New Zealand

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Brits Planned Ships Made of Ice During WWII

And New Zealand tested underwater 'Tsunami Bombs'

(Newser) - Winston Churchill was so afraid of Nazi submarines targeting supply ships during WWII that he flirted with building aircraft carriers out of sheer ice, New Scientist reports. Knowing Britain could starve without US supplies, he approved a test project aimed at delivering 2,000-foot-long ice ships with 40-foot hulls that...

Shoddy Design Blamed for NZ Quake Deaths

 1 Shoddy Building 
 Killed 115 in 
 NZ Quake 
NEW REPORT
Dec 10, 2012 1:27 AM CST

1 Shoddy Building Killed 115 in NZ Quake

Two-thirds of deaths were in building that should never have gone up: report

(Newser) - Almost two-thirds of the deaths in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake happened in a building that should never have been approved, according to a New Zealand government-ordered report. The collapse of the CTV building killed 115 of the quake's 185 victims, and the report found that the engineer who designed...

Most, Least Corrupt Nations
 Most, Least 
 Corrupt Nations 
Dec 5, 2012 12:41 PM CST

Most, Least Corrupt Nations

North Korea, Afghanistan, Somalia fare worst in annual rankings

(Newser) - Surprise, surprise: North Korea is perceived as highly corrupt, according to Transparency International's annual rankings . The group gave 176 nations a score from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). Here's a look at some of the findings:
  • Afghanistan and Somalia tied North Korea for last place, each
...

Obama Attends East Asia Summit Amid Sea Feud

China at center of multiple territorial disputes

(Newser) - President Obama is in Cambodia today, meeting with East Asian leaders amid a contentious territorial dispute over the South China Sea . Speaking publicly, neither Obama nor Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao responded to reporters' shouted questions about the tensions, the BBC reports. Instead, Obama referred to a "cooperative and constructive...

NZ &#39;Mount Doom&#39; Set to Erupt
 'Mount Doom' Set to Erupt 
Nov 20, 2012 2:47 AM CST

'Mount Doom' Set to Erupt

'Lord of the Rings ' volcano could disrupt 'Hobbit ' premiere

(Newser) - Temperatures are fluctuating wildly at one of two volcanoes Peter Jackson used as "Mount Doom" in his Lord of the Rings trilogy, and scientists believe an eruption at Mount Ruapehu on New Zealand's North Island could happen any day. Ruapehu is the country's largest active volcano and...

Cops Foil Horse Manure Attack on Prince Charles

New Zealander, 76: 'I would have done it'

(Newser) - Prince Charles avoided a stinky fate during a visit to New Zealand: Police nabbed an elderly man who admitted plans to hurl horse manure at the British royal. Sam Bacanov, 76, whom police called "a known anti-royalist," told reporters he had mixed manure with water to make it...

Scientists Spot Earth&#39;s Rarest Whale for 1st Time
 Scientists Spot 
 Earth's Rarest Whale 
 for 1st Time 
in case you missed it
Nov 10, 2012 12:50 PM CST

Scientists Spot Earth's Rarest Whale for 1st Time

2 spade-toothed beaked whales beach selves in New Zealand

(Newser) - Scientists have come face-to-face with the rarest whale on the planet. Two spade-toothed beaked whales beached themselves in New Zealand in 2010, and a new paper describes researchers' identification and analysis of the creatures. "Up until now, all we have known about the spade-toothed beaked whale was from three...

New Zealand Bans Mike Tyson
 New Zealand Bans Mike Tyson 
Oct 3, 2012 3:15 AM CDT

New Zealand Bans Mike Tyson

Visa revoked over rape conviction

(Newser) - Mike Tyson isn't going to be allowed into the country whose Maori people inspired his facial tattoo. The former boxing champ and convicted rapist had been due to visit New Zealand next month for an event in Auckland, but his visa was withdrawn after an outcry from women's...

US Ends 26-Year Ban on New Zealand Warships

Panetta pledges closer ties with Kiwis

(Newser) - Leon Panetta has patched up a Reagan-era rift between the US and New Zealand. The defense secretary announced that the US is lifting a ban on Kiwi warships in its ports that has been in place since 1986, reports the BBC . The ban was introduced after New Zealand declared itself...

