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PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (AFP) — At least 18 people have been killed in Papua New Guinea’s highlands, a region plagued by violence between local tribes and placed under “emergency status” by Prime Minister James Marape on Thursday. Local police chief George Kakas said 13 men and five women were killed near the mining town of Porgera on Tuesday, with the victims apparently hacked to death with machetes and axes. The rugged jungles of […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Inflation in New Zealand rose to a 32-year high of 7.3 percent on-year in the second quarter, according to official figures released Monday. The main drivers were rising fuel, food and housing costs, said Stats NZ, putting inflation at a level last seen in 1990. “Supply chain issues, labor costs, and higher demand have continued to push up the cost of building a new house,” said Jason Attewell of Stats […]
SUVA, Fiji (AFP) — Solomon Islands will not host a foreign military base because the nation would be targeted for “military strikes”, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said Thursday, as Pacific leaders grappled with China’s security ambitions. The Solomons leader is attending the Pacific Islands Forum summit, the first gathering of the bloc since his country signed a security agreement with China — details of which have not been made public. China’s security pact with the […]
SUVA, Fiji (AFP) — The United States launched a major push into the Pacific Wednesday as it seeks to hold off China’s advances in the region, with Vice President Kamala Harris announcing the opening of new embassies in Tonga and Kiribati at a key regional summit. Washington will also appoint its first-ever envoy to the Pacific, Harris said as she pledged $600 million in funding for the region in her address to the Pacific Islands […]
BALI, Indonesia (AFP) — Australia will press China to end trade “blockages” Friday as the two nations seek to defrost icy relations with their first foreign ministers’ meeting since 2019. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she aimed to “stabilize” relations when she meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi later in the day on the sidelines of a Group of 20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia. “We all know we have our differences. There are challenges […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — The UN Security Council has failed in its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Thursday, describing Moscow’s role as “morally bankrupt.” Ardern, who has long argued against the Security Council veto powers held by the five permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, reiterated her call for reform of the body. The UN’s “failure” over Ukraine was caused by Russia’s position […]
by Andrew Leeson Agence France-Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Rain-swollen rivers spilled mud-brown waters across swathes of Sydney on Tuesday, swamping homes and roads while forcing thousands to flee. Emergency services have now instructed about 50,000 people to evacuate or to prepare to escape the rising waters in New South Wales, officials said. Emergency workers carried out 22 flood rescues in Sydney overnight, they said, with the support of 100 army troops deployed to the […]
WELLINGTON (AFP) – China accused New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Friday of making “wrong and thus regrettable” statements that were unhelpful for keeping the two countries’ relationship “on the right track”. Ardern attended the NATO leaders’ summit in Spain this week, saying in a speech Wednesday that China had become “more assertive and more willing to challenge international rules and norms”. The Chinese embassy in Wellington hit back Friday that it had taken […]
SYDNEY , Australia (AFP) — Australia raised the minimum wage by over five percent on Thursday, a slower-than-inflation increase as prices for basic goods soar. The Fair Work Commission set the new minimum rate at Aus$21.38 (US$14.75) an hour, a 5.2 percent increase. Inflation is forecast to hit seven percent by the end of the year, according to central bank governor Philip Lowe. Food, fuel and other costs have been pushed higher by Russia’s invasion […]
Fiji faces its biggest threat from “devastating climate change” rather than geopolitical tensions, the country’s defence minister warned Sunday at a high-level security summit. This weekend’s Shangri-La Dialogue, which brings together defence ministers from Asia and around the world, has been dominated by the United States and China sparring over Taiwan. It also comes as Beijing jostles with Western powers for influence over Pacific island nations. But Fijian Defence Minister Inia Seruiratu sought instead to focus […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s prime minister joked he would huddle with top officials Thursday to discuss the soaring cost of lettuce and local KFCs’ decision to replace the verdant leaf with a cabbage mix on their Zinger Burgers. Dubbing the fast-food chain’s decision “crazy”, center-left leader Anthony Albanese quipped the situation had become a national “crisis”. Lettuce prices have soared by as much as 300 percent in Australian cities thanks to recent flooding and […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia insisted Wednesday that its patrol plane was in international airspace when a Chinese warplane intercepted it and released a cloud of small aluminium strips, known as chaff. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese responded curtly when asked about a spat between Canberra and Beijing over the May 26 incident, which Australia’s government has described as “very dangerous”. “This incident occurred in international airspace. Full stop,” Albanese told a news conference. China’s […]
