Latest fromAustralasia

Road death casts shadow over weekend
One person has died after a a car and truck collided north of Auckland. It is the first road death of the long weekend.

Two cases on watchdog's list
New Zealand's financial regulator is probing two possible cases of insider trading and market manipulation, after receiving 15 complaints about such behaviour in the past year.

Kiwi scientists to examine intact colossal squid
Scientists will soon examine an intact colossal squid for the first time in six years.

Police dog bit innocent man relieving himself in carpark
A police dog handler whose animal bit a suspected criminal, who turned out to be an innocent man relieving himself in a car park, has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Drowned man's last texts dismissed
A desperate man managed to send two text messages to his partner after his boat sank, but they were dismissed as a joke.

Te Papa to defrost new colossal squid
Scientists at the Te Papa museum are hoping a colossal squid now in their possession is a male - making an already rare find an extraordinary one.

National gets $500,000 boost
National's election war-chest has been given a half-million dollar boost by the estate of a wealthy Christchurch businessman.

Inside Money: Do-good report shows NZ is 40pc ethical
According to a new report from the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA), ethical investments increased by at least 13 per cent over the year to December 2013.

Plain packaging damages taste - study
Plain packaging makes cigarettes taste worse than branded cigarettes and makes all cigarettes taste the same, new research suggests.

Japan's $212 billion pachinko pastime
The pachinko industry in Japan wants casinos, driven by attendance that has sunk more than 60 per cent since the mid-90s and an uncertain legal status.

BBC rejects Rolf Harris investigation
The BBC explains why it won't investigate Rolf Harris's career at the corporation.

NZ's subsidies of coal and rail nothing like Australia's
Australian state governments spent A$17.6 billion on subsidies for mineral and fossil fuel industries over six years, including A$8 billion to help transport coal.

Aussie foils RBA as growth rivals kiwi, pound
Australia is forecast to be among the fastest-growing economies this year, making it harder for the central bank to convince currency investors it won't raise interest rates.