Huge Mass of Volcanic Rocks Floating off NZ

Scientists say pumice rocks came from underwater volcano

(Newser) - A mass of small volcanic rocks nearly the size of Belgium has been discovered floating off the coast of New Zealand. The stretch of golf-ball-size pumice rocks was first spotted this week by a New Zealand air force plane about 620 miles northeast of Auckland. The rocks stretch for about...

NZ Prostitutes Destroying Street Signs...

With pole dances

(Newser) - It seems that New Zealand's working girls have taken to attracting new customers in a rather creative way: by performing pole dances in the street, using traffic signs as the poles. The result? More than 40 bent, buckled, or otherwise busted street signs near Auckland in the past year...

US Students Survive 9 Days in NZ Bush

Alec Brown, Erica Klintworth stranded by snowstorm that blocked river

(Newser) - Two American students trapped in the New Zealand wilderness by a snowstorm trekked out to safety after surviving their nine-day ordeal by rationing trail mix and warming themselves in hot springs. Alec Brown and Erica Klintworth, both 21, returned to Christchurch today after meeting up with a search team—famished...

Kim Dotcom Accuses FBI of Illegal File-Sharing

Cloned computers sent to the US without approval of NZ authorities

(Newser) - Kim Dotcom, the MegaUpload chief fighting extradition to the US from New Zealand, says the FBI did some illegal file sharing of its own. His lawyer claims agents committed an "illegal act" by sending cloned copies of Dotcom's seized computer to the US via Fedex without a judge'...

Yet Another Quake Hits Christchurch

4.7-magnitude quake rattles NZ city

(Newser) - One of the stronger of the thousands of earthquakes and aftershocks to hit Christchurch since last year's devastating 6.1 quake struck the New Zealand city today. No reports of serious injuries or damage were received after the 4.7 quake, reports the New Zealand Herald . Authorities closed the...

NZ on Boston U Crash: We Tell Students Not to Drive

Officials will step up warnings for international students

(Newser) - Three Boston University students studying in New Zealand were killed on Saturday when the minivan they were driving in careened off a road and crashed. Officials of the New Zealand university hosting the Boston visitors said they strongly discourage such students from driving because of their unfamiliarity with driving along...

3 Boston U Students Die in New Zealand Crash

Another is critically injured

(Newser) - Three Boston University students who were studying in New Zealand were killed today when their minivan crashed. At least five other students from the university were injured in the accident, including one who was in critical condition. The students were traveling in a minivan about 7:30am near the North...

Facebook Tries Charging Users to Promote Posts

Test running in New Zealand only

(Newser) - Want to make sure your friends see your latest uber-important Facebook update? Now you can—if you live in New Zealand and are willing to drop a couple bucks. Facebook is testing a service in the country that allows users to pay between about 40 cents and $2 to highlight...

Coming to New Zealand: $100 Cigarettes?

 Coming to 
 New Zealand: 
 $100 Packs of 
 Cigarettes? 
in case you missed it
Apr 28, 2012 7:12 AM CDT

Coming to New Zealand: $100 Packs of Cigarettes?

Officials think higher prices will cut down on smoking

(Newser) - While the US has been trying to disgust smokers into giving up tobacco , New Zealand has been considering a more direct idea: raising the price of cigarettes to $100 a pack. The Ministry of Health wants a smoke-free NZ by 2025, and the $100 price tag—which would be implemented...

Woman&#39;s Death Blamed on 2 Gallons of Coke a Day
Woman's Death
Blamed on
2 Gallons of
Coke a Day
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 22, 2012 5:39 PM CDT

Woman's Death Blamed on 2 Gallons of Coke a Day

New Zealand family faults company

(Newser) - A 30-year-old New Zealand woman died of a heart attack in 2010, and her death has been linked to her consumption of about 2 gallons of Coca-Cola every day for several years. Natasha Marie Harris consumed about 4,000 calories of regular Coke daily, reports CBS News . "The first...

New Zealand Building $4.1M Cathedral ... From Cardboard

Will be 82-feet high and seat 700

(Newser) - A cathedral made from cardboard. The idea may sound flimsy, but in the earthquake -devastated city of Christchurch, Anglican leaders believe it will deliver both a temporary solution and a statement about the city's recovery. Albeit a pricey one: The plans call for an 82-foot high cathedral constructed with...

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