New Zealand

PNG U17 leave for buildup in New Zealand

The team left today for New Zealand for a series of friendlies before leaving for Tahiti on February 7 and Kamake knows  there is a mammoth task ahead for his team as they face New Caledonia in their opening match at Stade Mahina Stadium.

All the team in our pool are good and will present a challenge to the PNG boys, Kamake said.

“We are now looking forward to compete with Fiji and New Zealand U17 national team in the friendly in New Zealand which is part of our preparation towards the big event in February.”

Pukpuks pooled with England, Kenya, Argentina

The two-day tournament will be from January 28-29.

In Pool B are South Africa, Fiji, Australia and Japan.  Pool C consists of New Zealand, USA, France and Samoa. Pool D features Scotland, Wales, Russia and Canada.

Assistant coach of the Pukpuks, Sailosi Druma, said the ultimate goal at the Wellington Sevens is to get the team ready for the Hong Kong fixtures later in the year where the Pukpuks are looking to qualify for the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in 2017-18.

Music lovers seek authenticity in plastic

This trend comes despite the assumption that the digital age would eventually do away with analogue.

Professor Fernandez and her fellow researcher Professor Michael Beverland from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology decided to investigate the trend by focussing on the allure of vinyl records.

They conducted in-depth interviews with collectors from New Zealand, the UK and the US.

Most were men, mainly in their 20s and 30s. One put in his wedding vows that his wife would never make him stop collecting, another had 7000 records stored in his mother's garage.

Kerowaii leaves for NZ

Visiting the country again after 15 years, Kerowaii says the experience has been humbling for him.

"I got to see the difference between where I reside and home, the struggle of my people here for their day-to-day living while I live an easy life.

"It has been an eye-opener for me and I am truly humbled by this experience," he says.

The hip-hop artist, based in New Zealand, arrived in Port Moresby on December 29 for his first-ever one night performance in Lamana, Gold Club, on January 7.

He says despite a few hiccups, the whole show went perfectly.

Wind warning for east coast of NZ

The Met Service has issued a severe weather warning from Southland to central Hawke's Bay.

No tsunami threat to NZ following PNG quake - NZ Civil Defence

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said waves reaching 1 to 3 metres above the tide level were possible in coastal areas of Papua New Guinea for the next several hours.

Waves of less than 0.3m above the tide level were forecast for some other areas of the Pacific, including Indonesia, Solomon Islands, Nauru and Vanuatu.

Civil Defence said there was no tsunami threat to New Zealand, including the Chatham Islands.

An advisory to stay out of the water and away from beaches was issued after the earthquake but later cancelled, based on the analysis of additional data.

Uncooked poultry projects not to enter PNG

The measure implemented by the New Zealand Government is the ban on uncooked products from other countries landing on their shores.

Minister for Trade, Commerce, and industry, Richard Maru, says PNG will adopt New Zealand’s high bio-security standards for its poultry industry, according to Business Advantage PNG.

PNG took a similar stance on Australian poultry products following bio-security threats. That ban was temporarily lifted this year.

A trade and investment delegation will learn more about this process when it travels to New Zealand in February.

Jonah Lomu Legacy Cup kicks off today

12 Capital Rugby Union clubs including four invitational sides will participate in the three days tournament from December 9-11.

Teams invited include AROB Black Orchids, Lae Hammerheads, Madang Madgauns and Kimbe Rebels that make up the 16 men's teams with eight women's teams registered to participate.

The tournament will be officially launched at 12pm before kick off by widow of the former All Blacks, Nadene Lomu.

The tournament commemorates the first anniversary of Jonah’s passing.

New Zealander says passport photo rejection 'not racist'

The system sent an error message after deciding Richard Lee's eyes were closed, when they are clearly open.

It was not racism he suggested. "It was a robot. No hard feelings."

The DJ and aerospace engineering student had submitted the photo to an online photo checker at New Zealand's Department of Internal Affairs.

"No hard feelings on my part, I've always had very small eyes and facial recognition technology is relatively new and unsophisticated," the 22-year-old told Reuters.

Mr Lee is studying in Melbourne, Australia.

PNG went down against NZ

Losing all 3 matches since Monday starting with New Caledonia, than Guam and New Zealand today, the PNG girls finished fourth after the preliminary finals.

That now completes Group B preliminary games.

The PNG side will now progress into the Division B semi-final, to be played at 3pm (Fiji Time, 12noon PNG time) on Thursday, 8/12 against the host side Fiji.