Category: Pacific

Australia Increases Climate Finance Commitment to $2 Billion

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that Australia will bypass international bodies to invest directly in its Asia and Pacific partners when it increases its climate finance commitments to $2 billion (US$1.5 billion). Morrison, who is attending COP26 with political leaders from Fiji, Tuvalu, and Palau, said he wants to cut out the red tape and…


Australia Increases Climate Finance Commitment to $2BN

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that Australia will bypass international bodies to invest directly in its Asia and Pacific partners when it increases its climate finance commitments to $2 billion (US$1.5 billion). Morrison, who is attending COP26 with political leaders from Fiji, Tuvalu, and Palau, said he wants to cut out the red tape and…


Kansas City Southern Plans to Accept Canadian Pacific’s $27 Billion Bid

Kansas City Southern said on Sunday it planned to accept Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd’s $27.2 billion cash-and-stock acquisition offer as superior to its $29.6 billion deal to sell itself to Canadian National Railway Ltd. Canadian National now has until the end of Friday to submit a better offer or lose its deal with Kansas City…


Earthquake Shakes Peru’s North Pacific Coast

LIMA, Peru—A magnitude 6.1 earthquake shook the north Pacific coast of Peru on Friday, sending people fleeing their homes, damaging a centuries old church and injuring at least one person. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the earthquake happened at 12:10 p.m. local time, with an epicenter about 5 miles (8 kilometers) east of the…


Strong Alaska Quake Produces Prolonged Shaking, Small Tsunami

PERRYVILLE, Alaska—A powerful earthquake which struck just off Alaska’s southern coast caused prolonged shaking and prompted tsunami warnings that sent people scrambling for shelters. Residents reported only minor damage, but officials said that could change after sunrise and people get a better look. The National Tsunami Warning Center canceled the warnings early Thursday when the…


Alex Gray: The CCP’s Pacific Island Aggression and How the US Coast Guard Can Play a Major Role

Mr. Alexander B. Gray is a senior fellow of the Air Force Personnel Center with expertise in the Pacific Islands and the polar regions. He was most recently the chief of staff of the National Security Council at the White House and the deputy assistant to former President Donald Trump. We discuss how the Chinese…


Cooling Centers Open in US Pacific Northwest Ahead of ‘Life-Threatening Heat’

PORTLAND, Ore.—Cooling centers began opening across the U.S. Pacific Northwest on Friday as local officials warned of “life-threatening heat” in the coming days that could shatter high-temperature records. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued excessive heat warnings and watches across nearly all of Oregon and Washington state, along with parts of California and Idaho, telling…


Cooling Centers Open in Pacific Northwest Ahead of ‘Life-Threatening Heat’

PORTLAND, Ore.—Cooling centers began opening across the U.S. Pacific Northwest on Friday as local officials warned of “life-threatening heat” in the coming days that could shatter high-temperature records. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued excessive heat warnings and watches across nearly all of Oregon and Washington state, along with parts of California and Idaho, telling…


Pacific Forum Leaders Apologise to Micronesia After Leadership Split

The leaders of several Pacific island nations met to mend fences after Micronesia pulled out of the region’s peak body, the Pacific Island Forum (PIF), in February over the selection of its new secretary-general from the Cook Islands. The political dialogue mechanism called the Forum Troika Plus was set up in March to facilitate open…


Thousands of Australian Vaccines Head for Pacific

Australia will soon begin sharing its vaccine stockpile with nations in the Pacific, despite the derailment of its own inoculation plan at a time when hotel quarantine systems are reporting an influx of COVID patients. At least 10,000 Australian-manufactured doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are to be distributed each week to help the country’s neighbours…