WELLINGTON, May 31, 2023 (AFP) – The US Geological Survey on Wednesday reported a 6.2-magnitude earthquake off New Zealand’s southern coast, near the mostly uninhabited Auckland Islands. New Zealand’s GeoNet monitoring agency said the epicentre was 33 kilometres (21 miles) below the earth’s surface. There was no immediate tsunami warning and no reports of damage on the New Zealand mainland. A city council official from Invercargill — the nearest sizable city — said there had […]
Australia and Oceania
US, Microsoft warn Chinese hackers attacking ‘critical’ infrastructure
WASHINGTON, May 25, 2023 (AFP) – State-sponsored Chinese hackers have infiltrated critical US infrastructure networks, the United States, its Western allies and Microsoft said Wednesday while warning that similar espionage attacks could be occurring globally. Microsoft highlighted Guam, a US territory in the Pacific Ocean with a vital military outpost, as one of the targets, but said “malicious” activity had also been detected elsewhere in the United States. The stealthy attack — carried out by […]
Dramatic Sydney blaze consumes seven-storey building
SYDNEY, May 25, 2023 (AFP) – More than 130 firefighters battled towering flames and thick smoke Thursday as a huge blaze consumed an unoccupied seven-storey building in central Sydney. The flames appeared to be dying down as firefighters poured in water from multiple hoses two hours after the fire took hold in the vacant building near the Central Station railway hub. “We’re on top of the fire but it’s still burning,” NSW Fire and Rescue […]
US Government stands by for immediate support to Guam in the wake of Super Typhoon Mawar
HONOLULU (Eagle News) – Experts and other sources have described the latest typhoon to hit Guam as the “strongest storm to hit the territory of over 150,000 people in decades.” According to the territory’s homeland security agency as of 12:00 midnight, May 25, typhoon-force winds from Typhoon Mawar are expected to slowly subside as the center of the storm slowly pulls away from Guam. However, the agency also warned that the residents can still […]
Typhoon Mawar pounds Guam with destructive winds
LOS ANGELES, May 24, 2023 (AFP) – Typhoon Mawar made a slow and brutal pass over the US territory of Guam on Wednesday, knocking out power as ferocious winds smashed windows and storm surges flooded buildings in the worst storm to hit the Pacific military outpost in decades. People on the remote speck of America hunkered down as the eye of the storm passed just north of the island with winds gusting at up to […]
India PM says ‘separatists’ must not harm Australia ties
SYDNEY, Australia, May 24, 2023 (AFP) — Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned Wednesday that “separatist elements” should not be allowed to hurt India-Australia relations, after he was lavished with a rockstar welcome in Sydney. Lured by the world’s most populous market and the promise of a counterweight to a rising China, Australia has batted away questions about India’s treatment of opponents and minorities, suggesting they are domestic issues. Modi appeared to have no such qualms. […]
Guam braces for direct hit from Super Typhoon Mawar
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Super Typhoon Mawar packing potentially catastrophic winds is heading for a direct hit on Guam, a US territory in the Pacific that is a crucial US military outpost. A National Weather Service report said Mawar was intensifying into a Category Five super typhoon with maximum sustained winds of 160 miles per hour, and gusts up to 200 mph. “I am worried for the safety of our people. This is […]
New magnitude 7.1 quake strikes east of New Caledonia
SYDNEY, May 20, 2023 (AFP) – A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Saturday in the Pacific Ocean to the east of New Caledonia, the US Geological Survey said, a day after a major quake hit the same area. The epicentre was 35 kilometres (22 miles) deep and located about 300 kilometres (190 miles) east of the New Caledonian archipelago, it said. “It lasted maybe two seconds, not too big,” said Nancy Jack, manager of the beachfront […]
Tsunami alert lifted after 7.7-magnitude Pacific quake
SYDNEY, May 19, 2023 (AFP) – A tsunami warning in the Pacific has been lifted after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck on Friday, sending many islanders fleeing coastal areas. The quake hit at 0257 GMT, prompting people on multiple South Pacific islands to race to higher ground as sirens warned of possible hazardous waves. “Based on all available data the tsunami threat from this earthquake has now passed,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a […]
At least six killed in New Zealand hostel fire
By Ryland JAMES Agence France-Presse WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — At least six people have been killed in a fire that tore through a four-storey hostel in the early hours of Tuesday in New Zealand’s capital. Towering flames and thick smoke could be seen pouring from the roof of the Loafers Lodge hostel in central Wellington during the night, as 80 firefighters and 20 trucks battled the blaze. Police and emergency services said multiple […]
7.6-magnitude quake rattles Tonga
WELLINGTON, May 11, 2023 (AFP) – A 7.6-magnitude earthquake rattled the Pacific island nation of Tonga in the early hours of Thursday but there were no reports of injuries or damage. The quake struck at 1602 GMT about 100 kilometres (60 miles) off Tonga’s remote volcanic island of Niuatoputapu at a depth of 210 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said. There was no tsunami risk, it said. “We had calls early in the morning […]
Australia unveils biggest defense reform in decades
by Max Blenkin, with Andrew Beatty in Sydney Agence France-Presse CANBERRA, Australia (AFP) — Australia launched its biggest defence shakeup in decades Monday, vowing to turn a military that is “no longer fit for purpose” into a fighting force that could deter China or any would-be foe. Defense Minister Richard Marles unveiled a strategic review that called for a sharp shift toward long-range deterrence — using missiles, submarines and cyber tools to keep adversaries at […]
