ECONOMY

A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has identified that the source of infection of the widening Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus are the camels in the kingdom.

Canada has a new prostitution law that targets more the buyers of sexual services rather than those who sell it.

Like the Reserve Bank of Australia's overnight cash rate decisions, the Fair Work Commission's (FWC) announcement on Wednesday hiking the minimum wage by 3 per cent or $18.70 per week was a damn if you do, damn if you don't situation for the federal government. Labour unions are not happy at the increase they consider measly, while employers warn the new minimum salary of $640.90 per week by July 1 would lead to job cuts.

Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of crippled Fukushima power plant, has started constructing a huge underground ice wall around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. This plan is seen to control and manage the production of toxic water at the complex devastated by a tsunami that was triggered by a magnitude 9 earthquake in March 2011.

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) announced on Tuesday the result of its yearly review of Australia's minimum wage. The commission increased the minimum wage by 3 per cent or $18.70 per week, ABC reported.

Australia's economy is back on a growth path after it registered a 1.1 per cent gross domestic products (GDP) growth rate for the first quarter of 2013, The Australian reports.

New Zealand experts have warned the Australian government to not follow the island nation's welfare system. The Kiwi economists said New Zealand's welfare cuts have created "big holes" as the country is dealing with child poverty.

A study by the Met Office and Newcastle University published in the Nature and Climate Change journal has revealed how global warming and climate change will most definitely impact the occurrence of summer downpours and flash flooding in Britain.

Ash clouds that erupted from Indonesia's Sangeang Api volcano have dissipated to safe levels, enabling Australian airliners to resume flights to Bali on Monday.

Health Canada is currently groping with a pile of applications for licences to grow medical marijuana in the country. Even junior mining firms have joined the fray.

Google, in compliance to a ruling by the European Union Court of Justice (ECJ) that allows the Europeans' right to be forgotten on the Internet, has created a Web site that will specifically handle such removal requests. On the very first day it was launched, the world's No. 1 Internet search company received a whopping 12,000 removal requests.

The U.S.' Centers for Disease Control has reneged on its earlier observations that the Illinois man believed to have been the country's third MERS-CoV case contracted the disease from human-to-human transmission from the Indiana man. The latter is the U.S.' second confirmed case.

Canada's Athabasca Glacier, the most visited glacier in North America, is losing five metres (16 feet) of ice per year that scientists forecast the immediate next generation of Canadians and tourists won't be able to see and enjoy them anymore.

A middle-aged US couple from California is now several millions richer after deciding to auction off the 1,427 rare gold coins they unearthed in their backyard discovered while having a leisure stroll with their dog.

The State Assembly of New York on Tuesday has passed a legislation legalising medical marijuana in the area. But will it also sail through the Senate this time? This is the fifth time, in a span of 7 years, the assembly has passed a medical marijuana bill.

The Apple and Beats Audio Electronics acquisition is confirmed. Dr. Dre is going to be a billionaire with the biggest deal investment Apple has ever made in its company's history.

Residents in a large part of UK have been advised to prepare and brace for flash flooding and major traffic disruptions in the next 48 hours.

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co is now the greenest automaker in the United States, unseating Honda Motor Co of Japan, based on the latest Automaker Rankings report released by the Union of Concerned Scientists' (UCS).

The cost of New Zealand properties may be reduced with more apartment blocks and "granny flats", according to a property expert. The lack of affordable housing has made one school a "revolving door" as more students are forced to move out because of problems with their parents' finances.

Sony is set to market its gaming consoles Playstation 4 (PS4) and PS Vita to China since the game console ban has been lifted.

A study released by University of Canterbury on Tuesday said nightlife in the 2011 quake stricken Christchurch in New Zealand has bounce back as much as 95 per cent to pre-earthquake levels.

Consumer confidence in Australia dropped to its newest level in over two years as Australians begin to worry about the impact of the Abbott government's budget on their family's finances. According to reports, the Westpac Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment declined 6.8 per cent in May to its lowest level since August 2011.

Australians currently in Thailand, and even those who need to go there, have been strongly warned to exercise all necessary precautions, following the confirmation of a military coup. Travel insurance companies have expressed the policies of travelling Australians in Thailand may be cancelled because of the development.

New Zealand's annual migration is seen to go beyond 40,000 as more people choose to stay in the country.

U.S. marijuana cannabis growers in Colorado and Washington state, despite operating legally, won't be allowed to use federal irrigation water services.

The United Arab Emirates has confirmed that George Lucas' "Star Wars" galaxy is actually in Abu Dhabi.

A report published by the Washington-based Union of Concerned Scientists has highlighted the potential ill effects of climate change to at least 30 historical landmarks in the U.S. Should the human-induced climate change continue to escalate, there might be no other way for America's newest and oldest landmarks but to topple and bow down to rising sea levels, floods and wildfires.

It is without doubt that the "boy child" El Niño has definitely stirred the whole world. While most dread its potential impact, some however gladly await its arrival. El Niño induces droughts in some parts of the world, while it could drench other nations.

Air Canada has received its very first 251-seat Boeing 787 Dreamliner over the weekend. Air Canada has ordered a total of 37 of the new passenger jets. It will be used to open a route between Toronto and Haneda airport in Tokyo starting July.