JACOB VILLEGAS WRITES -New Zealand health officials are calling for vapes in New Zealand to be sold solely at pharmacies and/or to require a prescription for them, as a result of the rising number of teens picking up the unhealthy habit. This comes after New Zealand introduced the world’s first…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND’S GREAT VAPE ESCAPE: OUTLOOK CLOUDY
JACOB VILLEGAS WRITES – New Zealand has a new Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, but who exactly is he? Following the unfortunate resignation of the former Prime Minster, Jacinda Ardern in mid-January, Hipkins was sworn in as New Zealand’s 41st Prime Minister on January 25th. Although Hipkins is newly installed, he…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND: IS ITS NEW PRIME MINISTER UP TO IT?
FARRAH PADILLA WRITES – New Zealand, a country located in the Southern Hemisphere, is a wonderful place to visit in January and February—the summer months— with its sunny beaches, luscious greenery and “hobbit style,” Lord of the Rings appeal (where the blockbuster series was filmed). No doubt travelers around the…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND: A NOT SO SUNNY SUMMER
SAMANTHA LUNDIN WRITES – Who runs the country? Women! In the last week of October, when Soraya Peke-Mason became the 60th female representative sworn in among the 59 male representatives, Parliament gained a female majority. New Zealand has a history of pioneering women in politics. In 1893, New Zealand women…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND: WHERE WOMEN’S RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS
DANICA CREAHAN WRITES — Though the elections occurred just a few weeks apart, New Zealanders and Americans are living in seemingly different worlds. With New Zealand at just under 2000 Covid-19 cases as a whole and the U.S. at more than 92,000 on election day alone, the one thing they…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND: A BLUE WAVE WASHES ASHORE WHILE AMERICA IS LEFT HIGH AND DRY
DANICA CREAHAN WRITES — On October 17, New Zealanders will vote in the general election on the Prime Minister, legalizing the use of recreational marijuana and one uniquely straightforward question: “Do you support the End of Life Choice Act 2019 coming into force?” New Zealand is the first country in…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND: WILL THE END OF LIFE CHOICE ACT SURVIVE THE GENERAL ELECTION?
NATHAN RIVAS WRITES – During this year’s Academy Award ceremony at Hollywood’s Dolby Theater, Taika Waititi became the first person of Maori descent to win an Oscar (for “Jojo Rabbit”), which he dedicated to all of the indigenous children of the world “who want to do art and dance and write…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND AT OSCARS 2020: TAIKA WAITITI PUTS THE SPOTLIGHT ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
Following the brutal massacre in two mosques in New Zealand earlier this month, Asia Media staffers penned their thoughts on what it means to be an ally to the Muslim community, and how the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, exemplifies it. MUHAMMAD ALOTHMAN WRITES– “Welcome Brother,” the first…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND: ALLIES, THIS IS HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY
ANDREA PLATE WRITES: The fine-art fingerprints of Debra Granik, director of 2010’s “Winter’s Bone,” are all over her stunning new movie “Leave no Trace,” recently released on DVD. Both set the stage for breakout young actresses—“Trace’s” star, Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie is just eighteen — Jennifer Lawrence was around twenty when…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND: ANOTHER CHAMP FROM CAMPION-LAND
KATRINA CROSBY WRITES – With Election Day upon us, New Zealanders are encouraged to show off their democratic pride with pictures of “I Voted” stickers or selfies taken at the polling stations, encouraging other Kiwis to come out and make their voices heard. This year, the polling stands looked a…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND: POLITICIANS FIDO-VER VOTES
VERONICA BANEZ WRITES – Is piracy becoming too big of a problem? Some may argue that pirating movies off the Internet is simply nothing more than a form of free entertainment. After all, why pay so much money to watch a movie when one can simply get it online for…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND: Ahoy! Piracy on the Rise
VERONICA BANEZ WRITES – Lightbox, Neon, Netflix, Quickflix, Sky TV. These are only a few of the many streaming movie and television services that are provided in New Zealand. James Croot and Blayne Slabbert, writers for the website Stuff.com, really put into perspective the wide range of differences between all…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND: The Rise of Convenient Entertainment
VERONICA BANEZ WRITES – Technology is more advanced today than it has ever been. One of the most important advancements has been the concept of streaming – not only for entertainment purposes, but for current events as well. In recent years, there has been a huge outbreak of media streaming…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND: Just Press PlayE.J. DE LARA WRITES – Unions and the media are not the place to report work related issues. At least that’s the message the Philippines ambassador to New Zealand recently delivered. The New Zealand Scoop reported that during a meeting with Filipino migrants, the Ambassador of the Philippines, Virginia Benavidez, made a controversial statement…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND: Work Issues Should Not be Reported to Unions?E.J. DE LARA WRITES – Several reports have criticized New Zealand for its intrusion of privacy. Many have raised concerns over Parliament passing a bill for the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) – the intelligence agency of the New Zealand government – to spy on people with a search warrant.…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND: Spying Here, There, and Almost EverywhereEJ DE LARA WRITES – New Zealand is taking the plunge into a deep sea of possibilities for research and telecommunication development with its new submarine cable plans. On October 26, the New Zealand Government signed a deal with Hawaiki submarine cable for 15 million. With this plan, Hawaiki plans…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND: Diving into an Ocean of Telecommunication