Tag Archives: pacific

The Philippines said it was sending a vessel to Sabina Shoal to replace a coast guard ship that returned to port on Sunday after a five-month deployment at the contested feature in the South China Sea, in a swap that would likely irk China. Beijing had demanded the Philippines withdraw the 318-foot coast guard vessel Teresa Magbanua it claimed was …

A missing woman was found eaten alive by a massive python after locals cut her body out of the snake in Indonesia. Farida, 45, went missing on Thursday night. Her body was discovered inside the reticulated python Friday by her husband and residents of Kalempang village in South Sulawesi province, a local official said, according to AFP. The search for …

The Philippine coast guard on Friday, June 7, accused its Chinese counterpart of blocking efforts to evacuate a sick member of its armed forces in the South China Sea, calling its actions “barbaric and inhumane”. The incident, which the Philippines said took place last month, involved a member of a small contingent of marines posted to guard the BRP Sierra …

A prominent Samoan author and playright has been charged with murdering the aunt of Tulsi Gabbard, the former Hawaii Democratic Congresswoman, according to multiple reports. Papalii Sia Figiel, 57, was arrested Sunday following the death in Samoa of 78-year-old Caroline Sinaviana-Gabbard, a retired former University of Hawaii professor. The victim was stabbed multiple times and beaten with a hammer, local …

Traumatized survivors of the massive landslide estimated to have buried hundreds in Papua New Guinea have been slow to move to safer ground as the South Pacific island nation’s authorities prepare to use heavy machinery to clear debris and risk triggering another landslide, officials said Thursday. Government and army geotechnical experts on Thursday were examining the stability of the massive …

The French prosecutor in New Caledonia said authorities have opened an investigation into unrest that has left seven people dead and significant destruction in the Pacific archipelago with decades of tensions between those seeking independence and those loyal to France. The violence flared on May 13 in response to attempts to amend the French Constitution and change voting lists in …

As economies in Asia and the Pacific slow and grow older, countries need to do more to ensure that workers get the education, training and social safety nets needed to raise incomes and ensure social equity, a United Nations report said Tuesday. The report by the International Labor Organization said that growth in productivity has slowed, hurting incomes and undermining …

The French prosecutor for New Caledonia says a police officer has been taken into custody after shooting and killing a man when the officer was set upon by a group of about 15 people. Yves Dupas says the officer is believed to have fired one shot, killing a 48-year-old man on Friday afternoon. It’s the seventh shooting death reported since …

Police shot dead a man in riot-hit New Caledonia on Friday evening, a day after President Emmanuel Macron visited to the French-ruled Pacific island to try to calm tensions, local media said, citing the local prosecutor’s office. The police officer used his gun as he and a colleague were attacked by a group of around 15 people before the shot …

Hundreds are feared dead after a massive landslide leveled dozens of homes and buried families alive in a remote village in northern Papua New Guinea early on Friday, a resident said. More than 50 homes, many with people still asleep inside, were buried when the landslide hit Kaokalam village around 3 a.m., villager Ninga Role told Reuters by phone. The …