Oceania News

Price growth in almost all capital cities in the three months to June has helped the median Australian house price soar almost 11 per cent in just 12 months.

PM Tony Abbott says two of the Australian victims of the MH17 disaster will be transported to the Netherlands this afternoon, but many bodies are still unaccounted for.

Retirement village company Oceania Group has confirmed a possible capital raising after Fairfax published speculation that it could float on the NZX.

A woman has been charged with murder over the stabbing death of a younger woman in a shopping centre car park in Western Australia's Kimberley region.

THE bodies of the victims of the MH17 tragedy will be flown to The Netherlands today as Operation Bring Them Home swings into action.

The Department of Health and LBJ Medical Center officials say they detected an illness outbreak among people on the main island of Tutuila having fever, rash and joint pain in the past two weeks.

BIG FEAT: Tekapo man David Murray stands with the 1959 Piper Pacer he flew across the Tasman Sea.

A SUICIDE bomber hits a military checkpoint in Donetsk as Tony Abbott describes the MH17 disaster as "evidence tampering on an industrial scale".

The palace is releasing special pictures, the Royal Mint is striking a commemorative coin and newspapers are publishing glowing tributes.

About 80 per cent of Australia's exports will go to Asia by 2020 as the region's growing middle class demands high quality food and education and looks to holiday overseas.

Labour Leader David Cunliffe says a Government he led would invest up to $200 million over four years in development projects aimed at resuscitating flagging regional economies.

IMPORTANT MOVE: Labour spokesman for housing Phil Twyford, left, helps Awarua Synergy underfloor insulation team leader Shannan Kapene make a southern home warmer.

New Zealand's climbing community is in awe of the first solo ascent of a difficult South Island peak in Mt Aspiring National Park.

Dutch experts called Monday for a full forensic sweep of the site where Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 went down and told armed separatists guarding rail cars full of victims' bodies in a nearby town the train must be allowed to leave as soon as possible.

See all those languages up there? We translate Global Voices stories to make the world's citizen media available to everyone.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott speaks alongside foreign minister Julie Bishop at a press conference in Sydney on July 19, 2014.

Migrant numbers are soaring - with annual arrivals to New Zealand topping 100,000 for the first time in the 12 months to June.

SOME of the more macabre elements of the town's history are being showcased at the Smithy Heritage Centre, in Eccleston.

A wife writes: "Yesterday morning, while in a taxi on the way to the airport, Husband sends a message to my work email which is connected to my phone.

Friends remember: Shaliza Dewa, Johannes van den Hende and their children Piers, Marnix and Margaux, who were all killed on flight MH17.