Reissa Su

A British diver was killed in a horrific accident involving the propeller blades of a catamaran. Bruce Porter who previously lived in Nottingham had his face sliced off when he tried to climb back aboard the boat which was 20 miles east of Whangerei off North Island in New Zealand.

Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn has decided to drop his $50 billion stock buyback proposal to Apple Inc after respected proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services Inc (ISS) criticised his attempts of micromanagement. Apple Inc's CEO has announced in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that the company has recently repurchased $14 billion of its stocks.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and the Coalition government have banned staff from using Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites for political commentary. Although the new rule was quietly implemented, it was nevertheless strict in controlling even Coalition staff involved in writing articles for newspapers and books.

A religious leader or "Imam" was arrested in Parramatta for overseeing the illegal marriage between a 26-year-old man to a 12-year-old girl in a Muslim ceremony in Newcastle, Australia. According to reports, Child Abuse Squad detectives arrested the 35-year-old Pakistan native outside the Parramatta police station. It was reported that the imam went into hiding after the arrest of the 26-year-old groom.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key wants Japan to apologise for breaching the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Shonan Maru No 2 entered New Zealand's EEZ while tailing one of the ships of anti-whaling organisation, Sea Shepherd.

New Zealand Parliament is preparing for the first reading of a bill forcing tobacco firms to sell their cigarettes in plain packaging. But the government has previously said it will not take any further action unless the legal challenge in Australia has come to an end.

Apple Inc has bought back $14 billion of its stocks in the past two weeks. The recent move has increased Apple's total stock buyback to $40 billion shares in a span of 12 months. Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, remarked in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that it was a record-breaking buyback for a company in a similar period. He said Apple will reveal more updates on its stock buyback by March or April 2014.

The New Zealand government has summoned a top Japanese diplomat in the country to answer questions regarding the arrival of a Japanese whaling fleet in New Zealand's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully criticised Japan's whaling activities as "deeply disrespectful" and offensive.

New Zealand Labour party leader David Cunliffe was called an "idiot" by Prime Minister John Key for his comments about fighting for the rights of Kiwis living in Australia.

Southern Australia continues to face another day of spreading bushfires in Victoria showing no signs of slowing down despite cooler weather conditions that may have temporarily eased the threat.

A team of Australian astronomers from the Australian National University has discovered a 13.6 billion year-old star which is currently the oldest known star in the universe. The latest find will give astronomers the chance to study the chemistry of the first known stars. Dr Stefan Keller, the lead researcher from the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Australian National University, declared that the discovery was a "one in a 60 million chance."

Apple Inc.'s CEO Tim Cook has revealed Apple will introduce products in new categories in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Like in any interview, he avoided getting into the specifics but only hinted that Apple is working on "really great stuff."

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has maintained his ground on the rights of Kiwis living in Australia. New Zealanders who have migrated to Australia may have their hopes shot down when Mr Abbott said he expected Kiwis to be "lifters, not leaners."

A 26-year-old man from New South Wales in Sydney was arrested and locked behind bars after reportedly having sexual relations and "marrying" a 12-year-old child bride in a religious ceremony. According to a report by NineMSN, the man, who will be left unnamed to protect the child's identity, met the young girl in Hunter in 2012. Since then, the NSW man became involved with the girl and had sex with her.

A small telecommunications company in New Zealand is now accepting Bitcoin as an alternative mode of payment. Auckland-based 2Talk announced it will be the first company in the local telecommunications industry to allow the digital currency as payment.

Japanese whaling ships are currently heading to New Zealand and Australia waters. According to Sea Shepherd Australia, Yushin Maru No. 3, a Japanese ship, is on its course and expected to reach the waters of the Australian Whale Sanctuary on Feb. 8. It the same harpoon ship responsible for reportedly hitting The Bob Barker, one of the Sea Shepherd ships.

The world is in danger of being swept away by a cancer "tidal wave" as the World Health Organisation (WHO) predicts that cancer cases will increase to 24 million a year by 2035. However, the WHO said half of those cases can be prevented. The report highlighted the need to focus on cancer prevention by curbing obesity, smoking and drinking alcohol. The World Cancer Research Fund has observed an "alarming" level of ignorance when it comes to the role of diet in developing cancer.

The Australian government has previously said it will repeal carbon tax in July following a statement based on new data on greenhouse gas emissions. The Coalition claimed that Labour's carbon tax was only causing "plenty of pain, with no environmental gain." Environment Minister Greg Hunt remarked on Feb 5 that the carbon tax "doesn't work" since it costs the economy $7 billion a year.

The New South Wales Government has moved to increase the penalty for female genital mutilation. The maximum penalty is now 21 years instead of seven as the government makes it illegal to take a female out of the state to let her genitals mutilated somewhere else.

New Zealand's spy agency GCSB has been accused of erasing evidence relevant to Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom's case. The Web tycoon claimed that some of the lawyers who represented the spy agency had revealed some of the communications have been "automatically aged off" and they suggested using information which are "still recoverable."

New Zealand's vegetable farmers are trying to remain positive as the "Buy Australian" supermarket campaign becomes aggressive in Australia.

Apple Inc's iOS platform share continues to grow in the United States while Android is showing a slight decline. Based on comScore data, Apple gained 1.2 per cent in three months with a total platform market share of 41.8 per cent. Google's Android OS lost 0.3 per cent in the same period with a total market share of 51.5 per cent.

A family of rabbits has dug up buried treasure believed to be 8,000 years old near Land's End, England. The wild rabbits uncovered a "gold mine" of archaeological finds dating back to the Stone Age which includes flint tools, arrow heads, and animal hide scrapers.

The recent shark cull protests have triggered fears of disrupting the ocean's ecosystem if Western Australia is allowed to continue killing sharks. Since the first shark was killed on Australia Day, Jan 26, at least one more shark was killed while trapped in baited drum lines and smaller sharks were released after getting caught.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has cited New Zealand as one of the worst countries with increasing obesity rates and fast food consumption in the world. According to WHO's study about fast food purchases per capita, New Zealand ranks fourth out of 25 countries in terms of fast food purchases.

New Zealand will welcome around 100 Syrian refugees for resettlement as they flee their homeland due to the ongoing civil war. The New Zealand government announced that the refugees will arrive in in the second half of 2014. According to Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse, New Zealand issued the offer of up to 100 Syrian refugees after the United Nations' call for help amid the worsening crisis in Syria.

As Apple Inc commemorated 30 years of Macintosh in January, rumours had begun to spread that the company will release a Super Bowl ad which is reminiscent of the desktop computer's 1984 commercial. Apple might use the Super Bowl again to pay homage to its famous desktop computer. While Apple Inc did not show the ad in honor of Macintosh at the Super Bowl, the company chose to post a new commercial on its YouTube channel and called it "1.24.14."

A hundred Bitcoin ATMs will be coming to Australia and New Zealand. According to ABC Online, Australian Bitcoin ATMs would be rolling out ATMs in Australia as well as in Auckland, New Zealand. CEO Chris Guzowski said Bitcoin owners can type how the number of coins they want to sell. The ATM will connect to an international Bitcoin exchange and processes the transaction their behalf.

Top breast cancer experts are urging Australian men to sign up for cancer research which aims to reduce the recruitment time for studies. National Breast Cancer Foundation CEO Carole Renouf said that the traditional method for recruitment usually takes years which can deplete resources and delay research findings.