Arlene Paredes

It’s the kind of tuna that only the truly affluent can afford; it’s nearly a million US dollars, after all. The sale of a bluefin tuna was the highlight in the first auction of the year at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market. Caught off north-eastern Japan, the 269-kilogram tuna fetched a record 56.49 million yen, or US$ 732,000.

Police has arrested the mental patient who skipped arrest last Friday over a crime report that arrived an hour late. Convicted criminal Trent Jennings, 26, who has been held in a psychiatric facility since 2005 after he stabbed a man to death while on drugs, tied up a man and stole his car late last week.

Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann announced Wednesday she has concluded her US presidential campaign, becoming the first Republican candidate to leave the race after failing to see favorable results in Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses.

Education authorities are considering random drug testing involving the police to address the drug issues, such as taking or dealing drugs, which have caused the suspension of over 100 students in Waikato schools in 2011.

Thousands of Australian teenagers are unwittingly revealing their mobile and home telephone numbers online via Facebook when they thought the numbers will not be seen anywhere else.

People born with leadership skills are also naturally ego-centered, a new study has shown. Self-obsession hinders dominant people who have natural abilities to lead to become truly effective at the helm of a group or an organization, according to University of Amsterdam researchers.

An 8-year-old girl from Tjirrkali Aboriginal Community died after being rescued in a suspected abduction about 25 from the community.

Recreation and all other activities at Leighton Beach and Port Beach continue after being closed for over an hour due to sightings of two whale sharks. The sharks were originally spotted 500m from shore and were tracking south towards Fremantle.

A 40-year-old Queensland woman died and six others were injured in a tragic head-on collision of two cars near Perth Airport. Reports said the crash happened at about 9:00 pm on New Year's night on Dunreath Drive, which runs between the international and domestic airports.

Authorities are concerned over the record-breaking heatwave in Australia, and it has asked the Aussies to take all the necessary precautions to avoid falling ill due to the rising temperatures. Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Tuesday reiterated public warnings issued by various concerned agencies as temperatures soared above 40 degrees and firefighters get busy with hundreds of fire cases in the southern states.

The police had him over traffic violation, but he was let go. A day later, someone came forward accusing him of sexual assault and car theft.

Facebook is also a place to cry for help, particularly for those who are in need of kidney donors. Damon Brown from Seattle is only one of fortunate individuals who found a kidney on Facebook. He told his story on a special page he created under the name, "Damon Kidney."

News Corp chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch, 80, has joined the microblogging and social networking site Twitter using the verified account @rupertmurdoch.

The Gladstone Ports Corporation is exerting efforts to have its harbour removed from the World Heritage List so that it could continue with its dredging operations sans international scrutiny, according to the Greens.

The ill-fated MV Rena has split in two, but the ship could still be joined together under the surface, reports confirmed.

People living in Christchurch have lost sleep over quake aftershocks that rocked the Canterbury region 41 times within a 24-hour period.

Maintaining a proper diet is not just good for one’s body image; it is also good for the brain, according to a new study. Taking only a restricted number of calories activates a protein which helps the mind stay young and healthy until old age, the study suggests.

The remains of Charles Byrne, who was known as the Irish giant after having suffered from a growth disorder over 200 years ago, should be buried at sea according to his wishes, according to academics who have studied his remains for medical research, the Telegraph reports.

Women with breast implants should consult their surgeons and sign up to a national register in case they are worried about suffering complications as serious as cancer, according to the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Philippine authorities said Wednesday the official death toll over Typhoon Washi (Local name: Sendong) which struck the Southern Philippines over the weekend has gone up to more than 1,000.

Indonesian police are investigating three soldiers who are accused of being involved with the sinking of the asylum seekers' boat that sank off the Javanese coast on Saturday.

Fire rescuers found a young woman reportedly tied to a bedpost in a suspicious house fire in Cannington, Perth. Police told ABC News the blaze started inside the house where the woman was found just before noon (local time) on Wednesday.

A New Zealand man was arrested by Interpol officers after he was identified as the man who is wanted on multiple counts of theft and money laundering after allegedly fleeing to China.

Only 40 percent of mothers still exclusively breastfeed their babies at three months and 15 per cent of mothers are still breastfeeding at five months, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, which noted breastfeeding the traditional way are in steady decline.

Elders chief executive Malcolm Jackman said the Federal Government's month-long ban on live cattle exports to Indonesia in June had a ''significant impact'' on the agribusiness. Thus, new markets like Russia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Qatar are now being explored.

Seven months after the Commerce Commission slashed mobile termination rates by 50 per cent, mobile users were beginning to feel the ease in their wallets with the average cost of calls within networks and between networks narrowing between August and October this year.

Smokers who quit successfully find their lives more satisfying than it was when they were still stuck in the unhealthy habit, according to a study.

Lieutenant Commander John Alan Jones, a naval officer found guilty by a military court martial of spanking a young female sailor, is appealing his conviction.

Rescuers looking for survivors of a Russian oil rig that capsized and sank on Sunday amid a storm are losing hope that they could still find anyone else alive after over 24 hours in the icy waters of the Okhotsk Sea in Russia's far eastern coast, 200km off Russia's Sakhalin island.