Pohutukawa Brouhaha
“New Zealand Christmas tree” defended by Cape Town fans.
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Never a Softie
Colin Meads played 55 games for New Zealand, with “not a soft match in his entire 14 years at the pit face. No wonder the legend lives on”.
Fast and Blur
New Zealand Olympic playmaker Mark Dickel, shooting it up for Australian NBL team the Victoria Titans moves at two speeds – “fast and blur”.
Knox them out
The Vintner’s Luck takes the Tasmanian Pacific Region Prize, Australasia’s richest literary prize. “There’s all this stuff in Vintner about anxiety and authenticity that’s very New Zealand,” says author Elizabeth Knox, noting that, like…
Smokin’ Gun
New Zealand anti-smoking study reveals passive smoking’s deadly aim and gives Massachusetts legislation breath of life.
Good Background for Conciliation
South African immigrant Gregory Fortuin, New Zealand’s new race relations conciliator, has his experience of “ugly and oppressive racism” under apartheid to motivate him in his new job.
Flamin’ Right?
Fire poi are “trendy, hypnotizing and arty”, if a little confused: “The toys draw their name from the Maori people of New Zealand. Barred from speaking around men, Maori women invented poi dancing as a way…
Majors Story (Almost)
The amazing story of Travis Wilson: “A New Zealander needing only four years to reach the highest level of America’s national pastime? That would have been a made-for-TV movie.” Also, Wilson has a “huge future,” says
Kind of Milk
New Zealand Milk (Malaysia) looks to introduce “non-dairy formats” into the local market, following extensive R and D.
Thin Red Tape
A significant part of setting up a new business is time and money required to negotiate government red tape. New Zealand has the world’s cheapest procedures, encouraging innovation and entrepreneurs.
Designer Fruit
With the lifting of import restrictions, labelled and polished New Zealand apples have Hyderabad’s prestige fruit market cornered.
What the Hell is That Smell?
Touring Canadian Chris Atchison notes Rotorua’s characteristic odour, but finds “the sheer wonder of the natural show makes the stench a bit easier to tolerate”.
Angst in Oz
Australian business needs a hurry-up: “…even the New Zealanders are giving us a spanking in certain areas. Even the New Zealanders! Well I never…”
No Free Trade Free Lunch
“There is no short cut, and we should not fool ourselves that some deal will come down from above. The only round we can launch is one that WTO members across the spectrum can identify with…
Still The Best
Leilani Joyce remains squash #1, trailed by New Zealand-based world champion Carol Owens.
Kyoto Outcry
Phil Goff, Minister for Foreign Affairs and trade, voiced New Zealand’s condemnation of the Bush back-down on Kyoto after a meeting with US Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Camera king
‘Khmer Kings’ won New Zealander Matthew Kearns first prize in the Nikon Photographic Competition run by the Dubai International Arts Centre.
Groundbreaker Gov-Gen
“As one of the few female law students of her generation, Cartwright was barred from the Law Students association, denied access to textbooks and told she was only at university to find a husband.”…
Jumping Jackie Flash
Australia’s Sports Minister and Howard political protégé, New Zealand-born Jackie Kelly ducks the limelight after “a huge year”.
Kiwi batter?
Will Russell Crowe step up to the crease for Somerset this season, or is it just that funny time of year?
Must do Today: Production, Script, Light
Wellington-born Richard Curtis penned the Bridget screen adaptation: one of Britain’s “cleverest screenwriters” in LA Times and “a virtuoso at devising horrific embarrassments for his protagonists,” in Slate. Rounding out the kiwi trio, Stuart…
Still Flying High
Air New Zealand continues its good run, ranking in the top ten international airlines in a Zagat survey covering 31 500 flyers.
First in Sevens
The sevens boys had the Hong Kong final all wrapped up, taking them to the top spot in overall series standings.
The New Millennium
In Auckland, New Zealand, a Maori warrior greets the first sunrise of the year 2000 with a traditional Maori trumpet.
