Reissa Su

A 20-year-old deaf man in New Zealand has admitted to the kidnapping and sexual assault of a 6-year-old girl on New Year's Day. Tim Horne, from Auckland, entered a guilty plea before the Waitakere District Court. The young girl had been playing in Auckland's Glendene Reserve with other children in the park when Mr Home approached them around 8:20pm on Jan 1. He then began dancing with the children and offered them chewing gum. He grabbed the girl when he noticed the other children were mov...

Apple Inc shares declined 8.24 per cent after the opening bell on Feb 2 as investors continue to be disappointed of the company's smaller than expected iPhone sales last Q1 FY 2014. Apple's Q2 guidance also did not meet investor and analyst expectations.

Maleny Dairies has issued a recall of its three milk products due to a possible contamination with E.coli bacteria in Queensland, Australia. According to Queensland Health, Maleny Dairies will be pulling out three of its products from Coles, Woolworths, IGA and other stores.

Thousands of shark cull protesters have shown up with hand-painted posters, shark hats and other shark-related paraphernalia on Manly Beach last Feb 2. The crowd of Australians on Perth beaches was one of the several protests held across Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to denounce Western Australia's shark cull policy.

Auckland's Middlemore Hospital is trying to contain the norovirus outbreak that has affected not only patients but also hospital staff. Patients with norovirus were brought to the hospital for treatment. However, the virus has spread, causing an outbreak in the hospital.

Scientists have spotted rare blue whales off the coast of New Zealand's North Island. The gentle giants of the sea remain one of the most elusive creatures in the world. Blue whales were seriously hunted in the Southern Hemisphere at the height of the whaling period which led to a dramatic population decline.

Shark cull activists will have more reason to protest Western Australia's controversial shark-killing policy, following news of sharks smaller than three feet were caught in baited drum lines around Perth beaches. After the Western Australian government has declared that only large sharks will be culled, the baited lines with large hooks seem to attract and catch smaller sharks. After Fisheries officers placed bait on Jan 31, a one-metre tiger shark got caught in the lines just hours after.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott and the Australian government has been accused of outlawing "everyday behaviour" following the leak of documents containing a code of conduct for asylum seekers. According to the Independent, the draft code reportedly decreed that asylum seekers who spit or swear in public and spread rumours will be deported.

Apple Inc has paid $36.4 million in tax for 2013 fiscal year despite declaring revenues of over $6 billion in Australia. The Cupertino-based tech giant generated $52 million after paying $88.5 million. The company had acquired a net profit after tax from $58.5 million in 2012 to $40.1 million when Apple paid taxes in Australia.

Roast Buster Beraiah Hales has chosen to reveal his involvement in the scandal involving getting underage teens and young women drunk and "rape" them in one of the group's sex sessions.

A new approach to breast cancer treatment developed by New Zealand researchers could prove to be cheaper, safer and more effective. Researchers were inspired by the initial findings of a major study in the country which may be the best way to fight an aggressive type of breast cancer.

After Apple Inc investors expressed disappointment over lower than expected iPhone sales last holiday quarter, a 10 per cent sell off in Apple's stocks could happen which will reset earnings back for Exxon Mobil to even surpass the company in market value. Apple Inc's market cap was at $550 billion before a drop is predicted to happen. A drop of 10 per cent will push shares to just below the critical $500 billion mark at $495 million.

Tropical Cyclone Dylan moves closer to Queensland, Australia as residents are advised to prepare for storm surges and heavy rains. According to weather reports, the low pressure area was spotted in the Coral Sea several days ago but has turned into a Category One cyclone on the afternoon of Jan 30.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has announced that Australia's obesity prevention programme will be adopted in the country. The community-based program will be known as Healthy Families NZ. Health Minister Tony Ryall visited Victoria, Australia to personally see the programme's effectiveness in curbing obesity. Mr Ryall said the children who were part of the obesity prevention programme had become more active and lost weight.

Australian Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull expressed his support for ABC following the attack by Prime Minister Tony Abbott on the national broadcaster. Mr Abbott blasted ABC by saying the network "instinctively takes everyone's side but Australia's." Mr Abbott went straight to the point when he told the radio show that he would like ABC to become a "straight news gathering and news reporting organisation."

