Australia & Pacific
Prince William in Australia: local media hails Prince Charming
Within hours of stepping off the plane, the Australian media declared that Prince William had charmed Sydney.
Conservationists File Piracy Claim Against Whalers
SYDNEY (AP) -- A conservationist group that lost one of its ships in a clash with Japanese whalers off Antarctica has filed a piracy complaint in the Netherlands against the captain and crew of the whaling vessel, one of the group's leaders said S...
Anti-whaling boat sinks after Southern Ocean collision
The anti-whaling boat that was sliced in two after a collision with a Japanese whaling ship has sunk after overnight salvage attempts failed.
Space-age anti-whaling powerboat 'sliced in two' by Japan whalers
SYDNEY — A space-age powerboat sent to harass Japanese whalers was rammed and sliced in two in its very first clash on Wednesday, activists said, dramatically escalating hostilities in icy Antarctic seas.
1,000 homeless in Solomon Islands after quake
Landslides and a tsunami unleashed by a major earthquake destroyed about 200 houses on one of the Solomon Islands, leaving about one-third of the population homeless, a disaster management official said Tuesday.
At least 500 homes damaged in Solomons quake
HONIARA, Solomon Islands — About 500 homes were damaged or destroyed when a 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocked the Solomon Islands, officials said Monday following a reconnaissance flight over remote islands near the epicentre.
Best Job in World winner Ben Southall stung by deadly jellyfish
Ben Southall, the British winner of the Best Job in the World competition, has discovered that life in paradise can sometimes turn ugly, and rather painful.
More than 125 whales die in New Zealand strandings
NELSON, New Zealand — More than 125 whales have died in two separate strandings in New Zealand, conservation officials said Monday.
Australia PM seeks migrant help
Australia's prime minister has made a personal plea to the Indonesian president to prevent a boatload of Sri Lankan migrants reaching Australia.
Four major quakes strike South Pacific
For the fourth time in less than 11 hours, a major earthquake rocked the South Pacific Ocean near the island nation of Vanuatu on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
Samoa plans mass burial, at least 180 feared dead in tsunami
APIA, Samoa — Samoa is planning a mass burial for victims of the tsunami that devastated the Pacific island earlier this week, the government said, as the death toll from the disaster crept towards 200.
Fresh quake near Tonga, tsunami toll nears 200
Grieving Samoans buried their dead in unmarked beachside graves on Thursday as the gruesome task of recovering bodies from villages destroyed by four tsunamis continued and an aftershock shook the region.
Samoas' tsunami death toll rises to 113
Tsunamis sparked by an early morning earthquake have devastated the Pacific nations of Samoa and American Samoa killing more than at least 113 people, including two Australians, and leaving at least 1,000 displaced.
Commonwealth suspends Fiji over democracy
SUVA, Fiji — Fiji's military-led government said Wednesday its suspension from the 53-nation Commonwealth is the price it must pay for its reform of the country's political system, and insisted that it will not hold elections before 2014.
Plugging Australian oil leak could take weeks
PERTH, Australia — Plugging a leak at an offshore drilling rig that has caused an oil slick off Australia will take weeks, the operator said Sunday, though officials said there was little threat of environmental damage.
Australia's fire system 'flawed'
An official investigation into Australia's wildfires earlier this year has called for sweeping changes to the warning system and evacuation policy.
PORT MORESBY — Recovery workers on Thursday retrieved the first three bodies after a plane carrying foreign tourists crashed into a Papua New Guinea mountain, killing all 13 on board.
Papua New Guinea Plane Crash Passengers Found Dead
All 13 people on a plane that crashed in Papua New Guinea have been found dead. On board were nine Australians, including a father and a daughter, one Japanese and three Papua New Guineans.
Tourist plane with 13 aboard goes missing in Papua New Guinea
A charter plane carrying 13 people, including nine Australians, to a popular tourist site in Papua New Guinea has vanished on approach to an airport today, the airline and Australia's foreign minister said.
87 now presumed dead in Tonga ferry sinking
The number of people feared dead after a ferry capsized and sank off Tonga rose to 87 Saturday, 21 more than previously thought, police in Tonga said.