Tag: French Polynesia

Defying virus, Latvian ocean rower plans next adventure

by Imants LIEPINSH Agence France-Presse RIGA, Latvia (AFP) — After spending 140 days rowing across the ocean without seeing another human being, Latvian adventurer Karlis Bardelis has some valuable tips for those learning to cope with coronavirus lockdowns. Bardelis started his nearly two-year journey in Peru in July 2018, reaching French Polynesia after nearly five months and finishing in Malaysia in June of this year. Along the way, he was rammed by sharks off Papua […]

Hollande acknowledges impact of nuclear testing in Pacific

PAPEETE, France (AFP) — French President Francois Hollande on Monday acknowledged that three decades of nuclear tests in French Polynesia had had “an impact” on health and the environment and promised a review of the victim compensation process. Hollande’s remarks, made on a visit to the French Polynesian capital, are the clearest admission yet of the damage caused by the testing programme. “I recognise that the nuclear tests between 1966 and 1996 in French Polynesia have had […]