A skeleton of what appears to be an "aquatic humanoid" or the legendary "mermaid" was allegedly discovered by a crew of fishermen whose ship sailed on the east coast of South Island in New Zealand after last week's storm.

Apple Inc shares fell 7.2 per cent in trading on Jan 28 after investors were disappointed with iPhone sales for Q1 FY 2014 despite record-breaking figures for the tech giant. The stock price slightly dipped following Carl Icahn's tweet about buying another $500 million Apple shares. The billionaire activist told CNBC he continues to benefit and made a "great deal of money" when he buys Apple shares that went down.

The world's biggest whale shark factory has been found in southern China and processes around 600 sharks in a year. Hong Kong-based conservation group WildLifeRisk called the factory the largest slaughterhouse for one of the world's most endangered species.

The New Zealand Labour Party has threatened to ban Facebook and the Internet from multi-national corporations over tax issues. Labour proposed the solution to force corporations to pay more taxes. The party recommends that the New Zealand government should talk to Facebook but if this doesn't work, a backup plan must be in place which Labour described as a "credible threat."

The victims of child abuse in Salvation Army homes spoke about their experiences in the first public hearing in Sydney before the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse for 2014. On Jan 28, the commission began its fifth inquiry into the case. Abuse victims claimed young boys were kept in a cage for days and raped in Salvation Army homes during the 1950s, 60s and 70s. According to revelations in the public hearing, Salvation Army leaders failed to impose discipline o...

The principal at Swanson Primary School in New Zealand has banned playground rules and saw a remarkable decrease of bullying among children. The removal of playground rules was part of an experiment conducted by researchers from Auckland University of Technology and Otago University who were looking for ways to encourage children to engage in active play.

After Western Australia killed its first shark on Australia Day due to its shark culling policy, protesters began removing bait from drum lines placed around the south-west coast. West Australians for Shark Conservation President Ross Weir declared shooting a shark was inhumane. Around 22 shark cull activists were watching the fisherman as they removed bait from the lines to prevent sharks from being caught in the lines.

Fire authorities have issued catastrophic fire warnings in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia that faces another scorching heat wave of up to 45 degrees Celsius. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, a severe heat wave will reach the border between Victoria and NSW on Jan 28. The heatwave will expand to the inland border area and reach Western Australia on Friday, Jan 31.

A man survived a shark attack in New Zealand by stabbing the large creature with his knife then swimming to shore. Although the shark bit James Grant, a doctor, on the leg, it didn't stop him from going to the pub first to have a beer before going to the hospital.

Apple Inc has released its Q1 FY 2014 earnings and surpassed analysts' and its own expectations with $57.6 billion sales with earnings per share of $14.50. The Cupertino-based tech giant announced that the company sold 51 million iPhones, 26 million iPads and 4.8 million Macs. The iPhone and iPad sales for Q1 FY 2014 broke records as Apple claimed they were both quarterly and all-time highs.

Apple Inc is set to release its earnings for Q1 2014 on Jan 27 after the closing bell. In anticipation of Apple CEO Tim Cook's earnings conference call, analysts have predicted that the iPhone and iPad maker will beat expectations. According to Bloomberg's compilation of analyst estimates, Apple Inc's anticipated earnings per share may reach $14 or equal to $57.5 billion in revenues. If analysts turn out to be right, the Q1 FY2014 earnings would be higher than 2012's $54.5 billion. A...

Two boys in New Zealand, both 16 years old, took turns having sex with an underage girl who was intoxicated and nearly "comatose" from alcohol. The boys, who were both charged with rape, believed they didn't rape the girl since there was no violence involved. The "comatose" rape case has alarmed New Zealand as the Labour Party's Women's Affairs described the boys' behaviour towards the act as "deeply concerning."

As Australia celebrates Australia Day, a large shark has been shot dead off the western coast. It is the first shark to be killed since Western Australia was given the signal to go ahead with its shark culling policy. According to local reports, the dead shark was identified as a female tiger shark measuring 10 feet or three metres-long. The tiger shark was caught on the shark lines installed around Western Australia's coast. The first shark was killed off Meelup Beach, near Dunsborough.

Apple Inc devices may not have the biggest market share than Android worldwide but a new report reveals iPhone and iPad owners do more with their gadgets. According to a survey by analytics company Arieso, iPhones and iPads were the most used in downloading data in 2013. The survey does not include data on the iPad Air which was launched after the survey ended.