Two amateur Kiwi astronomers helped discover a planet 15,000 light years from Earth using simple backyard telescopes. Grant Christie and Jennie McCormick are part of a worldwide star-gazing collective called MicroFUN, led by Andrew Gould of Ohio…
The Financial Times devotes a sizeable spread to the “veritable culinary cornucopia” that is NZ. “‘Used to be that a big night out would be to Barry’s Bistro for Steak Diane and a big…
The Economist reports on ructions to repair the dire finances and arcane structure at Oxford University. Proposals by new vice chancellor John Hood to centralize decision-making and change the way in which dons’ work…
Former All Black captain, agricultural economist, and leading NZRU administrator – Bob Stuart, OBE – died in May aged 84. Although Stuart’s best playing years were taken up by military service during WW2, he successfully lead NZ…
Wellington is to host next year’s World Golden Oldies Rugby Festival, the first time the event has been held in NZ since it was launched there 28 years ago. The festival is expected to attract approximately 5,000,…
Russell Crowe stirs the first Oscar-talk of the season: “An exquisite ode to a working-class hero, “Cinderella Man” takes the almost impossibly perfect elements of the saga of underdog boxer James J. Braddock…
Jeremy Cole’s “handsome” porcelain hanging lamps were name-checked in a Times review of the 17th annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair. Cole is listed alongside a new wave of designers heralding a tangible shift from “cutting edge” to…
Owen Wilkes, the New Zealand peace activist and global peace researcher, has died in Hamilton aged 65. In a tribute written from Beijing by Peter Hayes, he said “Owen Wilkes was a profoundly wedded…
Belgian researcher Lieven Claessens has discovered another reason to preserve our native kauri forests. According to Claessens’ Dutch-funded study, which was undertaken in the Waitakere ranges, the giant trees help stabilise areas susceptible to landslides and erosion….
NZ ranks sixth overall in a new study measuring the gap between genders by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum. The top five positions went to Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Iceland. The WEF appraisal of 58 countries…
NZ triathlete Samantha Warriner enjoyed her first major victory, taking out the women’s title at the ITU World Cup in Japan. Warriner finished the event in 2 hours 39 seconds, ahead of Japanese competitors Kiyomi Niwata…
Hercules, a Hallmark Productions (US) telemovie starring Leelee Sobieski, Sean Astin, and Timothy Dalton, used the NZ countryside as a stand-in for ancient Greece. “The story requires a bigger-than-life place,” says Dalton. “It needs…
A couple of years on and overseas visitors are still taking the Lord of the Rings tour of NZ. Says one US writer, “I knew that the movies were shot here, but I thought that much…
According to Empire magazine, Glenn Standring’s Perfect Creature is NZ’s largest ever international film sale. Set in an alternate 1960s/70s NZ, the highly original vampire tale stars British actors Dougray Scott and…
TBR believes the addition of New Zealander Chris Liddell as Microsoft’s CFO should help usher in an era of growing operating margins and a tightening of the fiscal belt. In TBR’s opinion, the hiring…
Jonathan Lemalu’s debut album, Opera Arias, is bringing the already acclaimed singer further international praise. Chicago Tribune: “Lemalu shines particularly brightly in Mozart’s music, bringing a disarming combination of voice, musicality and personality to…
The UC Santa Cruz Arboretum held a ‘New Zealand Day’ in May, to “celebrate the mix of culture and botanical diversity of NZ through music, against the backdrop of its various plant collections.” Events…
Cambridge-MIT Institute director, NZer Michael J Kelly, speaks about the importance of combining entrepreneurial and business skills with academic learning in the Guardian.”Governments around the world realise that it shouldn’t be left to chance as to whether…
New Zealand-born (1955) composer Graham Revell has scored the soundtrack of the new Robert Rodruguez film Sin City starring Bruce Willis. Revell graduated from the University of Auckland with…
Zane Lowe, the NZ-born DJ single-handedly credited with making BBC Radio One cool again, was named Music Broadcaster of the Year at the Sony Radio Academy Awards in London. He also picked up the…
Reports of the list of Hollywood’s power people compiled by Premiere magazine for their June issue have revealed that Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson is the most powerful. According to the reports,…
Wharekauhau Lodge features in the Independent‘s five best luxury farm stays. The 5,000 acre sheep station is renowned for its Shaker-style cottages and panoramic views of the Wairarapa’s Palliser Bay.
