ECONOMY

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised on Thursday the official cash rate (OCR) by 0.25 basis points to 2.275 per cent. It ended the three-year freeze on interest rates imposed by the national government after the Christchurch earthquake.

To drop the Union Jack or not. New Zealanders have been given three years to decide on the matter concerning their national flag.

New Zealand's economy is expected to have significant gains due to big changes in China which will have a big impact to the island nation's future. According to reports, the Chinese government is resolving to rebalance its economy. China's Finance Minister Lou Jiwei announced that the country's economic growth target will remain at 7.5 per cent for 2014.Mr Jiwei said hitting the growth target does not matter since the government wants to see more of an increase in jobs growth.

Apple's iPhone recycling program has now been made available in Canadian retail stores. Canadians wanting that latest model can now trade in their old iPhones to get a credit of up to $275 in order to purchase the new model.

Mystery continued to deepen surrounding the fate of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 four days after it disappeared on the air with nary a hint of anything that could pinpoint to where it can possibly be right now. Sherlock Homes-conspiracy theorists have pounced on the incident.

New Zealand has joined into the fray of search and rescue operations for the ill-fated Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 that went missing on Saturday early morning.

Families of passengers aboard missing ill-fated Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 have been barraging telecom service providers to look into the mobile accounts of their loved ones. They claim to have been calling their phones and that these were ringing.

A new study published in the Science journal has advised governments and health authorities as well as travelers wishing to visit Africa, Asia, Central and Southern America to up their proactive measures against the malaria-carrying mosquitoes as cases of the disease will multiply each year due to global warming.

Cases of thyroid cancer among children residing in Fukushima have grown steadily since the disastrous March 2011 incident. Citizens have all but lost hope and confidence in their government. And three years after, no one has been made accountable for the supposed worst nuclear disaster since the 1986 Chernobyl.

Paul Weeks was headed to Mongolia to pursue his "dream job" in what he believed will help him provide comfortably for his family. His wife Danica is praying for a miracle that could still come true. Mr Weeks is one of the 239 passengers now part of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 that went out of the radar over the weekend and disappeared over the South China Sea.

Saturday is International Women's Day. As a means of celebration, Aussie women will be proud to know that they are ranked 5th among the noblest women among 29 countries.

Gina Rinehart, Australia's richest person who just added another $700 million to her $17 billion wealth in the last 12 months, warned that Australia is living beyond its means.

Five Australian universities fell from top 100 World Reputation Rankings.

Sydney is third most expensive city in the world, according to The Economist's survey titled, "Worldwide Cost of Living 2013."

At least 100 world cultural landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty, Tower of London and Sydney Opera House will be wiped out from the face of the earth if ocean waters continue to rise spurred by the burgeoning global warming and climate change.

Australian hotel industry enjoys a favourable year according to the recently published Hotel Price Index from Hotels.com

The royal visit to New Zealand by the trio family of Prince William, Kate and baby Prince George will cost taxpayers a whopping $1 million per day, no less than Prime Minister John Key announced. He was quick to defend however the "tremendous international coverage" the Kiwi country will get in exchange.

Nepal is again bracing for an influx of visitors wanting to trek up the challenging Mount Everest this spring, with an equal amount of potential thrash going to be left behind by the so-called nature lovers and protectors. To counter this, Nepal authorities on Monday announced adventurous climbers will now be required to bring eight kilograms (18 pounds) of thrash when they come down.

Chinese state-owned company Beijing Capital Group has agreed to purchase Transpacific New Zealand waste management firm for $NZ950 million ($890 million), in a move seen to help fight off China's burgeoning chronic pollution as it gets to acquire new technology from the Kiwi company.

While Apple CEO Tim Cook may just be silently taking blows against the company and its profits, he apparently won't take it just seating down when critics pick on Apple's contributions to help save the environment and ease climate change and global warming.

Health authorities in New Zealand are warning Kiwis of a possible dengue outbreak following the spate of the disease in Fiji which has already killed three people in the island nation in the South Pacific Ocean. Fiji hospitals have been reported to be swamped with more than 2,000 cases.

Lucky drivers in Calgary, Alberta in Canada. An app informed them about a looming gas price adjustment, essentially empowering them at the right time on Thursday to manage the situation, their gas supplies as well as their expenses.

New Zealand's flag carrier is expecting higher earnings for the year ending June as its first quarter 2014 profits lifted 40 per cent to NZ$140 million from a year ago.

State-owned New Zealand Post has announced it will be axing more jobs in the coming months as it struggles to keep operations alive and well.

Coffee drinkers seeking to reduce their consumption of the beverage may want to seriously ponder on that plan. Prices of coffee in the world market are expected to increase, spurred by droughts resulting from climate change.

Officials from the U.S. Department of Energy continued to maintain the nuclear leak that came out from a nuclear waste plant in New Mexico poses no hazards to the health of nearby residents, even as levels of airborne radioactivity had been found to be "slightly elevated."

Water samples collected off the coast of Canada had revealed traces of radionuclides linked with the radiation leak at the crippled Japanese nuclear plant Fukushima.

With the smog enveloping Beijing already on its sixth consecutive day, the World Health Organisation said the current levels of air pollution in China has reached a crisis.

The skyline of Melbourne's central business district will soon change with the addition of five residential towers with over 2,000 apartments worth $557 million.