SOCIETY

Samsung Electronics had reportedly attempted to smother the report involving a Galaxy S4 in Canada that spontaneously burst into flames while charging. Just a week after YouTube user and Galaxy S4 owner posted a video of the Samsung phone catching fire, the company tried to silence the customer and prevented him from posting any videos about the incident.

Facebook has released a list of places with the most number of check-ins in 2013 with theme parks, sporting arenas and tourist attractions dominating.

U.S. President Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt were photographed moving close together for a quick picture using a mobile phone while Mr Mandela’s memorial service was going on. The “selfie” showing the three world leaders prompted criticism especially in social media for not keeping in tone with the service.

The 2013 Comet Lovejoy makes up for the sky watchers’ disappointment on the disintegration of Comet ISON with its remarkable night display. Have a look at the captured image of Comet Lovejoy (C/2013 R1) and its tail in the Los Angeles Times Science report courtesy of the Subaru Telescope’s Suprime-Cam.

New Zealand's ethnic groups continue to increase in numbers, and the latest report from Statistics New Zealand indicates that there are more ethnic groups now that countries in the world.

Pope Francis emerged as the most talked about person on Facebook for 2013 in a report released by the company itself. The leader of the Roman Catholic church beat other popular personalities like Miley Cyrus and the royal baby, including events like the elections, floods, typhoons and even the Harlem Shake.

Australian activist Trenton Oldfield, who disrupted the Oxford vs. Cambridge boat race in 2012, avoids UK deportation after he told the tribunal that he shouldn't be allowed to return to Australia since it's a "particularly racist country."

A Chinese man jumped to his death inside a mall in China after getting into an intense argument with his girlfriend who just won't give up shopping even after already on their toes for five hours straight.

The 2013 Geminid meteor shower peak this weekend will give the sky watchers an early holiday viewing treat. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) experts suggested in the Red Orbit report that viewers must go out before sunrise and after the moon has set to make the most of the Geminid meteor shower viewing experience.

They made people believe in dreams and hope once again.

Many researchers wonder why despite having amazing vistas and isolated red deserts, Australia still does not have a national space agency of its own.

NASA flight engineer Karen Nyberg is one of the highly deemed female astronauts who became popular during her stay on the International Space Station.

Dayna Morales, the waitress who alleged that an anti-gay family left her a homophobic rant in lieu of a tip on their receipt, has been dismissed from her employment. The former U.S. Marine is apparently also returning the donations she received when her story became viral after it was learned that she did not donate the money to a charity as she claimed she had.

The Climate Council has warned Australia to prepare for more frequent and intense bushfires. The council, which was formerly funded by the Australian government before Prime Minister Tony Abbott scrapped the body, will release its report concerning the risks of bushfires.

While climate skeptics dismiss climate science as nothing more than a fantasy, scientists have used a powerful super computer to map the fictional Middle Earth in J.R.R Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series.

While the Holidays are a fun time, it is also a very expensive time. With all the Christmas gifts, clothes, decors, food and drinks that are bought during this time, fat wallets immediately become thin after just a few visits to the mall. And it doesn't end there because all the Christmas lights hanging in the house and on the Christmas tree uses way too much electricity and increases the electricity bill a hundredfold. So, what can we do about it?

Melbourne Zoo elephant Dokkoon gave birth on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2013 at 2:40 am (AEDT) to a new 130 kg male calf just days after its baby elephant Sanook died while playing with a toy tyre at the zoo on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013.

A new report revealed that one out of four children in New Zealand live in poverty as more children stay in cramped homes. The Child Poverty Monitor also found that one out of six children is surviving without access to basic necessities. The report said the children may be missing out on meals and doctor's visits, and could be sleeping on the floor.

Comet ISON has disappointed the sky watchers after breaking up from its closest flyby to the Sun last November 28. However, the 2013 Comet Lovejoy (C/2013 R1) puts on a fine sky display for viewers this December while making its solar approach.

Many jealous wives or girlfriends often make their partners choose between them and the object of their jealousy, whether it's another person or a thing.

For work-at-home Aussies, participating in The Flying Solo's 2nd Work in the Nude Day was not difficult to do because they had some amount of privacy since they were in the comfort of their houses.

A mocumentary (a mock documentary), featuring a fictional martial arts school in Dubai, was intended to be funny but United Arab Emirates authorities viewed this otherwise.

Warren James Ross accused of murdering two-year-old Tanilla Warrick-Deaves was declared guilty by a jury in the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon. The jury handed down its verdict in the Supreme Court in Sydney after a day-and-a-half of deliberations. In its ruling the jury said that the 30-year-old Mr Ross had relentlessly beaten the two-year-old girl, daughter of his then-girlfriend Donna Deaves, at her Watanobbi home on the NSW central coast in August 2011, leading to her death.

Local police authorities in Chongqing, China are baffled as to what provoked a 10 year old schoolgirl to maul a defenseless 18 month old baby boy inside an elevator, and then throw him off from the balcony at the building's 25th balcony.

The police in Japan have arrested a 44-year-old woman in Sakai near Osaka and charged her for fraudulently obstructing their work, after she made more than 15,000 emergency calls over a period of six months. The police who ruled out a case of mental illness suspect the woman may have been suffering from loneliness.

Reports say one person was stabbed to death and two other injured in a mosque at Dallas in northern Melbourne when a group of elderly men objected to a 22-year-old man trying to get inside the Broadmeadows Turkish Islamic Cultural Centre, where the elderly men and women were meeting.

In just one year, the number of Facebook links to news media sites has increased to an impressive rate of 170 per cent. The dramatic rise of sharing news and current events has provided a key shift in Facebook and how Australian users consume content.

Australia is set to hold the first same-sex marriage ceremonies on Dec. 7 since it was legalised in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Same-sex couples who are planning to get married in Australia on that day may grow frustrated when their unions will be declared invalid by the Australian High Court five days later.

New Zealand is declared by Forbes as the second best country for business in 2013 following Ireland which moved up to the top of the list from sixth place in 2012. Forbes listed New Zealand as the top country for business in 2012.