a new flag…
Ross McEwan at the Helm of a UK Bank in Much Better Health
Almost a year to the day since the Hawke’s Bay-born retail banker Ross McEwan replaced Englishman Stephen Hester at the helm of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), the bank…
New Zealand Wins Seat on UN Security Council
New Zealand has won a seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The 15-member council has five permanent members – the US, UK, France, Russia and China –…
