Australia and Oceania

Quake rattles New Zealand as Harry and Meghan visit

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP )– A 6.1 magnitude earthquake rattled parts of central New Zealand Tuesday, where British royals Meghan and Harry are on tour, but officials said it caused no major damage. The quake was felt in Wellington during a session of parliament, prompting lawmakers to stop deliberations and seek refuge as a precaution. There was no tsunami threat and the quake was not strongly felt in Auckland, where the touring royals continued with […]

INC holds Aid to Humanity in Papua New Guinea as part of Oct. 28 Worldwide Aid to Fight Poverty

  The Iglesia Ni Cristo conducted an Aid to Humanity program in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, giving food packs to hundreds of residents there as part of its global efforts to fight poverty. The event on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018 was done in various parts of the world.  INC members moved as one in helping their fellowmen as part of their commitment to help those in need.

Prince Harry, Meghan get traditional Maori welcome in Wellington, receive rock star reception

  WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Prince Harry and Meghan arrived in Wellington Sunday to a traditional Maori welcome, an official reception disrupted by a fire alarm and a rock star reception during a public walkabout. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are on the last leg of a 16-day, four-nation tour which was timed to coincide with the 2018 Invictus Games in Sydney. They flew in from Sydney on a Royal New Zealand Air […]

Australian PM gives national apology to child sex abuse victims

CANBERRA, Australia (AFP) — Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison Monday issued an emotive apology to children who suffered sexual abuse, saying the state had failed to protect them from “evil dark” crimes committed over decades. “This was done by Australians to Australians, enemies in our midst, enemies in our midst,” Morrison told a parliamentary chamber in a televised speech, his voice trembling with emotion. “As a nation, we failed them, we forsook them, and that will […]

Royals Harry and Meghan go barefoot on Bondi

  by Andrew BEATTY Agence France Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — British royals Harry and Meghan kicked off their shoes and donned tropical garlands Friday as they hit Sydney’s famed Bondi beach for the latest stop on their Australian tour. Expectant Meghan put on a summer dress and set aside her high heels, while Harry ditched his usual suit for chinos as the couple lapped up cheers from Australian fans and enjoyed Bondi’s surf. Despite […]

Australia mulling embassy move to Jerusalem: PM

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia is considering moving its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Tuesday, following the lead of US President Donald Trump. Morrison called a press conference to say he was “open-minded” to proposals to formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move his nation’s embassy to the holy city, a sharp break with the policy of successive Australian governments for decades. “We’re committed […]

UPDATED: Tsunami threat as 7.0-magnitude quake hits Papua New Guinea

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A major 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Papua New Guinea’s New Britain island on Thursday, triggering a tsunami warning. Hazardous tsunami waves were forecast for some coasts, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. Tsunami waves were forecast to be less than 0.3 metres (one foot) high for the coasts of PNG and Solomon Islands, it said, adding that wave amplitudes could vary between regions. A spokesman for PNG’s National Disaster Management Office in Port […]

Body found inside plane days after it ditched into Pacific lagoon

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 […]

10 Filipinos among 47 passengers, crew rescued from plane that crashed at sea off Micronesia

    By Alfred Acenas Eagle News Service EBC Hawaii Bureau (Eagle News) – Ten Filipinos were among the 47 passengers and crew members rescued after the plane they were riding in, Air Niugini Flight 73, crashed into the sea short of the runway of the international airport in Weno, Chuuk in the Western Pacific nation of Micronesia on Friday. The Boeing 737 aircraft hit the lagoon at 9:30am local time (11:30am Philippine time). A […]

Plane ditches into Pacific lagoon

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 […]

Chairman ousted as Australia’s public TV hit by politics scandal

  by Andrew Beatty Agence France Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s much-loved public broadcaster scrambled to safeguard its hard-won reputation for impartiality Thursday, forcing out a chairman accused of intervening in news coverage to please the government. Top executive Justin Milne told the ABC he would step down, after the institution’s board held crisis talks in Sydney and the government announced an inquiry into his actions. According to leaked emails, Milne unsuccessfully pressed for […]

New Zealand PM makes UN history with first baby

by Catherine Triomphe Agence France Presse UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — New Zealand’s prime minister has been proclaimed a history maker for taking “first baby” — daughter Neve — into the United Nations General Assembly hall, shaking up what is still a boys’ club of world leaders. Photographs of Jacinda Ardern, 38, kissing and bouncing her three-month-old in the main hall at the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit on the eve of the General Assembly […]