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☆ USS Canberra: US commissions first Navy warship in foreign port
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, July 22 (Reuters) - The United States commissioned a warship in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday, the first time a U.S. Navy vessel joined active service at a foreign port, as the two close allies step up their military ties in response to China's expanding regional reach. "Australians can be proud that this ship, designed in Western Australia by local industry and named after HMAS Canberra, is being commissioned here for the first time in the history of the United States Navy," Australian Defence Minister Marles said in a statement. The commissioning of the U.S. ship in Australian waters reflected "our shared commitment to upholding the rules-based order", he added. Under the AUKUS project announced in March, the United States and Britain have agreed to help Australia acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. Before that, in the early 2030s, the United States is supposed to sell Australia three U.S. Virginia class nuclear-powered submarines, with an option for Australia to buy two more.

Persons: Marles, Sam McKeith, Stephen Coates Organizations: SYDNEY, United, U.S . Navy, Royal Australian Navy, U.S, Marine, Sydney Harbour, United States Navy, Australian Defence, Talisman Sabre, Australia, ., Thomson Locations: United States, Sydney, Australia, U.S, Western Australia, China, Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Korea, Tonga, Britain, . Virginia

☆ She’s sent postcards to herself for over 40 years. Here’s what she’s learned
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Francesca Street | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —Debra Dolan was 21 and on her first solo trip when she first sent a postcard to herself. Over the decades, she’s sent hundreds of postcards to herself from trips across the world. “I felt the most free traveling, I felt the most independent traveling, I felt most myself traveling, my most grateful, always, traveling. And I think that’s what the postcards capture.”A life in postcardsDolan says all the postcards she's ever sent herself have arrived. Dolan’s always sent her postcards mid-trip, she never “cheats” and posts them once she’s back home in Canada.

Persons: Debra Dolan, Dolan, ” Dolan, “, ‘ I’ll, ’, –, hadn’t, I’d, ’ ”, Here's Dolan, Debra Dolan “, ”, twentysomething Dolan, she’s, they’ve, Dolan’s, I’ve, – Dolan, ” Debra Dolan Dolan’s, Debbie, Debra, Debra Dolan Dolan Organizations: CNN, CNN Travel, Opera, Coliseum Locations: Canada, Vancouver, Finland, Australia, Amsterdam, Vienna, Helsinki, Santiago, Fiji, Turkey, Rome

CNN —US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to meet with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi on Thursday – the latest in a series of increased high-level interactions between Washington and Beijing. Their meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Jakarta comes less than a month after the two met in Beijing, holding what the top US diplomat called a “candid and constructive” conversation. The Biden administration feels that the US and China are “getting back to normal in the sense of pace of diplomacy,” a senior administration official told CNN this week. Both Blinken and Yellen claimed they had made some progress in efforts to re-establish bilateral communications aimed at responsibly managing the relationship. But right now that is “not being actively considered,” the senior administration official said.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Wang Yi, Qin Gang, Biden, ”, Janet Yellen, John Kerry, Yellen, ” Blinken, “ We’re, –, ” Yellen, they’ve, Blinken’s, Matthew Miller, Miller Organizations: CNN, Chinese Communist Party, China’s, Qin, Reuters, ASEAN, Microsoft, State Department Locations: Washington, Beijing, Jakarta, United States, China, Fiji, Mexico

☆ David Gilmour, Who Brought Fiji’s Water to the Masses, Dies at 91
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Richard Sandomir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The cause was cardiac arrest, said David Roth, a friend and business partner. By the time he bought Wakaya from two business partners in 1987, Mr. Gilmour had built several businesses over 30 years. At the time, he was mourning the death of his only child, Erin Gilmour, who had been murdered in her apartment in Toronto in 1983. He called the island “the last bastion of sanity in the world,” his wife, Jillian (Sweeney) Gilmour, said in a phone interview. There’s an area called Chieftain’s Leap, with soaring cliffs, where peregrine falcons make their nests.”

Persons: David Gilmour, David Roth, Gilmour, Erin Gilmour, Jillian, Sweeney, “ Locations: Canadian, Fiji, Manhattan, South, Toronto

REUTERS/Nathan FrandinoMOUNTAIN VIEW, California, June 26 (Reuters) - Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O) has already tried and failed to bring internet access to rural and remote areas by using high-altitude balloons in the stratosphere. But now, the company is delivering internet service to remote areas by using beams of light. It was initiated in 2016 after attempts at using stratospheric balloons to deliver internet ran into problems due to high costs, company executives said. Taara executives and Bharti Airtel (BRTI.NS), one of India's largest telecommunications and internet providers, told Reuters they are now moving toward larger-scale deployment of the new laser internet technology in India. Bharti Airtel's chief technology officer, Randeep Sekhon, said Taara will also help deliver faster internet service in urban areas in developed countries.

