Wellington  - New Zealand's stock exchange lost 1.3 billion New Zealand dollars (881 million US dollars) of valuation Tuesday after a US congressional rejection of a plan to bail out banks.

The NZX-50 closed down 3.7 per cent on a 113-point fall.

New Zealand's stock exchange was the first to open after the vote in the US House of Representatives.

Finance minister Michael Cullen and opposition National Party leader John Key said they expected the US Congress to soon approve a restructured bail-out plan.

Cullen told Radio New Zealand Tuesday that further delay would weaken the supply of credit.

Wellington, Sept 29 : How a man''s face can make a woman go weak in her knees is a secret that many want to uncover, and now Australian researchers have discovered the genes behind men''s attraction quotient.

After conducting tests on more than 70 Aussie blokes, University of Western Australia researchers found that women like the look of men with a lot of diversity in their immune system genes.

The men in the study were judged to have more average facial features - not too big or not too small - a characteristic humans find appealing.

Lead researcher Hanne Lie claimed that her results supported the idea that standards of beauty are not arbitrary.

Wellington - China's contaminated milk scandal has cost the world's largest dairy exporter, Fonterra Cooperative Group, 139 million New Zealand dollars (95 million US dollars), the company said Wednesday.

Chairman Henry van der Heyden revealed the loss at a press conference in New Zealand's largest city Auckland, saying he was shocked by media reports from China that Fonterra's partner, Sanlu Group, might have received complaints of sick children as early as December.

"I would be absolutely disgusted and appalled if information was held back," van der Heyden said. "What has happened here is a criminal event."

Wellington  - The family of a woman who died after a power company disconnected her oxygen machine intends to sue for compensation, according to reports Tuesday.

Folole Muliaga, 44, had been receiving oxygen support at her home in Mangere, a suburb in New Zealand's largest city of Auckland, when her power was cut in May 2007.

Meridian Energy claimed the woman had not paid her bill of 168.4 New Zealand dollars (115 US dollars).

A coroner's report released midday Tuesday attributed her death to the cessation of the oxygen machine and associated stress.

Muliaga family spokesman Brenden Sheehan told the New Zealand Herald website that the family would "instruct solicitors to explore all legal avenues."

Wellington, Sept 23 : Music can prove to be a saviour for dementia patients, who have lost the ability to interact with their partner due to memory loss, according to Australian researchers.

Dr Felicity Baker, a senior lecturer from the University of Queensland (UQ) School of Music, said that dementia patients usually experience short-term memory loss, which proves to be a blow to their interaction with their partner, thus harming their relationship.

However, the research team has claimed that a song from their youth could stir memories they thought were lost forever, and get them talking again.

Wellington, Sept 21 : The 1972’s iconic book ‘The Joy Of Sex’ which for the first time brought explicit sexual discussion to the mainstream audience, is back again with a far more rewarding read.

The book written by Alex Comfort is back in a new edition revised and updated by the British sexologist and relationship psychologist, Susan Quilliam, including new information on the clitoris and female orgasm, not to mention sex during pregnancy and the female libido.