Rt Hon Justice Thomas Munro Gault is to be the first NZ’er in history to head the Royal & Ancient – the prestigious governing body on the rules of golf recognised everywhere except the U.S. Gault,…
Julie Maxton will join former Auckland University colleague John Hood at Oxford University next year, as the institution’s first ever female registrar. The 550 year old post is similar to that of a company secretary, with…
The global screening of the inaugural trailer for the Chronicles of Narnia caused hysteria amongst fans eager for a glimpse of Kiwi Andrew Adamson’s creation. “The snow-globe fantasyland of the most popular book in…
In a show of commitment to the Kyoto Protocol, NZ became the first country in the world to levy a public carbon tax. NZers will now pay an extra $2.90 per week for electricity, petrol and…
The June issue of Premiere magazine (US) named Peter Jackson the most powerful person in Hollywood, ahead of Steven Spielberg, Pixar animations duo Steve Jobs and John Lasseter, Tom Cruise, and Tom Hanks. According…
NZ designers made one of their strongest showings yet at this year’s Mercedes Australian Fashion Week. Sales for NZ’s top brands were well up, with Kate Sylvester now believed to be Myer’s highest designer…
Tourism NZ website New Zealand.com has won the online equivalent of an Oscar – a Webby . The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences named New Zealand.com the top tourism website in the world,…
The NZ wine industry continues to break monthly export sales records, with over seven million bottles of wine exported in March and growth continuing into April and May. The staggering 5.2 million litres of wine exported in…
An extra virgin olive oil by Waihopi Valley’s Serendipity Olive estate was awarded a diploma of grand mention at Italy’s prestigious Mastri Oleari International Golden Lion Awards. Serendipity Olive Estate owner Carol Walton: “It is…
Sam Neill won the Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Actor in a Drama for his role in Jessica at Australia’s 47th annual TV Week Logie Awards. Neill also presented the Gold Logie, which was…
New Zealand surfing photographer Paul Kennedy plunges into the Deep South to an emerging big-wave scene. “In New Zealand, size comes at a price. The trade-off for being the only part of the country…
Artist Martin Ball was the first New Zealand resident artist to be a finalist in Australia’s premier portraiture award, the Archibald Prize, with his painting of artist John Pule. The prize was won by…
Kiwi stuntwoman Zoe Bell (Xena, Kill Bill, Catwoman) is the joint subject of an American documentary on women in her profession, entitled Double Dare. The film charts the very different careers of Bell…
New international research from IRAC show NZ men and women have the third highest cancer rates in the world. Male cancer rates are highest in the United States, Hungary and New Zealand, and lowest in Niger,…
Peter Jackson and Wellington special effects edge-busters Weta Digital have used their expertise to restore the only film taken of the Anzacs at Gallipoli. The Lord of the Rings director has restored the film to the original…
Planet Out feature looks at the newly instated Civil Union Bill in NZ. More than 600 couples registered for a civil union in the first week after the law came into effect. The article quotes GayNZ.com…
A record-breaking crowd of more than 20,000 attended this year’s dawn service at Anzac Cove. Also in attendance were Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Helen Clark, John Howard and Prince Charles, each of whom paid moving…
Dannevirke-born and controversial seven-times Premier of Queensland Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen has died aged 94. The maverick politician was one of the most colourful but also divisive leaders in Australian political history. He was religiously, socially and politically…
Welby Ing’s Boy won the Best Short Narrative Film award at the 2005 Cinequest Festival in San Jose, which qualifies it for consideration for next year’s Oscars. The film tells the story of a…
Raglan’s ASR Marine Consulting and Research has created a new computer-based program to predict long wave conditions, in what the company claims is a world first. The forecasting system was developed to help client Port Taranaki better…
Kiwi Carl Sara was a finalist in the World Barista Championship in Seattle. The prestigious competition was won by Denmark’s Troels Overdal Poulsen.
Acclaimed Kiwi pianist Aron Ottignon launched his debut album, Culture Tunnels, with band Aronas in April. Inspired by Pacific log drumming, the Aronas sound is an innovative take on acoustic jazz. Sydney Morning Herald:…
NZ’s 2004 Sauvignon Blanc vintage has impressed American critics, with praise coming from numerous top U.S publications. Wall Street Journal: “Mouth-watering sauvignon blanc that just about from the glass, with aggressive green-pepper smells, juicy tastes of…
The NZ Merino Wool Company has won a 7 year contract valued at approximately $NZ40 million to supply U.S apparel manufacturers SmartWool. SmartWool, whose chief business is in outdoor clothing and accessories, recently signed a deal with…
The Scotsman hails Kiwi Ryan Nelsen as one of the British Premiere League’s hottest signings. “Nelsen has proven an unbridled success since his arrival from Major League Soccer side DC United in January on a free transfer,…
Hamburgers made with New Zealand meat are being sold by a London restaurant for £55 ($NZ146) each. The 200g ‘burgers, made from meat from cattle of the Japanese wagyu breed, come with fries, and…
Researchers at Otago University, in conjunction with Germany’s Ruhr-University Bochum, have identified individual neurons in the pigeon forebrain that appear to control impulsive decision-making. The findings could prove invaluable to the understanding of such neuropathologies as drug…
The fourth installation of Jurassic Park is rumoured to be filming in NZ later this year, with Sam Neill reprising his role as Dr Grant. Visual Effects maestro Stan Winston aims to “raise the…
NZ’s latest extreme sport – white water sledging – features in the Voice of America. “Instead of a raft, these ‘sledgers’ run the rapids with special flippers and a steerable buoyant board … River sledger Jacob Bradley…
76 Tampa refugees were made NZ citizens on April 8, including the youngest on board Azizullah Mussa (now 17). “I’ve been waiting three years for this day to come. I can call myself a Kiwi now,”…
Eagles’s Nest, Bay of Islands, was named NZ’s ‘Number 1 Leading Resort’ at the 11th annual World Travel Awards in Barbados. The luxury homestead has already been voted one of the Top New Hotels in the World…
With Jamaican bobsled comparisons the order of the day, NZ’s curling team was the underdog favourite at this year’s Ford World Championship in Canada. ‘While many Canadians curl out of plush clubs, Becker’s home ice…
7 middle-aged American couples travel from Queenstown to Christchurch by bike, running out of synonyms for awesome in the process. “If you’re in good enough shape to walk six or seven miles, you can handle the bike…
Helen Clark has fast-tracked a bilateral free trade agreement with Malaysia, which could come into effect as soon as this time next year. Malaysia’s NST: “For the trade experts, is neither too big (which would make…
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