Bewildering Benevolence
Janet Frame’s novel Living in the Maniototo is included in a Wall Street Journal’s ‘Novel Approaches to Kindness’ ‘Five Best Books’ feature as one of the “oddest acts of kindness in fiction.” “It seems…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Naked at Glastonbury
Auckland band The Naked and Famous, together with Metronomy and Wu-Tang Clan, helped open this year’s Glastonbury music festival. Bass player David Beadle talked to NME ahead of the Pyramid Stage headliners U2. “I…
Enough Room for Everyone
The New Zealand company behind Toyota people-carriers Spaceships — in the UK now for 18 months — is recommended by the Guardian in a travel feature about campervanning in Britain and mainland Europe. “The…
Cheer Up, New Zealand
The population of New Zealand is convinced “the future looks bleak … yet by almost every possible metric New Zealand is a success,” says US economist Sebastian Edwards in a paper prepared for a…
Relief for Christchurch Residents
Thousands of Christchurch home owners are breathing a sigh of relief following John Key’s announcement on the future of their properties. Entire suburbs of Christchurch are to be abandoned due to unstable ground following…
New World Struts its Stuff
A selection of New Zealand reds were pitted against those from Bordeaux at a recent blindtasting in Hong Kong at Club Lusitano with a New Zealand bottle taking third place, ahead of a bottle…
Out of the Blue Accolades
Akaroa lodge Maison de la Mer has been named fourth-best bed and breakfast to stay in the world by leading online guide Tripadvisor. Owner Bruce Hyland said that after the award was announced, the…
Exploring Emperor Intrigues
For only the second time in recorded history, an Emperor Penguin has swum 3km from Antarctica to New Zealand, making landfall at Peka Peka beach on the Kapiti Coast. Program manager for biodiversity at…
On a Whole Other Level
“Getting to rub shoulders with world-class rugby stars like Richie McCaw and Dan Carter is just one of the many benefits young players from around the world are experiencing at the Canterbury and Crusaders…
Westenra Performs in Malta
Christchurch “music sensation” Hayley Westenra, will perform alongside Italian pop icon Lucio Dalla and Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja on July 9 at the annual Joseph Calleja concert at the Granaries in Malta. In a…
Wisconsin Look-Alikes
New Zealand father and son Michael and Mitchell Roberts are the winners of the Wisconsin Green Bay Press-Gazette’s father-son look-alike contest beating 3 other participants. You know it by their faces, but not by…
Travel in Day-to-Day Iran
New Zealand author and journalist Jill Worrall’s travelogue Two Wings of a Nightingale: Persian Soul, Islamic Heart about her 8km road trip through Iran was unveiled during a recent ceremony at the…
Audain’s Professional Legacy
Thirty years ago this month Auckland-born Olympic middle and long distance athlete Anne Audain accepted $1, for winning a 15km race in Oregon, launching a lucrative road-racing career while forever changing the sport of…
On-the-Road Epicurean
Fat Freddy’s Drop keyboard player Dobie Blaze features in the Irish Times weekly feature “Booking the Cooks”, in which the Wellingtonian reveals his secret recipe for ravioli of abalone with sea urchin butter. “When…
Sleeping Right in Pregnancy
Auckland University researchers have found a link between sleep position in the final hours of pregnancy and the risk of late stillbirth. Women who did not sleep on their left side on their last…
Hart’s Packaged Deal
New Zealand billionaire Graeme Hart’s Reynolds Group Holdings Ltd has acquired Graham Packaging Co Inc (GRM.N) after raising its bid to $1.69 billion. Reynolds, a private-investment firm run by Hart, raised its…
Dallas Represents
“New Zealand’s finest” hip hop star Aucklander David Dallas, who recently signed with US label Duck Down Records, reveals plans for a return to America in July and says that he’s not troubled by…
Ahead of Season Four
As anticipation builds for the June 26 season premiere of True Blood, New Zealander Anna Paquin, spoke with The New York Times about her maturation on the show as Sookie Stackhouse, an…
Huffer on Ice
New Zealand fashion label Huffer and Absolut Vodka, a brand owned by spirits and wine company Pernod Ricard USA, are collaborating on a limited edition bottle featuring a contemporary silver map of…
Jones’ Cerebral Legacy
Upper Hutt-born neuroscientist Dr Edward “Ted” Jones, who was an expert on brain anatomy and the causes of schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders, has died in Los Angeles, aged 72. Jones retired in 29…
Vision for a Settled Ground
‘“Happy the country that never makes the front page’ we said recently of Australia,’” Auckland Banyan columnist writes for The Economist. “Even more apt for its smaller sibling across the Tasman Sea,…
Temple Built to Burn
New Zealand builder Chris “Kiwi” Hankins is putting his skills to use in Reno, leading the construction of the Temple of Transition – the latest super-sized art project for Burning Man 211….
