POLITICS & POLICY

Labour leader David Cunliffe has regretted going on a skiing holiday if he had known about the poor poll results of his party. He said he has decided to focus on Labour's major policies. Reports said that Cunliffe appeared to stay away the animal testing policy of Labour.

A new senator from Clive Palmer's Palmer United Party, who once described Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott as a psychotic politician, stirred Aussie radio listeners on Tuesday by listing two traits she wants from potential suitors.

While Russian President Vladimir Putin has yet to admit any responsibility for the downing of the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, Russian citizens in Moscow have step up to ask for forgiveness through a memorial. The entrance to Moscow's Dutch Embassy has been turned into a memorial as Russians commemorate the victims and some leave signs claiming "Putin is a terrorist."

In the run up to the elections in New Zealand, regional development is becoming a serious poll issue, reports NZ Herald. Both the National and Labour parties seem to be drumming up support from regional development bodies by showcasing their approach to regional issues pertaining to development.

A Twitter bot had caught a Russian media outlet allegedly tinkering and rewriting the information on a Wikipedia page dedicated for the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

In view of the National Ice Cream Day on the third Sunday of July, an analyst from USA-based online food ordering company GrubHub revealed the most ordered flavors and toppings by Americans.

New fighting erupted at the rebel centre of Donetsk on July 21 near the railway station, with separatists describing the incident as the government's attempt to take back the city.

At least 565 Palestinians died so far, and U.S. finally asks for ceasefire.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: FX markets trade was again quiet, with yesterday's Japanese holiday quelling whatever latent interest may have been around.

The latest poll from Fairfax Nielsen, released on Monday, said that Opposition leader Bill Shorten leads Mr Abbott by 5 per cent as the preferred prime minister with ratings of 46 per cent and 41 per cent, respectively. In terms of being perceived as a trustworthy leader, Shorten even enjoyed a 10 per cent lead over the PM as he got a 45 per cent rating versus Mr Abbott's 35 per cent.

Former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi is now a freed man after an Italian appeals court overturned a lower tribunal's guilty verdict handed down in June 2013.

New Zealand pays tribute to a Kiwi woman and her Dutch husband who were among the passengers killed in the downed Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17. Meanwhile, New Zealand has requested a special meeting of the UN Security Council to call on authorities concerned to secure the MH17 crash site for an international investigation, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key criticised Labour's coherence as it prepares for the election in September. According to reports, Mr Key said Labour was "unfit to rule" the government amid the party's poor results at the polls and other internal problems.

A new player has joined the worldwide list of nations hurtling space missions to Mars. The United Arab Emirates recently announced plans to send a mission to the red planet by 2021.

Japan's highest peak Mount Fuji has been placed by a team of researchers in a "critical state" to erupt, spurred by the pressure built underneath it by the 2011 magnitude-9 Tohoku-Oki earthquake.

At least 18 people have died after typhoon Rammasun struck Hainan island off China's southern coast on Friday.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister of Turkey, accused Israel of “barbarism that surpasses Hitler.” Erdogan criticised the Israeli government after it had launched ground invasion in Gaza.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has started this week just under the .9400 mark as most of the volatility in financial markets which increased after the Malaysian Airlines disaster and the escalation of the conflict in Gaza dissipated.

Pro-Russian rebels took control of the crash site after shooting down Malaysian Airlines jet MH17.

After Australia's carbon tax repeal has passed the Senate, former U.S. Vice President and climate change activist Al Gore expressed his disappointment and said the country is now falling behind other developed nations in reducing carbon emissions.

New Zealand had the warmest winter on record in 2013. According to the State of the Climate 2013 report released by the American Meteorological Society, some of the countries in the Southern Hemisphere including New Zealand had 2013 as the one of their warmest years.

Emerging super nations BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) have finally made good a plan flaunted in 2012 to establish a BRICS development bank that could rival and possibly topple the IMF and World Bank.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down on over the Ukrainian border with at least one New Zealander feared dead including 27 Australians among the 295 passengers. According to reports, the crashed MH17 was hit by a surface-to-air missile on the early morning of July 18, New Zealand time.

Just hours after Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was reported to have lost contact from Ukraine Air Traffic Control and was the wreckage was found spread over several kilometres in the Donetsk area of Ukraine, Ukrainian officials have declared that the incident was carried out by people that they refer to as terrorists. Meanwhile, Russia has given the blame to actions made by the Ukrainian Government against Pro Moscow separatist groups.

A giant 80-metre crater enough to fit several MI-8 helicopters has been discovered in north Siberia's Yamal Peninsula, which when translated meant "end of the world."

Internet mogul Kim Dotcom is now thinking about suing New Zealand's spy agency for "illegal; surveillance." According to reports, the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) has found the police were justified in not pursuing any of the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) officers for an illegal spying operation.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: Amid the geopolitical developments the AUD held its ground near 0.9380 after the Malaysian Airlines news hit the screens, but late in the US session the AUD lost ground and is now nearer 0.9340.

Australia's Labour-backed carbon tax is now gone, thanks to the Senate. As Prime Minister Tony Abbott's promise to repeal carbon tax finally came true, the government has declared that the country's climate policy is "not in limbo."

Israel launched it ground invasion on Gaza after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had placed orders to the military to go ahead. Israeli tanks arrived at Gaza on Thursday, July 17.