Sydney - Farms are being bought up on Sydney's western fringes and turned into housing estates. Most locals don't like it.

Some of those upset at the encroachment of Australia's largest city on their traditional lands have legitimate concerns. The greenery is disappearing, the extra traffic is disruptive, the semblance of country life is lost.

Others just fear strangers. The new families often come from the suburbs where Muslim immigrants congregate - and bring with them demands for mosques and Islamic schools.

Wellington - Single women have a problem finding a husband or partner in New Zealand - they outnumber men.

There are 35,000 more women in the prime marrying age group of 20 to 45, according to Statistics New Zealand and the situation is so bad that a 32-year-old Kiwi woman has as much chance of finding a partner her age as an 82-year-old.

Melbourne, Nov 2 : Although the ‘art’ called ‘shopping’ has no ‘science’ behind it, a mathematician has come up with the prefect formula for spending spree.

Roger Bird’s algebraic formula takes in certain factors, which include time constraints, the number of shoppers in the group and the amount of spending money, to calculate the best conditions for a shopping trip.

The researcher from Bradford Education Authority, in Britain, devised the formula based on results of a shopping centre survey of 1000 people.

As per Bird''s findings, the perfect excursion involved a visit to several clothing stores located close to each other between 9am and 11am on a Saturday, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Sydney - As study after study has shown, more money, either for countries or for individuals, doesn't make for more happiness. 

What does affect our sense of wellbeing, according to researchers in Australia, is disparity in income. 

"Income doesn't seem to be affecting people's happiness, but comparative income does," said Satya Paul, an economist at the University of Western Sydney. "We compare ourselves to our peer group - sex, education, age - and if someone does better then our happiness declines." 

Professor Paul tracked the income of over 8,500 Australians in the four years to 2005 and found no correlation between the rise in incomes and a rise in happiness. 

Munich - The ski pistes this year again will be lit up by colour. Skiers and snowboarders wearing the latest fashion will be sporting bright colours and their outfits will include elements borrowed from street clothing. 

In addition to striking, ski suits in uniform solid colours, patterns in plaid, comic strip design and photographs that dot the snow scene colourfully are set to hit stores this season. The designers seem to be looking back; for some, they are reminiscent of the 1980s.