Category: World » Oceania
Study Adds New Clue To How Last Ice Age Ended
8 Sep 13:41 | World
As the last ice age was ending, about 13,000 years ago, a final blast of cold hit Europe, and for a thousand years or more, it felt like the ice age had returned. But scientists say oddly, despite bitter cold winters in the north, Antarctica was heating up. read more »
Asteroids Will Make Earth Near Miss Wednesday Says NASA
8 Sep 03:29 | USA News
NASA says two asteroids discovered just three days ago will pass within the moon's distance from Earth on Wednesday, with one coming as close as 49,000km.read more »
No Deaths Following Major New Zealand Earthquake
3 Sep 19:59 | World
No deaths have been reported after a massive earthquake wreaked destruction across New Zealand's third largest city Christchurch.read more »
National Emergency Declared In New Zealand After Christchurch Earthquake
3 Sep 15:37 | World
The New Zealand city of Christchurch has suffered considerable damage following a magnitude 7.4 earthquake in the early hours of Saturday morning.read more »
Massive Earthquake Causes Damage In New Zealand
3 Sep 14:08 | World
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake has struck the South Island of New Zealand causing structural damage to buildings and taking out power.read more »
Airline Passengers In Developing Countries Face 13 Times Risk Of Crash As U.S
1 Sep 13:46 | World
Passengers who fly in Developing World countries face 13 times the risk of being killed in an air accident as passengers in the First World, according to a new study.read more »
States Urged To Ratify Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
27 Aug 2010 | World
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging all Member States that have not yet done so to ratify the United Nations-backed treaty banning nuclear tests, saying it is important to build on the momentum made on disarmament and non-proliferation over the past year.read more »
Australia In Political Turmoil After Uncertain Election Outcome
21 Aug 2010 | World
Four independents and a Green MP appear to hold the balance of power in Australian politics after a general election appeared to deliver the nation's first hung parliament since World War II.read more »
Discovery of Possible Earliest Animal Life Pushes Back Fossil Record
18 Aug 2010 | World
Scientists may have discovered in Australia the oldest fossils of animal bodies which push back the clock on the scientific world's thinking regarding when animal life appeared on Earth. read more »
Rare Earthquake Event Caused 2009 Samoa-Tonga Tsunami Disaster
18 Aug 2010 | World
Scientists studying the massive earthquake that struck the South Pacific on September 29, 2009, have found that it actually involved two great earthquakes: an initial one with magnitude 8.1, which then triggered another magnitude 8 earthquake seconds later on a different fault. read more »
Evidence Of New Solar Activity From Observations In New Zealand
13 Aug 2010 | SciTech
Scientists from Boston University's Center for Space Physics (CSP) say they have sub-visual evidence of the onset of a new cycle of solar-terrestrial activity. read more »
Corporal Punishment Of Children Remains Common Worldwide
9 Aug 2010 | World
Spanking has declined in the U.S. since 1975 but nearly 80 percent of preschool children are still disciplined in this fashion, according to three new studies.read more »
Western Junk Food Diet Linked To ADHD
29 Jul 2010 | World
A new study from Perth's Telethon Institute for Child Health Research shows an association between ADHD and a 'Western-style' diet in adolescents. read more »
Scientists Release "Unmistakable" Signs Of A Warming World
28 Jul 2010 | World
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released what it says is "unmistakeable" scientific evidence that our world is warming.read more »
New Zealand Must Improve Indigenous People’s Rights – UN
23 Jul 2010 | World
As “troubling” inequalities persist between Maori and non-Maori, New Zealand must press ahead with efforts to improve the human rights of its indigenous people, a United Nations independent expert said today.read more »
Parliaments Urged To Play Leading Role In Tackling Today’s Crises
19 Jul 2010 | World
The world's elected parliamentarians can play a leading role in tackling some of today’s global crises and challenges, including unconstitutional changes of government and threats to the rule of law, according to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.read more »
South Pacific To Experience Total Eclipse Sunday
10 Jul 2010 | SciTech
The new Moon will pass directly in front of the sun on Sunday July 11th producing a total eclipse over the South Pacific. read more »
Asia-Pacific Nations Agree To Promote Low-Carbon Economic Growth
9 Jul 2010 | World
Government officials and policymakers from Asia and the Pacific have concluded a United Nations-organized meeting by adopting a course of action for environmentally sustainable economic growth, ahead of a key ministerial conference to be held in September in Kazakhstan. read more »
UNESCO Considering Dozens Of New Sites For World Heritage List
6 Jul 2010 | World
For the first time, Kiribati, Marshall Islands and Tajikistan have put forward sites for possible inscription on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).read more »
Global Commuter Pain Study Reveals Traffic Jam Crisis
30 Jun 2010 | World
The daily commute in some of the world's most economically important international cities is longer and more grueling than ever, according to IBM's first global Commuter Pain study released today.read more »