Living in a Postcard
There are no cars in New Zealand according to the Telegraph’s Tarquin Cooper, on holiday experiencing “a country unlike any other on Earth.” “As someone who is used to battling Britain’s congested…
Authentic Fresh Energy
Auckland director Christine Jeffs, known for acclaimed Indie films Sunshine Cleaning and Rain, has signed with the New York-based commercial production company Xenon for exclusive US spot representation. Xenon executive producer/founder Doug Robbins said…
Blue Rates Destiny
Waiheke Island’s Destiny Bay Vineyard 27 Magna Praemia has been awarded a rating of 98 out of 1 by top United States wine critic and editor-in-chief of The Tasting Panel magazine, Anthony Dias Blue…
Lit by the Might of Another
Mt Taranaki features in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer ‘News of the World Pictures’ section, the snowy peak lit by a “warm glow” as the ash cloud from Chilean volcano Puyehue-Cordon-Caulle drifted across the Pacific, on…
Xena’s Mt Albert Eco-Home
Lucy Lawless, star of television series Xena and Spartacus, is returning to her roots in Mt Albert, Auckland where she is converting a large part of her estate into what has been described as…
Return of the Warrior
The 1985 bombing of the Rainbow Warrior made the converted fishing trawler a campaigning icon. Now, in its 4th anniversary year, Greenpeace is launching its first purpose-built protest ship — one of…
Norwich Empire Expands
“New Zealand chef Chris Coubrough’s food empire has been growing faster than an asparagus stalk in May,” Norwich Evening News Sarah Brealey writes in a review of Coubrough’s Norfolk gastropub the King’s…
Pitching For the Cardinals
Christchurch baseball player Alex Dawson, has been pitching for the midget AAA St. Albert Cardinals team and has already experienced some of the major differences between baseball in New Zealand and Canada….
Keeping Germs at Home
An editorial written by Victoria University sociologist Professor Kevin Dew and published in the British Medical Journal says “presenteeism”, prevalent among health workers and those in other caring or teaching occupations, was…
Roadside Mussels the Best
Green-lipped mussels, or Perna canaliculus are indigenous and exclusive to New Zealand, and they’re a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, The Australian’s Susan Hurley writes. The molluscs are almost lurid, with fluorescent green stripes…
Challenging the Monopoly
New Zealand company Pacific Fibre has embarked on an ambitious unlisted capital raising to fund a submarine cable from Australia to New Zealand and on to the US west coast, challenging the…
Reverence for Heritage
A more “tranquil” New Zealand adventure is sought by the Wall Street Journal’s Paul Baylis, who takes a kayaking daytrip on Lake Taupo to see the Maori carvings in the rock face…
Pioneer Territory Emerges
The sumptuous depiction of New Zealand in the 195s and ‘6s trumps the weepy story at the heart of one of the most expensive Dutch films ever made writes New York Times…
Escaping the Clippers Forever
New Zealand’s celebrity merino Shrek — who evaded muster on Bendigo Station for six years and carried 27kg of fleece — has been put down at the age of 16. Shrek gained international fame…
Auckland in the Spotlight
Food writer Simon Farrell-Green is the Guardian’s tour guide about Auckland ahead of the Rugby World Cup. Auckland’s life is “all in the suburbs” according to writer Rachel Dixon. Dixon is recommended Little &…
Wellington in the Spotlight
Wellington journalist and blogger Nick Churchouse takes the Guardian about the capital on a culinary tour of where to find the best food and drink between Rugby World Cup games. Wellington is hosting…
Master of Sports
Sonny Bill Williams is a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to sports. “SBW,” who has played in both Australia and France, turned down big money offers from other teams to join the New…
