Wellington - New Zealanders began voting Saturday in a general election that could see the Labour-led coalition, which has governed for the last nine years, defeated by its conservative opponents, according to opinion polls.

Labour's hopes of surviving a considerable swing to the right in voter sentiment depend on the polling of minor parties, who could prop it up in another coalition if they return enough people to the parliament of 120 to 123 members.

Wellington  - A new bride died in a car crash on the way home from her wedding reception in Auckland, police said Friday.

Yan Liu, 26, a Chinese immigrant, suffered fatal head injuries Thursday night when the car she was travelling in hit a traffic island in the suburb of Mount Wellington after the reception in a Chinese restaurant.

Her husband was not travelling in the same vehicle. Police said a man and a woman who were also in the car were in serious condition in hospital but the male driver had been discharged.

Yan Liu moved to New Zealand three years ago and worked at an early child-care centre.

Wellington - A new bride died in

Wellington - New Zealand's conservative National Party is poised to sweep from power the Labour-led coalition that has governed for nine years, according to election-eve opinion surveys published Friday.

But the polls indicate that up to 1-in-10 voters are still undecided, and New Zealand's proportional representation system, which is designed to ensure minor parties are represented in Parliament, could still produce some surprises in Saturday's general election.

Wellington, November 6 : A new study conducted by Australian researchers suggests that wireless gadgets like cordless phones and baby monitors are safe because they emit "minuscule" levels of radiation.

The researchers associated with the study came to this conclusion after testing the levels of electromagnetic waves in 20 Melbourne homes.

The research project was undertaken after some studies raised questions about health hazards.

Wellington, Nov 6: New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori believes that Australia is the best cricket side in the world despite struggling against Indian in the ongoing Test series.

Vettori rated the Aussies team as the biggest challenge in world cricket, and said Australia remained the topside in the world, “particularly in their own conditions”.

New Zealand is preparing to head across the Tasman next week for a four-day warm-up match against New South Wales in Sydney before tests in Brisbane and Adelaide.