Silencing Cancer Genes
Otago University Professor Michael Eccles and colleagues have found a way to stop the growth of certain cancer tumours by “silencing” a group of PAX genes, members of a small family of genes that…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
London Irish Deals
All Blacks second row Bryn Evans has signed a two-year deal with London Irish. The Hastings-born lock, who plays for Super Rugby team the Hurricanes and Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand’s domestic…
Extraordinarily Special Kiwi
A rare white kiwi chick has been born — the first to be hatched in captivity — at the Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre, 24km north of Masterton. The chick, named…
Ponoko Perfect
Ponoko, the virtual manufacturing pioneer, has announced that its Personal Factory platform will support the new 3D modelling software, Autodesk 123D. The partnership between Autodesk and Ponoko allows the companies to meet…
In The Nick of Time
Two-time Olympian triathlete Kris Gemmell from Palmerston North has won his first Memphis in May Olympic Triathlon in one of the closest finishes in the event’s 28-year history. Gemmell finished 61 seconds…
Written Words Prevail
New Zealand author Craig Cliff has won the Commonwealth Writers Prize best first book award, worth £5000,, for his short story collection A Man Melting, which judges called “highly entertaining and thought-provoking”. Glasgow-born Aminatta…
This is the Buzz
Hip-hop star Auckland-born Dane Rumble and Avalanche City recently featured on ABC’s top-rating celebrity gossip show What’s the Buzz. Rumble and Dave Baxter, brainchild behind and frontman of the folksy Avalanche City, were guests…
Tales From the Kitchen
New Zealand-raised chef Anna Hansen tells The Independent how she came to meet the chef behind London’s St John Bar and Restaurant, Fergus Henderson. Hansen came to the UK in 1992 and got a…
All Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs
Auckland’s Naked and Famous are included in a Guardian list of “12 new bands you have to catch” at one of this summer’s UK music festivals. “ New Zealand five-piece make the…
Heart-to-Heart in Red Zone
Bob Parker is taking advice from former San Francisco mayor Art Agnos, who was mayor when the Californian city was struck by a devastating earthquake in 1989. Agnos has come to Christchurch to advise…
Spend Your Time Wisely
New Zealander Derek Handley, who sold his mobile marketing company, The Hyperfactory to American media conglomerate Meredith Corporation last year for an undisclosed amount, gave a speech in April at Kea, New Zealand’s global…
Home Away from Home
Canadian life coach Karen Miners has made a new home for herself just outside of New Plymouth with her New Zealand partner, Dave. Miners, a former Montrealer, describes her life living abroad….
Little Blues Find Help
At Christchurch’s International Antarctic Centre 24 Little Blue Penguins are being cared for having been found injured and with no chance of survival in the wild. “Most of them have broken or…
Aiming for Competitive Edge
“In what is probably a bit of mid-life crisis I have come up with a solution — trying to get fit and up to speed to play a competitive game of cricket again,” former…
Paradise In the 21st Century
“New Zealand may well be the most desirable tourist destination in the world,” author Michael Tobias writes. “It is certainly among the most beautiful island nations on the planet, its biodiversity magnificent…
Blue takes best short in Cannes
New Zealand short film Blue, made by Aucklander Stephen Kang, has won the Canal Plus’ Grand Prix and Du Meilleur Court Metrage Best Short Film award at the Cannes Film…
Cricket Star Scales Everest
Former New Zealand wicketkeeper Aucklander Adam Parore has reached the top of Mt Everest. Parore, who represented New Zealand in cricket for more than a decade, climbed the world’s highest mountain to…
Clay Figures Make US Debut
New Zealand artist Francis Upritchard will exhibit for the first time in the United States at the Cincinnati Art Museum and Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) next year. Upritchard’s “Wanting” (above) will feature…
Trinity Opportunities
University of Canterbury student Bree Loverich is one of 42 from Christchurch studying free at Oxford University for its eight-week Trinity term, after the British university offered places to those affected by February’s earthquake….
