The raid on the mega upload headquarters earlier this year seems to have awakened the rebel spirit within Kim Dotcom, Megaupload’s infamous founder. Since his release from jail he has made repeat promises to put “the dinosaur record industry out of business for good” and has announced the release of a website that will provide free music while paying the artists at the same time. Now he’s... 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey New Zealand’s capital will be renamed after the fictional setting of Middle-earth to celebrate the world premiere of the Hobbit saga film. “The Middle of Middle-earth” is Wellington’s new unofficial name for three weeks before and after the premiere. ­The magic name will be reflected on postmarks on letters and the masthead of Wellington’s main... 

New Zealand is to release special commemorative coins depicting characters from JRR Tolkein’s The Hobbit. They are being issued to coincide with the premiere of the Peter Jackson film of the book. The coins will be valued between $25 and $3000. New Zealand has been the setting for all of Peter Jackson’s movies of Tolkein books including the three part Lord of the Rings. The coins will go on sale... 

The initial stage of unprecedented radio telescope has been officially opened in Australia. The project will explore the universe in search of new galaxies, black holes, planets and even intelligent extraterrestrial life – if there is any. In the heart of red desert where man-made radio signals are minimal the AUS$152 million worth telescope will scan space for traces of the beginning of the universe,... 

Think twice the next time you play a video game or surf the Net: ‘Internet-use disorder’ is set to be added to the list of mental illnesses in the worldwide psychiatric manual. Kids are identified as being especially at risk. The international mental health encyclopedia known as the ‘Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders’ (DSM-IV) will include Internet-use disorder as a condition... 

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key apologized to Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom, saying the file-sharing tycoon was spied on illegally, since he was an NZ resident at the time of the surveillance. Key apologized on Thursday following the release of an official report into the New Zealand Government Communications Security Bureau’s (GCSB) surveillance of Dotcom. The FBI and New Zealand Police conducted... 

Genetically engineered wheat contains an enzyme suppressor that, when consumed by humans, could cause permanent liver failure and death. That’s the warning issued today by molecular biologist Jack Heinemann of the University of Canterbury in Australia. Heinemann has published an eye-opening report that details this warning and calls for rigorous scientific testing on animals before this crop is... 

For the first time ever, scientists have given a previously blind woman sight by way of a bionic eye. The Australian-designed implant, which resembles the model worn by Arnie in The Terminator, is likely to transform the lives of millions worldwide. Dianne Ashworth, who is suffering from the incurable condition retinitis pigmentosa, had lost almost all vision when surgeons at the Royal Victorian Eye... 

New Zealanders are moving to Australia in their tens of thousands. Australia is facing a flood of economic refugees. But the big numbers aren’t from the north, they are from the across the Tasman, where Statistics New Zealand yesterday announced the biggest exodus to Australia on record. An extraordinary 53,900 New Zealanders moved to Australia in the year to July – around the entire population... 

Hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets in the Australian city of Sydney to voice their support for the government of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, Press TV reports. Marching through Sydney’s central business district on Sunday, the demonstrators called for no intervention by foreign powers in the Arab state’s internal affairs. They held banners which read, “Let the whole world... 

Employees of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute asked the authorities to increase defense spending. They fear the rapid growth of Asian countries, and even though Australia is now friendly with them, it is time to think about defense. What is happening in the world, if one of the most non-conflict countries in the Southern Hemisphere is preparing for war? Not that long ago, Australian strategists... 

English language schools whose students entered New Zealand on fraudulently obtained visas say they had no way of knowing about the scam. A routine audit by Immigration New Zealand’s Beijing branch last month uncovered 279 fraudulent visas. Of that total, 231 students are still in the country with the visas and authorities are trying to track them down. The scheme involved education advisors... 

Rescuers at the scene of a refugee boat accident near Australia’s Christmas Island. A boat carrying 130 asylum-seekers has capsized near Australia’s Christmas Island in a second such incident this week. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority announced earlier that two merchant vessels had been dispatched to the scene on a rescue operation. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said at least... 

Astronomers have found a rectangular galaxy that bucks the typical spheroidal, disc-like, or lumpy shapes. Astronomers have found a rectangular galaxy in a wide field-of-view image taken with the Japanese Subaru Telescope for Swinburne astrophysicist Dr. Lee Spitler. The unusual cosmic phenomenon was discovered 70 million light years away within a group of 250 galaxies. “In the Universe around us,... 

Hundreds of sheep lying on the Princes Highway after a livestock truck overturned on an overpass It has been raining sheep in Australia after a truck carrying about 400 animals overturned on a highway overpass outside Melbourne. The flock of sheep fell to their deaths on to stunned drivers below, injuring several people. ­The truck crashed above the Princes Highway in southern Australia on Thursday...