Foreign Minister Murray McCully says he welcomes today's announcement by the Japanese Government that its whaling fleet will stop whaling in the Southern Ocean and return home.

The 10th Cricket World Cup has been launched following a $40 million opening ceremony in Bangladesh.

India's Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, a man who came to office with a clean reputation, has been forced to deny rumours he is to stand down amid a growing corruption scandal that has engulfed his government.

Activists tailing a Japanese whaling ship say it has turned around and is on course for Japan.

The Japanese whaling fleet appears to have called an early end to its whaling season in Antarctica, a move which conservationists tentatively say could spell an end to whaling in the Southern Ocean.

Travel in India is exciting but not for the faint-hearted. Chris Reed journeys through three regions.

The Silver Ferns are being advised to seek permission to perform the well-known Ka Mate haka.

Here's a story about how to become middle-aged and middle-class - without noticing it.

Keen to impress on Valentine's Day? Knock your beloved's socks off with a classic Gallic dish.

The Chinese company that sparked a fierce national debate last year about foreign investment in farming is ploughing ahead with plans to export millions of cartons of UHT milk from New Zealand to China.

United States news organisation CNN International has released its top 10 places to propose to a loved one on Valentine's Day.

The Thai hotel manager who tried to help three young NZ women with food poisoning has described how the trio were bedridden and vomiting.

The father of a woman who died of poisoning in Thailand has described his last words to her.

It's getting easier for darker skinned women to find makeup that suits, but equal choice is still a work in progress.

Senior Australian MPs from opposite sides of politics have defended Opposition Leader Tony Abbott following edited television footage of him apparently describing the death of an Australian soldier as "shit happens".

The couple have called time on their relationship for a second time, 15 months after they reunited, the 38-year-old actor's representative has confirmed.