Australia and Oceania

Thousands of Fijians shelter in evacuation centres from floods, landslides

NAVUA DISTRICT, Fiji (Reuters) — Thousands of Fijians sheltered in evacuation centers and tents on Tuesday (December 20) as heavy rain and floods cut roads, covered sugarcane fields and caused landslides, said the South Pacific nation’s disaster office. Across the archipelago nation 1,716 people sought refuge in 46 evacuation centres and another 1,817 were living in tents, said the national disaster management office director, Akapusi Tuifagalele, in a video statement posted on the Fijian government’s […]

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Solomons escape serious damage after powerful 7.7 quake

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A major 7.7-magnitude quake struck Friday off the Solomon Islands triggering severe shaking and a tsunami warning, but there were no reports of any serious damage, officials said. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially said there could be possible “widespread, hazardous” tsunami waves, forcing villagers to flee to higher ground. But within three hours the warning was downgraded after the threat passed without major incident. The epicenter of the quake, which […]

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Magnitude 6 quake hits Castlepoint, New Zealand

  (Eagle News) — A magnitude 6 quake hit New Zealand, with its epicenter located east northeast of Castlepoint, a small beachside town on the Wairarapa coast of the Wellington Region, according to the US Geological Survey.  (USGS) The quake was measured with a depth of 10 kilometers. It occurred at 12:19 p.m. New Zealand time, or 7:19 a.m. Philippine time.

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Two French tourists die at Great Barrier Reef

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Two French tourists died Wednesday while snorkelling at a popular tourist spot on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, authorities said. The man and woman, reportedly in their 60s, were spotted floating in the water at Michaelmas Cay, a reef-ringed sand island near Cairns, by staff working for dive company Passions of Paradise, chief executive Scotty Garden said. “The Passions of Paradise lookout on the beach noticed a man floating in […]

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New Zealand begins evacuating tourists from quake-hit town

WOODEND, New Zealand (Reuters) — New Zealand emergency services and defense personnel began evacuating hundreds of tourists and residents from the South Island town of Kaikoura on Tuesday (November 15), after a powerful earthquake hit the region, killing two people. The 7.8-magnitude tremor struck just after midnight on Sunday (November 13), destroying farm homesteads, sending glass and masonry toppling from high rises in the capital Wellington and cutting road and rail links throughout the northeast of […]

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Australia seeks to allay fears Trump could nix refugee deal

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull sought to allay concerns Monday that a deal to send refugees from remote Pacific camps to the United States could be scuppered by President-elect Donald Trump. Canberra on Sunday announced a “one-off” arrangement that would see an unspecified number of the 1,600 boatpeople held in offshore processing centres on Nauru and in Papua New Guinea settled in the US. But with the political novice, who campaigned […]

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MH370 plunged rapidly, not ready for landing: new report

  SYDNEY, Australia | AFP | — Flight MH370 was likely out of control when it plunged into the ocean with its wing flaps not prepared for landing, a new report said Wednesday, casting doubt on theories a pilot was still in charge. Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014 carrying 239 passengers and crew. The report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau found the plane’s […]

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Australia, Indonesia mull joint South China Sea patrols

    SYDNEY, Australia | AFP | — Australia is considering joint patrols with Indonesia in the disputed South China Sea, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Tuesday, in a move set to irk Beijing. The possibility was raised by Jakarta during meetings between Bishop and Defence Minister Marise Payne and Indonesian officials including Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu last week. “We have agreed to explore options to increase maritime cooperation and of course that would include […]

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Australia, Indonesia mull joint South China Sea patrols

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia is considering joint patrols with Indonesia in the disputed South China Sea, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Tuesday, in a move set to irk Beijing. The possibility was raised by Jakarta during meetings between Bishop and Defence Minister Marise Payne and Indonesian officials including Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu last week. “We have agreed to explore options to increase maritime cooperation and of course that would include coordinated activities in the […]

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Deal struck for world’s biggest marine reserve in Antarctica

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP)– The world’s largest marine reserve aimed at protecting the pristine wilderness of Antarctica will be created after agreement was finally reached Friday with Russia dropping its long-held opposition. The deal, sealed by the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) at an annual meeting in Hobart after years of negotiations, will see a massive US and New Zealand-backed marine protected area established in the Ross Sea. It will cover more than 1.55 […]

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Shark attacks surfer in Australia

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A man escaped with cuts to his leg Monday after a shark crashed into his board while he was surfing near popular tourist spot Byron Bay in eastern Australia. Beaches in the area, some 800 kilometres (500 miles) north of Sydney, were closed for at least 24 hours after the early morning encounter, with the victim taken to hospital by a friend. “It is believed that the shark emerged from under […]

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6.9-magnitude quake hits off PNG: USGS

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A strong 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck off Papua New Guinea on Monday, officials said, but no Pacific-wide tsunami warning was issued. The tremor was estimated at a depth of 35 kilometres (22 miles) in the New Britain region of the country, some 418 kilometres northeast of the capital Port Moresby, the United States Geological Survey said. © 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse

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