World's Most Expensive Cities Revealed In Latest Mercer Survey
29 Jun 2010 | World
Luanda in Angola is the world’s most expensive city for expatriates, according to the latest Cost of Living Survey from Mercer Consulting, with Tokyo in second position and Ndjamena in Chad in third place. read more »
The G-20 Toronto Summit Declaration
28 Jun 2010 | World
The Group of 20 countries have released a summit declaration which aims to cut deficits by 2013, against the wishes of the United States. Full transcript of the G-20 Toronto Summit Declaration.read more »
Report Says Cannabis Most Popular Drug But Amphetamine-Type Use Rising
24 Jun 2010 | World
Cannabis remains the world's most widely produced and used illicit substance in the world but amphetamine-type stimulants and prescription medications are increasingly becoming the drugs of choice globally, according to a new United Nations report.read more »
Julia Gillard Sworn In As Australia's First Female Prime Minister
23 Jun 2010 | World
Julia Gillard has been sworn in as the first female prime minister of Australia after Kevin Rudd was forced to resign from the top job by his parliamentary colleagues before he had completed his first term in government.read more »
Worst of H1N1 Swine Flu Pandemic May Have Passed: WHO
18 Jun 2010 | World
The World Health Organization says there has been a low resurgence of the H1N1 swine flu virus and the worst of the pandemic may have passed.read more »
Japanese Asteroid Probe Successfully Lands In Australia
13 Jun 2010 | SciTech
A Japanese space probe launched seven years ago to collect dust from an asteroid has successfully returned to earth in the Australian desert.read more »
Books In Homes – Better Education
20 May 2010 | USA News
Parents who have books in the home increase the level of education their children will attain, according to a 20-year study led by Mariah Evans, University of Nevada, Reno associate professor of sociology and resource economics.read more »
Aussie Teen Sails Into History
15 May 2010 | World
The Australian teenage sailor Jessica Watson has finally achieved her dream of becoming the youngest person to sail around the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.read more »
2010-04-16 08:58:06 (Mb 5.0) SOLOMON ISLANDS -8.9 157.9 (29192)
16 Apr 2010 | World
== PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE REPORT == Region: SOLOMON ISLANDSread more »
Link Between Solar Activity And The UK's Cold Winters
15 Apr 2010 | World
Scientists say a link between low solar activity and jet streams over the Atlantic could explain why, despite global warming trends, people in regions North East of the Atlantic Ocean might need to brace themselves for more frequent cold winters in years to come. read more »
BMW Oracle Wins America's Cup
14 Feb 2010 | USA News
The America's Cup is heading back to the US for the first time since 1992 after BMW Oracle Racing beat Swiss holder Alinghi two to nil in the best-of-three series. read more »
New High UN Panel To Spur Climate Change Action
12 Feb 2010 | World
The leaders of the United Kingdom and Ethiopia will head up a new high-level group launched by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon intended to mobilise financing swiftly to help developing countries combat climate change. read more »
More Snow Hits NE US
10 Feb 2010 | World
The north-eastern United States has again been hit by more snow, with the blizzard conditions in Washington DC deemed too hazardous for snow-ploughs. read more »
UNEP Defends IPCC Climate Change Report
6 Feb 2010 | World
The great weight of science still supports the findings in a landmark 2007 report from a United Nations-backed panel of experts that global warming is man-made, the head of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said today following recent attacks from clima read more »
Forum Examines Links Between Flights And Forecasts
3 Feb 2010 | World
With adverse weather causing air traffic delays and aircraft accidents, the United Nations has kicked off a week-long meeting in Hong Kong to examine the link between aviation and climate and look at improving the accuracy of forecasts, especially in ligh read more »
White Christmas Turns Deadly In US
25 Dec 2009 | World
The cold snap that brought snow to the US Midwest for Christmas has turned deadly, with at least 19 people killed by blizzards and freezing temperatures. read more »
US Winter Storm Claims Five Lives
19 Dec 2009 | World
Five people are thought to have been killed in weather related incidents in the north-eastern United States, which has been hit by what some are calling the worst winter storm in a decade. read more »
Australian Opposition Leader Survives Leadership Challenge.
24 Nov 2009 | World
Australian Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull has survived a leadership challenge. read more »
New Zealand Named As Least Corrupt Nation In 2009
18 Nov 2009 | World
Transparency International has named New Zealand as the least corrupt country in the world in 2009, with Somalia coming in as the most corrupt country in the 180 nations examined. read more »
Record High Temperatures Outpace Lows Across U.S.
12 Nov 2009 | SciTech
Daily record high temperatures occurred twice as often as record lows over the last decade across the continental United States, new research shows. read more »
NZ Government Releases Draft Content Licensing Guidelines
27 Aug 2009 | World
In a bold move today the NZ Government released updated licensing guidelines for all data and content produced by government agencies, proposing that all content should be licensed under the Creative Commons "CC BY" license.read more »