South Pole Misadventures
A new book by New Zealand journalist and respected author on Antarctic explorers John Thomson says Edmund Hillary “cheated” his way to the South Pole in 1958. Thomson, author of Climbing the…
Keeping His Shirt On
All Blacks fly-half Dan Carter has announced he has signed a four-year contract to stay in New Zealand after this year’s Rugby World Cup while retaining an option to play overseas for a short…
Californian Yellow Jersey
Cyclist Greg Henderson has claimed the third stage of the Tour of California completing the 192.2km road race from Auburn to Modesto in 5 hours 14 minutes 29 seconds. Juan Jose Haedo of Argentina…
Leading Lights of Architecture
Auckland architecture firm Patterson Associates has been named as one of the five practices set to shape the future of architecture. World Architecture News, the top international architecture journal, announced the win…
Distinctly New Zealand Feel
New Zealand landscaper Sam Martin has landed a multi-million dollar contract to redevelop London’s iconic Battlesea Power Station. After sitting derelict for nearly 3 years, Europe’s largest brick building is now being revamped to…
Masters of Mustering
“There are only two breeds of sheep in the world,” Jim Murray of Glenmore Station at Lake Tekapo once told Irish writer and photographer Jamie Ball, who is based in Christchurch. “Merinos,…
Deployment to Timor-Leste
A 62-strong New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) contingent has left for a six-month deployment to Timor-Leste to support the Australian-led International Stabilization Force (ISF) in the country. The NZDF has supported various peacekeeping operations…
Sunshine Beats Pneumonia
Researchers at Waikato University have found that sunshine can help save the lives of pneumonia patients. Medical scientists at the University have found that vitamin D, which is absorbed through the skin and produced…
Taste the Santa Rosa plums
The 27 Mountford ‘Liaison’ Pinot Noir is the Los Angeles Times’ ‘Wine of the Week’. “Elegant and smooth, this New World Pinot carries the taste of Santa Rosa plums and sweet Asian…
Strike a Pose
Fresh on the fashion scene is 17-year-old New Zealander Emily Baker — “undisputedly, this season’s top new face” — featured in NYMag.com’s The Cut blog. This rising star made her debut on the…
Te Kanawa to Sing in Israel
“There may be imitators or wannabes, but there is really only one true diva — legendary soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa,” The Jerusalem Post’s David Brinn writes in a profile of the…
Repositioning Long-Haul Travel
Air New Zealand’s “innovative” Skycouch Economy seat has won the Aviation category in Condé Nast Traveller’s 211 Innovation and Design Awards trumping new First Class A38 cabin designs entered by…
Peacekeepers a Symbol of Success
Former deputy prime minister Jim McLay, now New Zealand’s ambassador to the United Nations, writes an opinion piece for The Kansas City Star about May 29 — International Day of UN Peacekeepers and a…
Coup for Moving Images
The Natural History New Zealand (NHNZ)’s archive sales arm has been chosen by National Geographic Channels Worldwide to represent its footage from the past 2 years. The National Geographic archive adds thousands…
Back to Biological Basics
“At Seresin Estate, a winery owned by New Zealand cinematographer Michael Seresin known for such films as Midnight Express and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the past blurs with the…
Passion for the Game
What is immediately obvious about John Kirwan, coach of the Japanese rugby side, is his passion for the game that has given him a living for the past 28 years. Auckland-born Kirwan,…
City on the Edge of the Pacific
“Nestled in tree-covered hills at the head of a spectacular harbour, Dunedin’s rise to prominence as the gateway to the Otago region came with the discovery of gold at Gabriel’s Gully, to…
Solemn Repatriation
A mummified and tattooed Maori head has been returned to New Zealand after spending 136 years in a Normandy museum. This is the first to be returned of a total of 16 in France….
