Pacific

Entertainment 18 hours ago

Zac Efron speaks out after reportedly contracting serious illness while filming series 'Killing Zac Efron'

Actor Zac Efron is speaking out after it was reported that he contracted a serious medical illness while filming a show titled "Killing Zac Efron" in Papua New Guinea just before Christmas. 

World 18 hours ago

Barge with 600 gallons of diesel fuel sinks off Galapagos Islands

A barge containing 600 gallons of diesel fuel sank off the coast of the Galapagos Islands on Sunday after a crane fell onto the vessel while unloading cargo, triggering a potential ecological disaster, officials said.

Politics 18 hours ago

American Samoans should be recognized as US citizens, federal judge decides

People born in the U.S. territory of American Samoa should be recognized as U.S. citizens, a federal judge in Utah ruled Thursday, in a hard-fought legal battle spanning decades.

World 18 hours ago

New Zealand orders 1,290 square feet of skin for volcano victims, doctor says hospital ‘like a war zone’

New Zealand has ordered 1,290 square feet of skin from the U.S. to treat the dozens of victims suffering severe burns after Monday’s volcanic eruption on White Island as surgeons continue to work around the clock in what has been described as “a war zone.”

World 18 hours ago

New Zealand volcano rescuer says island looked like scene out of 'Chernobyl' as island 'blanketed in ash'

A paramedic involved in the rescue operation when a volcano erupted on an island in New Zealand teeming with tourists said Tuesday the scene resembled something out of HBO's “Chernobyl” miniseries.

World 18 hours ago

New Zealand volcano explosion leaves American couple with severe burns, death toll rises to 6

An American couple spending their honeymoon in a cruise in New Zealand are among those who were seriously burned when a volcano erupted on an island filled with tourists on Monday, as the death toll keeps rising.

World 18 hours ago

New Zealand volcano eruption leaves 'no signs of life' on island

Authorities scrambling to search for survivors after a volcanic island in New Zealand erupted said Monday that aerial searches have revealed "no signs of life" since the eruption.

World 18 hours ago

New Zealand volcano erupts, at least 5 dead, rescuers can't access island

A volcano on a small New Zealand island frequented by tourists erupted Monday, killing at least five and created conditions that prevented any rescuers from accessing the island, authorities said.

World 18 hours ago

New Zealand PM Ardern seeks to prevent Christchurch trial from being platform for hate

New Zealand’s prime minister said she will do what she can to prevent the man accused of attacking two Christchurch mosques and killing 51 Muslim worshipers from using his upcoming trial to promote his white supremacist views.

Travel 18 hours ago

Rental house suffers $50G in damage during party: 'All the windows of the house had been smashed'

The party is over for one house renter.

World 18 hours ago

Bougainville in the Pacific could become world’s newest nation

Residents of a Pacific archipelago started voting in a historic referendum Saturday that could lead to the establishment of the world’s newest nation.

World 18 hours ago

Grace Millane murder trial: jury finds New Zealand man guilty

A New Zealand man who strangled a British backpacker and hid her body inside a suitcase was found guilty of her murder on Friday, local reports say.

Travel 18 hours ago

Qantas passengers stuck in sweltering heat for hours after being diverted to military base

Passengers say they were stuck on a sweltering plane for hours after their flight was diverted.

World 18 hours ago

Manus Island refugee who wrote book via WhatsApp leaves detention center after six years

A Kurdish Iranian refugee who wrote an award-winning book via WhatsApp from inside the offshore Australian detention center where he'd been marooned for six years, finally left the island this week, vowing to "never go back."

World 18 hours ago

Cirque du Soleil co-founder detained for allegedly growing cannabis on private South Pacific island

The co-founder of the global circus company Cirque du Soleil has been detained in French Polynesia on drug trafficking charges for allegedly growing marijuana on his private island.