Coronet Peak Effects
“I’m at the base of New Zealand’s Coronet Peak,” The Sydney Morning Herald’s Marissa Calligeros writes. “I’m seeing and touching snow for the first time. I’m soon jumping up and down and grinning…
Out of Africa
New Zealander Stephen Jennings, industrialist, investment banker and CEO of Moscow-based Renaissance Group, discusses the issues surrounding wealth creation in Russia, and doing business in Africa, on BBC Hardtalk. Jennings contends that Africa is…
KR’s Lancaster MBA
Saatchi & Saatchi CEO Kevin Roberts helps nurture tomorrow’s business leaders with the course he teaches at Lancaster University Management School, “Strategy in the Making.” The course is part of the “Mindful…
Making Her Own Rules
New York Times best-selling author of the Psy–Changeling paranormal romance series New Zealander Nalini Singh has just finished her latest novel, Kiss of Snow, the tenth installment of the series….
Filly Claims Barnstorming Win
“Scarlett Lady gave boom New Zealand apprentice James McDonald his first Group One win in Australia when she came with a barnstorming finish to claim the Queensland Oaks,” reported the Herald Sun. “The…
Tasting Twits
Marlborough vineyard Brancott Estate is offering the winner of a Twitter contest two free airline tickets to New Zealand, inviting Tweeps to provide ‘tasting notes’ on one of their wines in condensed,…
Dunedin in the Spotlight
Dunedin tourist consultant James Hacon and iD Fashion Week organiser Merrin Bath show the Guardian round their favourite haunts in the city that is hosting three of England’s four Rugby World Cup…
Heavy on the Wonders
The South Island may be spectacular, but the North Island’s got its share of amazements too according to International Business Times’ travel writer Mark Johanson. “The North Island is the spot to…
All-Conquering Juniors
The New Zealand under-20 rugby team “are accustomed to chewing up all before them” and chew they did, winning the Junior World Cup final, beating England 22-33 in the final in Padova, Italy. The…
Frankfurt Guest of Honour
New Zealand will be the guest of honour at the world’s biggest literary gathering next year, the 212 Frankfurt Book Fair. Director of the Frankfurt Book Fair Juergen Boos said the New…
Paraparaumu Paradise
“For a small country, New Zealand has surfeit of coastline: over 9,400 miles of it, more than the contiguous United States (which has roughly 5,000), and enough to allow — in theory at least…
Tough Cookie’s Fit Tips
True Blood actress New Zealander Anna Paquin reveals her exercise regime secrets — and about the pressures to stay thin in Hollywood — in the June issue of American magazine Health. “I’ve always been…
Inspired By Nature
The stunning landscape of Waiheke Island (off Auckland’s east coast) is home to over 7,5 residents. Regenerating bush, an indented coastline, vineyards and olive groves are some of its defining characteristics. When…
Chew on This
Offering New Zealand prisoners carrots as a substitute for cigarettes is among measures aimed at helping inmates kick the tobacco habit before a controversial smoke-free prisons policy takes effect on July 1….
With Light in Mind
A design by a group of Victoria University students, inspired by the New Zealand bach, is the first southern hemisphere entry in the international US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon competition held…
Landing Airborne Records
Fearless Taupo BMX rider Jed Mildon has landed the world’s first ever triple backflip. A representative of the Guinness Book of Records was on hand to witness and approve the dangerous trick. Mildon sped…
Chasing Emerging Markets
“When you are the world’s biggest exporter in a sector powered by Asia’s high-octane economies, it is not difficult to find opportunities for growth,” Kevin Brown writes for the Financial Times. “Fonterra,…
