New Zealand

A number of strong earthquakes struck New Zealand on Friday, causing rubble to tumble off buildings and sending countless people scrambling for cover.

The 5.8-magnitude quake struck Friday afternoon 16 miles north of Christchurch at a depth of 2.5 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake was followed by a series of sharp aftershocks, including one with a magnitude of 5.3 and a depth of just 1.8 miles.

The city of Christchurch is located on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue an alert. more >>

A shocking new billboard in Auckland, New Zealand, depicts the Virgin Mary holding a positive home pregnancy test.

The "Mary is in the pink," billboard is owned by the St. Matthews-in-the-City Church. In a statement, St. Matthews says the billboard’s intention is to "avoid the sentimental” and “trite,” and "spark thought and conversation."

“It's trying to make people think about Christmas and to then think compassionately and kindly about people in a similar situation," Vicar Glynn Cardy of St. Matthews told local TV station 3 News. "It's about a real pregnancy, a real mother and a real child. It's about real anxiety, courage and hope." more >>

A New Zealand mixed martial artist is leaving the fighting ring to become … a pastor.

Hiriwa "T-Man" Te Rangi, a heavyweight fighting out of Invercargill, New Zealand, will battle in his last professional bout Saturday. Once it's over, the seasoned South Pacific pugilist will leave behind two decades of combat and start training for a new career in ministry.

"If you asked me a year ago that I'd be training to become a pastor, I'd have told them to shove off," Te Rangi told the New Zealand news website, Stuff. "I'm prepared for whatever the big man upstairs has ready for me." more >>

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center canceled within less than an hour its original tsunami warning for The Kermedec Islands, Tonga, and New Zealand Wednesday.

The Honolulu-based center had issued a “non-expanding regional tsunami warning for a part of the pacific” after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake jolted the Kermadec Islands in the South Pacific Tuesday.

In its initial statement, PTWC said that though there was no “destructive tsunami threat to Hawaii” some coastal areas in the state “could experience small non-destructive sea level changes and strong or unusual currents lasting up to several hours.” more >>

A Tsunami warning has been issued for Kermadec Island, Tonga and New Zealand on Wednesday after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook the Kermadec Islands in the South Pacific on Tuesday.

Sources have indicated that another natural disaster was predicted to follow in its footsteps.

The ground-shaking earthquake struck 131 miles of land east of Raoul Island and 571 miles south of Tuku’alofa, Tonga. While New Zealand and surrounding South Pacific areas must rush to make preparations, United States officials are also being mindful of their own borders. more >>

New Zealand was struck by two major earthquakes, with the first hitting 1 p.m. (New Zealand time) Monday followed by four minor earthquakes in the afternoon.

The largest earthquake that hit Christchurch measured a magnitude of 6.0.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker told the New Zealand radio, “Thank God, we had evacuated the whole of red zone; there's been quite clearly a more significant building collapse in there.” more >>