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by Giff Johnson Agence France Presse MAJURO, Marshall Islands (AFP) — Pacific islands that were key World War II battlegrounds but largely neglected for the past 30 years are now back in the spotlight as China challenges traditional US supremacy in the region. Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, whose territories stretch thousands of kilometres across the Pacific, have been the recipients of largesse by Washington, Tokyo and other allied powers, […]
SUVA, Fiji (AFP) — Fiji on Monday challenged Australia to do more on climate change ahead of a regional summit of Pacific nations this week, warning Canberra’s reliance on coal posed an “existential threat” to low-lying islands. Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said Australia should recognize the threat climate change poses to Pacific island nations. “I appeal to Australia to do everything possible to achieve a rapid transition from coal to energy sources that do […]
(Eagle News)–There is no tsunami threat to the Philippines. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology made the remark after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck southeast of Loyalty Islands in New Caledonia in the Pacific on Sunday, May 19. PHIVOLCS said the quake hit at 9:23 a.m. It had a depth of focus of 14 kilometers.
PORT VILA, Vanuatu (AFP) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it was vital “to save the Pacific to save the world” as he wrapped up his brief South Pacific tour in Vanuatu on Saturday. Guterres has spent the past week in the region pushing for urgent action ahead of a UN summit in September billed as a last chance to prevent irreversible climate change. According to the UN, Vanuatu is the world’s most at-risk […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — A male passenger’s body has been found inside an airliner that ditched and sank in a lagoon last week after missing the runway on a remote Pacific island, officials said. The Air Niugini Boeing 737-800 was attempting to land at Weno airport in Micronesia on Friday morning but fell short of the runway and splashed down in Chuuk lagoon. The airline initially said all 35 passengers and 12 crew aboard […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Passengers were forced to swim for their lives Friday when an airliner ditched into a lagoon after missing the runway on a remote Pacific island and immediately began sinking. The Air Niugini Boeing 737 was attempting to land at Weno airport in Micronesia but ended up half submerged in Chuuk lagoon after the accident on Friday morning. Pictures and video posted on social media showed locals scrambling in small boats […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Amnesty International joined 80 other NGOs on Thursday in urging Pacific leaders demand the closure of an Australian-funded immigration detention camp on Nauru when they meet in the tiny island nation next week. The 18-nation Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) will hold its annual summit in Nauru from September 3-6, with delegates meeting just a few kilometres from the camp dubbed “Australia’s Guantanamo”. It houses asylum-seekers who have tried to reach […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) – Powerful storms have forced a Frenchman attempting to become the first person to swim cross the Pacific Ocean to suspend his bid, nearly two months into the mammoth undertaking. Ben Lecomte set off on June 5 from Choshi in Japan, planning to swim across the ocean in six to eight months. But after nearly two months swimming eight hours a day, severe storms forced the 51-year-old to head back to port […]
TONGA (Eagle News) — The residents of Tonga are still picking up the pieces after Cyclone Gita smashed through their South Pacific country last month. Other countries were also affected such as New Zealand, Fiji, New Caledonia, Samoa, Vanuatu, Queensland, and American Samoa. The cyclone directly hit the capital city of Nuku’alofa, recording winds of 230 km/h (145 mph), the highest since record of storms in Tonga began. Cyclone Gita was the most severe cyclone […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Many children and teenagers are among those missing after a ferry sank in the remote Pacific, official figures have revealed, with victims described as their region’s “youngest and brightest.” Radio Kiribati reported late Wednesday that a council survey of Nonouti island, where the ferry departed on January 18, showed there were 88 people aboard. It said they included 10 children of primary age and 13 high school students. The youngsters […]
KOROR, Palau (AFP) — The crew of a Japanese trawler found capsized in remote Pacific waters have been located safe and well in the Philippines, the US Coast Guard said Thursday. The abandoned Gyotoku Maru No.1 was found drifting 350 kilometers (220 miles) southwest of Palau on Monday after it sent an SOS message. With no word on the fate of the seven-man crew — five Indonesians and two Japanese — a major international search effort was launched. […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — A strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck near the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu Thursday but there was no tsunami warning or any immediate reports of damage, officials said. The US Geological Survey said the quake hit about 143 kilometers (88 miles) southeast of the capital Port Vila at 7:09am local time (2009 GMT Wednesday) at a depth of 200 kilometres. The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no […]
