Oceania News

Intelligence agencies in Australia will receive an unexpected funding boost to counter what they see as a growing risk of terrorist attacks emanating from the Middle East.

A man suffered a heart attack and died after a heavy drinking session during which he had a bucket of ice poured over his head as part of a social media game.

A woman who is in hospital on Christmas Island after attempting suicide was returned to the offshore detention centre against the advice of mental health professionals after being transferred for treatment in Australia.

He could probably engineer a boat from a piece of string and a tin can if he really wanted, but MacGyver has chosen to fly into New Zealand in October.

Poorly paid crews aboard three South Korean fishing boats working New Zealand waters for below the minimum wage are to go to the Employment Court claiming $6.6 million.

Former Australian prime minister John Howard meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday.

And in Auckland more than 2900 homes were still without power at 7pm, and the number continued to fall as crews worked.

The latest NAB residential property index found while house price growth eased between April and June, so did interest from overseas buyers.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott will be hoping Thursday's pending repeal of the carbon tax will leave the issue "dead, buried and cremated", much like a previous contested policy, WorkChoices.

From left: Mr Brian Norman, of New South Wales, Miss Gwen Munro, of Victoria, Miss Joyce Nielson, of Wellington and Mr Colin Tapley of Dunedin.

The Duke of Edinburgh laid a wreath at the stone during an hour-long dedication service on Wednesday that was also attended by NSW Governor Dame Marie Bashir.

Christchurch taxis have topped the list as the most expensive in the world when it comes to trips from the airport to the city, according to new research.

A dozen mothers in an asylum-seeker camp have reportedly attempted suicide so their children can be settled in Australia, but Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Wednesday said he would not be morally blackmailed.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has stood on the red dirt of the Pilbara and seen for the first time the iron ore his nation turns into steel.

Medical officer of health Dr Anita Bell said 95 cases had been confirmed in the Waikato since the outbreak began in June.

A search and rescue operation for a man who vanished from a cruise ship near Vanuatu has been suspended despite the failure to locate the missing team member.

NZ media consumption is still pretty traditional, despite a big push to digital, says new Colmar Brunton research.

A kayaker attempting the first solo crossing across the Tasman has drifted further away from the Taranaki coast overnight as rough seas and weather have forced him to "hunker down" in his vessel.

The New Zealander killed by a United States drone strike in Yemen was the subject of terrorism-related investigations, Australian Federal Police documents show.

A hermit crab walks across sands exposed at low-tide on Bikeman Islet, located off South Tarawa in the central Pacific island nation of Kiribati May 25, 2013.