Arlene Paredes

A New Zealand study reveals that Kiwi women read a lot more than men do. The Research NZ survey asked 505 some information on their reading habits. The results were released Monday, showing 23 per cent of Kiwi men had not taken the time to read last year.

The number of cruise passengers in New Zealand is expected to increase by a good 20 per cent in 2013 despite the tragic capsizing of the cruise ship Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy in January, according to a cruise liner manager.

Scientists gave mice a high fat diet, after which, the mice showed growth of new brain cells and less weight gain. "We really don't understand the function of these neurons in the normal brain," study researcher Seth Blackshaw, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, told LiveScience.

Primary school principals at Wellington have been invited for a seminar on child depression as Wellington's Central Regional Health School in the lower North Island raises alarm on the increasing number of children with depression problems.

Foreign Secretary Tessie Lambourne of the Kiribati Republic has pledged that the vast Pacific archipelago would assist the latest effort to crack the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Amelia Earhart 75 years ago, as aviation enthusiasts from The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery are set to take on an underwater mission in July after they found a photograph of Kiribati's island of Nikumaroro.

2-yr-old Makena has only recently started to show interest in singing along to music in her parents' car. She started singing along to Maroon 5' 'Moves Like Jagger' before moving on to Adele's bluesy 'Someone Like You.'

In a recent report by the Associated Press, New York City statistician Justin Bassett had just finished answering a few character questions when the interviewer turned to her computer to search for his Facebook page. Why should companies require an 'acceptable' Facebook page from applicants today, when recruitment had worked fine without Facebook in the past?

In a recent report by the Associated Press, New York City statistician Justin Bassett had just finished answering a few character questions when the interviewer turned to her computer to search for his Facebook page. Why should companies require an 'acceptable' Facebook page from applicants today, when recruitment had worked fine without Facebook in the past?

The Heart Foundation says Aussie parents may be missing a chance to combat childhood obesity as its survey reveals a dramatic increase in the number of children travelling by car to and from school, with 63 per cent of parents saying their children travelled by car, mostly for safety reasons.

The exodus of Kiwis for Australia has reached a new high, with departures accelerating to a record 53,000 last month, Businessdesk reports.

It has been told, but only recently been explored further in a study: without partners, toys, or any direct sexual stimulation, a survey found 124 women have had orgasms at the gym, LiveScience reports.

A $1.6 billion project has been given ‘a likely green light,’ and it is seen to line the northern Wairarapa hillsides to become New Zealand’s largest wind farm, providing power for up to 370,000 homes, Dominion Post reports.

A hunter who got a badly swollen leg from a spider bite was successfully rescued Monday amid ill weather in Te Urewera National Park.

A 39-year-old Kiwi from Tauranga spoke to Bay of Plenty Times after being denied entrance from a bar for being too old. However, the bar and other youth-oriented establishments say they do not discriminate by age, Bay of Plenty Times reports.

Star casino and its legal team sacked on Tuesday three more managers with over 40 years' experience in the organisation for breaches of its internet and email policies.

A robbery suspect in Sydney died after police confronted him with a Taser when he reportedly resisted arrest, prompting the NSW Council for Civil Liberties to renew its calls for a Taser use review.

In a freak accident, a 1000-tonne freight train crashed into and ripped apart a tractor being driven by a teen woman, who is now in critical condition after the tragic incident Saturday morning. Jennifer Hughes, 19, was helping her father Paul Hughes with haymaking while her father manned another machine.

There were cracks around the cockpit windows of an Air New Zealand plane, the airline found on Sunday, resulting in the grounding of 11 planes on the same day. The cracks were spotted during routine maintenance check in Christchurch.

A baby formula made 100 per cent from New Zealand has been pulled by company from stores after a man raised suspicion via email that the milk formula may have caused his young daughter to get sick.

More than half of New Zealand’s total net wealth is owned by Kiwis aged 55 and above, the New Zealand Herald reports. The news is based on Roy Morgan's "state of the nation" report, which says the 55-plus group has increased its share of net wealth from 43 per cent in 2002 to 52 per cent last year, as their population also increased in the same period.

On Wednesday night's live broadcast of America Idol Season 11, the audience learns of the fate of the gentle giant, the judges do not give Jessica Sanchez a standing ovation, and petite diva hopeful Hollie Cavanagh proves she really, really wants the Idol title this time around. Meanwhile, Joshua Ledet, who was at the guys' bottom three last week, went all out with his power vocals with When a Man Loves a Woman.

A Wellington teacher died in her sleep on Monday from an undiagnosed brain tumour, Dominion Post reports. Thirty-nine year old Lorena Henriquez, a single mother and a positively popular teacher among her students, had felt flu-like symptoms for three days before succumbing to cancer while sleeping.

On the performance night of American Idol Season 11’s Top 12, Jermaine Jones will be sent home live after Idol team learned that he was arrested twice in 2011 and has outstanding warrants, TMZ reports.

Amid rebuilding efforts post-earthquake, Christchurch as well as the rest of New Zealand looks forward to steady hiring within the next three months, Dominion Post reports.

Air New Zealand will hike domestic and trans-Tasman fares, with trans-Tasman flights from Wellington to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane increasing by $2 each way, Dominion Post reports.

Wellington house prices rose in February, but the rates were lower compared to figures for the same month in 2011, New Zealand Herald reports.

Aucklanders pay around $150 a week more to live in a three-bedroom rental than the rest of New Zealand, New Zealand Herald reports.

Sex abuse and assault victims who went to ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) for help were horrified upon learning that ACC Minister Judith Collins has demanded an urgent report into allegations that strictly private details of thousands of ACC claimants somehow wound up in the hands of an unauthorised recipient.

Internet tycoon Kim Dotcom has claimed US officials were among the biggest users of his Megaupload website before it was shut down for alleged copyright infringement, the New Zealand Herald reports.