Reissa Su

Antarctica does not only have ice but diamonds as well. According to scientists, they have found evidence of a type of rock known to contain precious gems like diamonds under the ice. The recent discovery proves to be exciting as more is revealed about Antarctica's mineral resources. Recovering any of the newly-identified rock is currently forbidden by authorities. Mining in the hopes of finding diamonds is banned.

The tobacco packaging has been introduced in New Zealand, but it will not be passed as a law until Australia has settled the legal action. New Zealand's Associate Helath Minister Tariana Turia had introduced to Parliament the bill on Dec 17, known as the Smoke-Free Environments Amendment Bill.

Hamish Fagg, an engineering student from New Plymouth, is preparing to become the first New Zealander in space. The 21-year-old student has returned from his trip to a space academy camp in Florida after bagging the contest prize for the chance to take a commercial flight to space.

A Chinese man suffered an industrial accident in Hunan Province while operating on a machine at work in November and left his right hand severed. To keep his hand alive, he had doctors in China attach his hand to his ankle while he waited for a month before undergoing reattachment surgery.

Apple Inc. shares may have regained its momentum after climbing to its new 52-week high. Analysts are expecting the company to sustain its strong stock performance given Apple's massive gains from its iPhone and iPad sales across the globe. Analysts at Jefferies have agreed with others in increasing their long-term predictions and price targets for Apple Inc.

Australian authorities have warned the New Zealand Ministry of Health that bald patients of a hair treatment clinic in Sydney may have been exposed to HIV and other infectious diseases because of poor infection control practices. New Zealanders who sought cosmetic hair treatment and replacement in the Sydney clinic now bore the risk of a blood-borne infection.

Australia Prime Minister Tony Abbott has declined to take side in the same-sex marriage debate as some of his colleagues continue to fight over the legalisation of gay marriage. Liberal backbencher Cory Bernardi has called for the removal of Malcolm Turnbull from office after Mr Turnbull expressed his support for the ACT's Marriage Equality Bill.

The economy of New Zealand is expected to grow even stronger in the next two years, according to the Institute of Economic Research. A survey of economic forecasts based from various economic and financial agencies said that New Zealand is expected to have a broad-based annual growth rate of 2.8 per cent by March 2014 and 3 per cent in the 2014.

A massive 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck Southland, New Zealand in the early hours of Dec 17. The Southland earthquake was measured 25km deep and centred 125km west of Tuatapere on 1:10 am in the morning. According to local reports, at least 170 people reported or felt the earthquake with some people coming from further north in Wellington's Naenae. Others reported things falling off their shelves but aside from that there was no other damage. A spokesperson for Southland's police depar....

Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook accepted an achievement award from his alma mater, Auburn University, and gave an inspiring speech on racism and gay rights. The usually elusive Apple chief executive made a rare public speech about personally witnessing a cross on fire when he was young. Mr Cook said the incident has "changed his life forever." He said he has experienced various types of discrimination. He believes people are afraid to accept others who were different from the rest of society.

The universe, and the entire world as humans know it, may one day collapse with the Earth shrinking into a very hot and hard ball. Scientists have warned the risk of a collapse is now greater than previously thought with the process happening somewhere in the universe.

A new study revealed that obesity continues to be a health issue in New Zealand with 30 per cent of adults classified as obese. New Zealand is gradually becoming fatter with 3 adults out of 10 turning out to be obese. Despite the release of the new obesity data by a leading diabetes researcher, New Zealand Health Minister Tony Ryall said he will reject measures of a "nanny state." Mr Ryall said providing information and support to obese adults are not enough.

A new report on climate change has revealed that the New Zealand government is failing on its response to climate change. The Sixth National Communication on Climate Change was released by Generation Zero, a youth climate group in New Zealand.

British customers have noticed something different from Anchor, their preferred butter brand. The famous butter brand is no longer produced in New Zealand. Arla, a European dairy company, has used the popular Kiwi brand for years until it decided to cut its ties with New Zealand.

Apple Inc's iPhone 5 and the iPhone 5S have finally outwit Samsung Galaxy S4 based on global sales in October, according to Counterpoint's report.

The United Nations (UN) has called on Australia to ban the "smacking" of children. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has urged Australia to prevent parents from "reasonably" smacking their children and encourage them to use other forms of discipline.

New Zealand is set to increase its smart phone ownership to 90 per cent by 2018. According to Frost & Sullivan's New Zealand Mobile Device Usage 2013, 64 per cent of New Zealanders 15 to 65 years of age currently have a smart phone.

Scientology has been officially recognised as a religion after Britain's highest court ruled that worshipping a god is not an important aspect of religion. The five Supreme Court justices set aside 158 years of law and redefined religion for members of scientology to be married.

There is still hope for the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Australia with Federal Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull saying that Parliament may consider changing marriage laws to permit same-sex couples to marry in Australia.

Apple Inc's employees ranked the company No. 35 in Glassdoor's Best Places to Work 2014. Twitter Inc was voted the best place to work in 2014 with a rating of 4.6 compared to Apple's 3.8.

The average Australian adult will be expected to gain 1.1 kg over the Christmas holidays, according to the national health statistics. Australians will be 12,895 tonnes heavier in the new year based on total average weight gain.

The High Court of Australia has decided to strike down the same-sex marriage laws of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) on Dec. Since the High Court had invalidated ACT’s gay marriage laws, the decision had closed the door on the chances of similar legislation being passed across the country. A positive High Court decision would have pressured the Coalition government to legalise same-sex marriage.

Despite leading the New Zealand delegation in Nelson Mandela's memorial service in South Africa, Prime Minister John Key was not recognised in a photo slideshow of the New York Daily News and was only named as an "unidentified guest."

Authorities have discovered an incest cult in a remote Australian valley with filthy and severely deformed children, suffering from child abuse for years. The "Colt" family moved from one place to another to avoid detection. Unwashed and unkempt children born from generations of incest were found in a cult composed of 40 adults and teenagers in New South Wales, Australia.

Samsung Electronics had reportedly attempted to smother the report involving a Galaxy S4 in Canada that spontaneously burst into flames while charging. Just a week after YouTube user and Galaxy S4 owner posted a video of the Samsung phone catching fire, the company tried to silence the customer and prevented him from posting any videos about the incident.

Facebook has released a list of places with the most number of check-ins in 2013 with theme parks, sporting arenas and tourist attractions dominating.

New Zealand had originally five members in its delegation ready to attend Nelson Mandela's memorial service in South Africa and join other world leaders, celebrities and royals in attendance. However, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said he was only allowed to bring one member of his delegation inside the World Cup soccer stadium in Johannesburg. Mr Key selected Labour and opposition leader David Cunliffe. Mr Cunliffe later on gave up his seat so Minister of Maori Affairs Pita Sharples ca...

U.S. President Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt were photographed moving close together for a quick picture using a mobile phone while Mr Mandela’s memorial service was going on. The “selfie” showing the three world leaders prompted criticism especially in social media for not keeping in tone with the service.

More New Zealanders have become non-believers of religion, based on the latest Census 2013 figures. Christianity has lost hundreds of thousands of believers in the last seven years, while the number of non-religious Kiwis continues to increase. According to Census 2013, 4 out of 10 Kiwis have said they follow no religion which makes New Zealand one of the most secular countries in the world.