HardTalk With John Key
BBC’s Stephen Sackur tackles PM John Key in London in a 25 minute interview for HardTalk (Part 1, Part 2). Positioning New Zealand as “very small” and “too small”, Sackur…
Beauty in Clamorous Times
Tim Radford is the only person British writer Peter Forbes can think of who has been both literary and science editor of the Guardian. Forbes continues, in a review of Radford’s new…
Left Past the Fumaroles
After a 2-minute helicopter ride from Whakatane airport to White Island, Sydney Morning Herald journalist Keith Austin’s “first aerial impression is of a volcano from a movie, albeit with one side completely,…
One Opportunity to Get It Right
“’Martin Snedden the former international cricketer now charged with delivering the Rugby World Cup to New Zealand, is clock-watching; has been for the best part of three years,’ the Telegraph’s Paul Ackford writes. ‘We’ve…
Structural Snapshots
New Zealand’s best new buildings range from a bus shelter in Queenstown and an office tower in Auckland, to an opera house in Oamaru, houses on Waiheke Island, and an apartment in…
Burgers and Fries to Iraq
New Zealand-listed gourmet burger company BurgerFuel Worldwide has sold the Master License agreement for the rights to BurgerFuel Iraq. It is the company’s fourth new territory in the Middle East. The brand…
Girlfriends in Sydney
A gallery of the Stolen Girlfriend’s Club show at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week features on Vogue Australia’s website. The label collaborated with Wellington artist Karl Maughan using his paintings of gardens, bright…
Southee Signs with Essex
Northern Districts bowler Tim Southee has signed with Essex for this year’s Twenty2 campaign, which begins in June. Whangarei-born Southee has played 19 Twenty2 internationals for his country, taking 22 wickets with best figures…
Bringing Life Force to Nevada
Hastings-based full-time Maori dance company Kahurangi recently performed at the Carson City Library in Nevada as part of a theatre in education tour of Canada and the United States. A performance by…
Unrecognisable Love Songs
Saddlebacks, native to the North Island, seem to have developed various regional ‘accents’ over the last 5 years after humans relocated the species to small island refuges to aid in their preservation,…
Te Kairanga Sold to American
Martinborough’s Te Kairanga Wines, renowned for its pinot noir, has been purchased by American businessman Bill Foley. Te Kairanga is the largest holder of vineyard land in the Martinborough region. The price…
Bountiful Inspiration
New Zealand’s exotic landscapes and lush flora were the inspiration behind American artist Mary Powell’s monotype prints she is exhibiting at RiverSea Gallery in Astoria, Oregon. Each piece has been printed several…
All Eyes on the Palace
The popularity of the monarchy has surged in New Zealand since April’s royal wedding, with a big fall in the number of people expecting the country to become a republic. A new poll by…
Weathering the Storm
“This picture was taken on our way to Saint Arnaud, but it could have been the west coast of Ireland, as the weather kept changing from sun to lashing rain,” amateur photographer Arnaud Chevalier…
Sans Guide in Wine Country
“I’ve travelled to New Zealand about a dozen times from the US and one of my favourite areas is Marlborough, aka wine country (natch), which is found on the north part of…
Love Letter to Outsiders
New Zealand fashion label Lonely Hearts’ designer and co-founder Helene Morris is interviewed in the May issue of Australian magazine Frankie about their new collection ‘Little Bandits’ — “a love letter to outsiders.” “We…
Don’t Ask About the Price
Auckland yacht manufacturers Diverse Projects’ 31.5m boat Black Pearl headlines this year’s Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show in Queensland. The hull of the superyacht is modelled on a rare…
Have a Beer With Them
The world’s first personal brewery, invented by Auckland company WilliamsWarn, features on luxury item website eXtravaganzi. “Of all home appliances, this is my favourite. The WilliamsWarn Personal Brewery is created…
Community Justice
“Canada’s criminal justice system should mirror that of New Zealand’s,” an Edmonton Journal article suggests. “New Zealand has incorporated the use of community conferencing, a restorative justice programme, that has returned to…