Netjetters in New Zealand
Two of the Guardian’s globe-trotting “Netjetters” are lassoed by Aotearoa’s lures and both have trouble getting back on the plane. Sue jetboats in Queenstown, visits her first rodeo and is “very sorry to leave” and Milly finds…
Phone Re-conversion
New Zealand MP and respected pillar of the Samoan community, Philip Field, retrieved a stolen car – by ringing the car phone and demanding the thieves return the vehicle.
Southern Edge of Life
Get April’s GQ off the stand for Stewart Island savvy: “Stewart Island, on the Southern edge of life, where the foam is white, the hills are green and the necks are red, is a blast” and…
Take a Break
Lunch breaks are best – eating at your desk makes the office “sound like the boiling muds of New Zealand”.
Eiffel? non. Blobby? oui!
Brendan MacFarlane, Kiwi half of design duo Jakob and MacFarlane continues to dazzle the Parisian architecture scene: “The only work of architecture raising Parisians’ eyebrows was Jakob and MacFarlane’s “blobby” rooftop restaurant, crowning the…
Galloping gourmet still in the saddle
Graham Kerr cooks up a storm on his new programme, Swiftly Seasoned.
More Knox
“Very different and very daring” – Auckland University Professor Albert Wendt. “For a New Zealander to win an Australian prize seems absolutely incredible,” says Knox. “The only time we can ever get…
Edge in the heart of Tinseltown
Russell Crowe and Crouching Tiger herald a takeover of Hollywood by the rest of the world.
Poker Philosophy
Did Wittgenstein threaten Popper with a red-hot poker in Cambridge 55 years ago? New Zealand academic Dr Peter Munz was there…
Smashing Record
New Zealand batsman Craig McMillan smashed 26 off one over – a new world record. “I love hitting boundaries and I love taking on spinnners,” said the man of the season, speaking after “the most perfect…
Not Bully for You
New Zealand study underlines the importance of early intervention to prevent young bullies becoming violent offenders.
Mystified About Money
Don Brash, the world’s second-longest serving central banker, admits he finds current currency fluctuations as baffling as the next guy.
Russell’s leg up
Russell’s main rival for the little naked gold man was “Tom Hanks, who wears very little for much of Castaway. To the Academy this shameless overexposure smacked of desperation, an all-shorts-off attempt to counter…
Finn and Games
Playing with Neil Finn: “It may well be hair-raising, disastrous, funny or sublime, but it will certainly be an adventure…” Finn on the Auckland all-star band: “The idea is that over the course of…
Do They Have Sheep There?
Scotland’s national collection of New Zealand Olearia attract visitors to Inverewe Gardens on the shores of Lake Ewe.
Star-jumps for Gran
Seniors who perform supervised exercises at home reduce the risk of falls and serious injury report two studies from Otago Medical school.
Castaway
A New Zealand consortium plans two lodges on Pitcairn Island, home to the descendants of the Bounty mutineers.
The Future of History
Thematic arrangement, fresh technology and festival atmosphere put Te Papa at the cutting edge of history.
School Shooting Stopped?
“Crime fighters can score one for the Internet, thanks to a heads-up play by a New Zealand teenager who may have exposed a school shooting plot.”
Renewable Energy
The US could look at New Zealand’s hydroelectricity as a model for cleaning up its act.
Clever Kea
The inhospitable alpine environment has caused the kea to develop “a very human-like curiosity and flexibility”.
One Nil to Neil
Neil Finn speaks about his new-found love of the internet and his brilliant new album, One Nil.
Graniator
“No, no leave him alone, don’t hurt him,” yelled Joy Wemyss, Crowe family matriarch at a private screening in Auckland. Also, Audrey Crowe touched by mention of her husband.
Insiders Out
The New Zealand Government is to tighten rules controlling insider trading on the stock market.
Science Award in Memory of New Zealand Doctor
The 14th Bruce F Cain Memorial Award, commemorating Dr Cain’s work on anti-cancer drugs, was awarded by the American Association to Yale Professor Alan C. Sartorelli for his work in the same field.