World 18 hours ago

New Zealand 'OK boomer' lawmaker, 25, accused of ageism after quip goes viral

A 25-year-old New Zealand lawmaker has been accused of ageism after she responded “OK boomer” to an older colleague who allegedly heckled her during a debate on climate change.

World 18 hours ago

Rare purebred dingo pup dropped by eagle in Australian family's backyard, sanctuary says

A young, stray puppy believed to have been dropped from the sky and into the backyard of an Australian family's property was actually a rare purebred dingo — an endangered wild dog breed native to Down Under.

World 18 hours ago

Australian police find $210M worth of meth hidden inside sriracha bottles

Police in Australia have arrested four men in connection with the $210 million worth of methylamphetamine found hidden inside hundreds of bottles of sriracha in a cargo container imported from the United States. 

World 18 hours ago

Shark in Australia bites tourist's foot off before returning to maul another person, officials say

A tourist snorkeling on Australia's Great Barrier Reef had his foot bitten off by a shark Tuesday before the predator turned around and mauled another person in his group, officials say.

World 18 hours ago

Arrests made after American lawyer serving as Micronesia's assistant AG shot dead returning home from run

Several suspects have reportedly been arrested in connection with the killing of an American working in the Pacific nation of Micronesia who was shot and killed earlier this month after coming home from a run.

World 18 hours ago

Australia's Uluru scaled by final climbers before ban on sacred site goes into effect

Nature seemed to be siding with indigenous Australians' demand for Uluru to be respected as a sacred site on Friday when high winds threatened to prematurely end the generations-old tradition of climbing the sandstone monolith.

Opinion 18 hours ago

Walter Borneman: 75 years ago, brave American troops honored a US commitment and changed history

It is worth remembering that the sanctity of America’s word was once inviolate.

World 18 hours ago

American lawyer serving as Micronesia's assistant AG shot dead while returning home from run

An American lawyer working in the Pacific nation of Micronesia was fatally shot while coming from a run with her dog, her friends said, just shortly before she planned to return home to the U.S.

World 18 hours ago

Boa constrictor 'at large' in Australian town, 'freshly shed' skin discovered

Officials in Australia are searching a suburb of Sydney where an adult boa constrictor is believed to be "at large" after "freshly shed" snake skin was discovered last week.

World 18 hours ago

Super Typhoon Hagibis may bring widespread damage across Japan, impact 'lucky' day for weddings

The strongest storm currently on the planet is roaring across the northwestern Pacific Ocean Wednesday as forecasters warn the super typhoon is taking aim at the Tokyo region by this weekend.

World 18 hours ago

Super Typhoon Hagibis intensifies at one of the fastest rates on record, may impact Japan by weekend

An extremely-dangerous storm in the northwestern Pacific Ocean exploded in intensity early Monday morning, ramping up from a tropical storm to a super typhoon with 160 mph in less than a day as forecasters warn the storm may impact Japan by the weekend.

World 18 hours ago

China tightens noose around Taiwan while challenging US primacy

China continued its challenge to U.S. hegemony in the South Pacific when Beijing enticed two of Taiwan’s closest allies into its geopolitical orbit earlier this month.

World 18 hours ago

Kiribati cuts diplomatic ties with Taiwan, second Pacific island nation in a week

The Pacific island nation of Kiribati cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan on Friday, becoming the second country to do so this week and strengthening Beijing's hand.

World 18 hours ago

Shark circles oblivious Australian surfer in drone footage

A surfer in Australia was busy looking for his next wave when a drone user alerted him to a circling shark.

World 18 hours ago

Fire at Australia lab causes 100 containers of cattle semen worth thousands to explode

A building in Australia that houses a cattle breeding laboratory was destroyed by a fire that wiped out more than 100 cryogenic cylinders filled with semen, according to officials.

World 18 hours ago

New Zealand man arrested in ‘witchcraft’ deaths of 5 Fiji family members

A New Zealand man described as a “healer” and “witch doctor” has been charged in the mysterious deaths of five family members in Fiji last month, local police said Sunday.