New Zealand

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Icebergs Drift Toward New Zealand

Over 100 floating chunks headed north from Antarctica

(Newser) - A rare flotilla of icebergs is slowly drifting toward New Zealand from Antarctica. Shippers have been warned that more than 100 giant chunks of ice are in the area. Experts believe most of the icebergs will break up before they hit the coast. Enterprising Kiwis are arranging helicopter tours to...

Giant Iceberg Floats Toward NZ
 Giant Iceberg 
 Floats Toward NZ 
SO LONG, ANTARCTICA
Nov 13, 2009 2:56 AM CST

Giant Iceberg Floats Toward NZ

Chunk of Antarctica spotted unusually far north

(Newser) - A gigantic iceberg drifting unusually far north has been spotted by Australian researchers off an island south of Tasmania. The chunk of ice, 2,300 feet long and 1,000 feet deep, is floating toward New Zealand and could pose a danger to shipping when it splits into smaller chunks....

Shark Babies Born in Bite
 Shark Babies Born in Bite 
Nov 11, 2009 3:30 AM CST

Shark Babies Born in Bite

Aquarium stunned by surprise birth

(Newser) - Never mind nurse sharks: A New Zealand aquarium appears to be home to a midwife shark. A shark there bit another in the midsection, effectively giving it a Caesarean section and causing four babies to swim out of the wound as shocked visitors looked on. Staffers found four more babies...

South Pacific Avoids Tsunami After Big Earthquakes

Warning issued after off Vanuatu, canceled after only small wave materializes

(Newser) - Tsunami warnings for a swath of the South Pacific—including American Samoa, Australia and New Zealand—issued after a pair of strong underwater earthquakes have been canceled after only a small wave materialized. Many residents had already moved to higher ground after the 7.8 and 7.1 temblors; American...

Post-Quake Tsunami Kills 34 in Samoa
 Post-Quake Tsunami 
 Kills 34 in Samoa 
UPDATED
Sep 29, 2009 6:34 PM CDT

Post-Quake Tsunami Kills 34 in Samoa

8.3-magnitude temblor rattles American Samoa

(Newser) - An 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck the area around American Samoa today, generating a tsunami that killed as many as 34 in the US territory and adjacent Samoa, an independent state. The waves at Pago Pago were 5.1 feet above normal—smaller than originally feared— but tsunami warnings went up...

New Zealand Bird Gobbled Up Humans

40-pound extinct bird was the 'lion' of the skies

(Newser) - A 40-pound bird with a 10-foot-wide wingspan swooped from the sky at 134 mph to feed on large flightless birds and small humans, according to a Maori legend that scientists have now confirmed is likely true. Researchers re-examining bones of the Haast's eagle found that the bird was a hunter,...

Overfishing Plagues Filet-O-Fish's Main Ingredient

New Zealand's hoki center of overfishing controversy

(Newser) - What exactly is the fish in a Filet-O-Fish sandwich? It’s a bug-eyed creature from New Zealand called the hoki, and it is apparently under pressure from overfishing, the New York Times reports. New Zealand—while not specifically citing that cause—has been cutting the allowable catch as conservation groups...

Pig-Hunting Dog Pack Mauls NZ Jogger

(Newser) - A woman needed nine hours of surgery after being attacked by a pack of eight dogs as she jogged on New Zealand's North Island, the BBC reports. She curled into a fetal position during the 15-minute attack, a move doctors say saved her life. The dogs were eventually beaten off...

NZ Woman Rescued From Too-Friendly Dolphin

(Newser) - Moko, the famously friendly dolphin who hangs around the beach in Mahia, New Zealand, nearly accidentally killed a woman yesterday, the Gisborne Herald reports. The woman had been playing with the dolphin, and it refused to let her return to shore. "When I wanted to go back in, he...

Quake Knocks New Zealand a Foot Closer to Australia

(Newser) - There’s nothing like a 7.8 magnitude earthquake to bring two countries together—literally. The temblor that hit New Zealand last week has shoved its southern island about 12 inches closer to Australia, TVNZ reports. That might not sound like much, but considering that New Zealand typically moves about...

Olympian Opens Brothel to Fund 2012 Bid

(Newser) - A New Zealand athlete has opened a brothel to finance his Olympic aspirations, the BBC reports. Logan Campbell just wants to stop asking his parents for money—his Beijing efforts cost $150,000, and he hopes to start training again in 2011 with $300,000 from the “gentleman’s...

New Zealanders Wild & Wooly About Sheep Racing

(Newser) - A crowd of thousands is expected in a New Zealand town this weekend to watch teams of trained sheep race through the streets, the Telegraph reports. The organizer has been stunned by the nation's massive interest in the new sport of sheep racing and in his flock, the "Racing...

Airline Uses Naked Staff for In-Flight Safety Vid

'Bare Essential of Safety' also a viral video hit

(Newser) - After a marketing campaign featuring staff in body-paint facsimiles of their uniforms, Air New Zealand is applying its revealing approach to the in-flight safety video as well, the New Zealand Herald reports. “The Bare Essentials of Safety” aims to recapture the attention of passengers who often ignore the mandatory...

Five Found Guilty in Maori Exorcism Death

Mentally ill woman was drowned in attempt to purge her of evil spirits

(Newser) - Five people who drowned their niece in an attempt to rid her of evil spirits have been found guilty of manslaughter by a New Zealand court, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. The 22-year-old woman, who prosecutors said was mentally ill, died after the group poured water over her face for...

New Zealand Rated Most Peaceful; US 83rd

(Newser) - The Institute for Economics and Peace has released its annual list of the world’s most peaceful countries, Bloomberg reports. The index is based on things like "international security" and "tolerant solidarity." New Zealand is No. 1; the US is No. 83. A sampling:
  1. New Zealand: A
...

Jilted Guy Hides Ring in Twitter Treasure Hunt

Will tweet clues as searchers scour his New Zealand city

(Newser) - What to do when "Em, no" greets your question from bended knee? A New Zealand man who finds himself with a “spare ring” is going to hide it somewhere in the capital city Saturday—and post clues as to its location on a Twitter treasure hunt, the Dominion ...

Polly Steals a Passport
 Polly Steals a Passport 
May 29, 2009 4:55 AM CDT

Polly Steals a Passport

Winged New Zealand thief makes off with Scottish tourist's passport

(Newser) - One of New Zealand's native parrots now has a British passport, the AP reports. The kea, one of a notoriously brazen species of alpine parrots, snatched the brightly colored bag containing the passport from the luggage compartment of a stopped tour bus and flew off into the rainforest with it....

Toddler Buys $20K Digger Online

Girl, 3, wins auction for heavy machinery while parents are sleeping

(Newser) - A tech-savvy New Zealand 3-year-old bought a $20,000 piece of heavy machinery while her parents were sleeping, the Daily Telegraph reports. Pipi Quinland went to the family computer after waking up early, entered the online auction site TradeMe—her mom had logged on earlier—and won an auction for...

'Accidental Millionaires' May Have Fled NZ for China

Had asked for $6K overdraft; got $6M instead

(Newser) - A New Zealand couple on the lam after they became accidental millionaires may be in China, and an investigator has been dispatched to look for the fugitives, the Rotorua Review reports. Interpol is also on the case. Of the $3.6 million originally transferred into a gas station's account because...

Couple Vanishes After $6M Bank Deposit Error

(Newser) - Police are searching for a New Zealand couple who disappeared after withdrawing a fortune mistakenly credited by their bank to their account. Westpac Bank blamed the $6 million deposit blunder on "human error," and executives want the money back. Unlike the "Bank Error In Your Favor" Monopoly...

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