Persons: Nathan, Mahesh Krishnaswamy, Taara, Krishnaswamy, Astro Teller, moonshots, Teller, Bharti, Randeep Sekhon, Jane Lanhee Lee, Nathan Frandino, Kenneth Li, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Bharti Airtel, Reuters, Econet Group, Liquid Telecom, Bluetown, Digicel, Airtel, Sciences, Bharti Airtel's, Google, Thomson Locations: Alphabet's, View , California, U.S, California, India, Australia, Kenya, Fiji, Africa, Pacific, Osur, Chennai, Mountain View

☆ The world’s best airlines for 2023, according to Skytrax
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Maureen O'Hare | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Now, for the fifth time in the accolades’ 23-year history, it’s been named best airline in the prestigious Skytrax World Airline Awards 2023. The Qatar flag carrier bossed it in business class, with wins for World’s Best Business Class, World’s Best Business Class Seat, World’s Best Business Class Lounge (the Al Mourjan lounge at Hamad International Airport), World’s Best Business Class Lounge Dining and Best Airline in the Middle East. Scoot was the World’s Best Long-Haul Low-Cost Airline and Volotea won out in the very competitive Best Low-Cost Airline in Europe category. Garuda Indonesia’s cabin staff were voted the world’s best, Cathay Pacific won World’s Best Inflight Entertainment and Bangkok Airways was once again the World’s Best Regional Airline. Delta Air Lines was named Best Airline in North America, with the Best Airline Staff Service for the region, while Sun Country Airlines was named Best Low-Cost Airline in North America title for the first time Alaska Airlines was North America’s Best Regional Airline.

Persons: it’s, ”, Edward Plaisted, Goh Choon Phong, –, Al, Scoot, Volotea Organizations: CNN, Singapore Airlines, Air and Space Museum, Paris Air, SIA, Qatar Airways –, Japan’s ANA All Nippon Airways, Emirates, Japan Airlines, Qatar, World’s, Hamad International Airport, ANA, World’s Best, Services, Kuwait Airways, AirAsia, Air Canada, Cathay Pacific, Entertainment, Bangkok Airways, . Delta Air Lines, Best Airline Staff Service, Sun Country Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Airlines, Qatar Airways, ANA All Nippon Airways, Turkish Airlines, Air, Cathay, Korean, Hainan Airlines, Int’l Air, Etihad Airways, Iberia, Fiji Airways, Qantas Airways, British Airways, Air New Zealand, Delta Air Lines, Garuda, Thai Airways, Transavia, Southwest Airlines, Vueling, Ryanair, Jetstar Airways, Friendly, Virgin Atlantic Locations: Singapore, Europe, North America, Air France, Garuda Indonesia, Transavia France

☆ Earthquake of magnitude 7.2 strikes near Tonga
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

June 15 (Reuters) - An earthquake of magnitude 7.2 struck near Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean on Friday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The earthquake's epicenter was located about 280 km (174 miles) southwest of Tonga, at a depth of 167.4 km (104 miles), according to USGS. The U.S. Tsunami Warning System said there was no tsunami threat for the U.S. West Coast, British Columbia, or Alaska following the quake. Australia's Bureau Of Meteorology also said there was no tsunami threat to Australia. The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) initially reported a magnitude of 7 for the earthquake near the southern region of the Fiji Islands.

Persons: Akriti Sharma, Sandra Maler Organizations: . Geological Survey, U.S ., Meteorology, Seismological, Thomson Locations: Tonga, U.S, U.S . West Coast , British Columbia, Alaska, Australia, Fiji Islands, Bengaluru

☆ New Zealand and Fiji finalising defence agreement - Fiji PM
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins hold a press conference in Wellington, New Zealand June 7, 2023. REUTERS/Lucy CraymerWELLINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) - New Zealand and Fiji are finalising a defence agreement that will increase engagement between the two countries militaries and help build capacity and skills in the Fiji Defence Force, the Fijian prime minister said on Wednesday. Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka told media in Wellington, where he is meeting senior New Zealand government officials including the prime minister and opposition leader, that the agreement would be finalised next week. “The agreement will allow defence officials to undertake engagement in different areas including capacity building and upskilling and exposure to new technologies interoperability and technical support among other,” he said. In May, the U.S and Papua New Guinea signed a defence cooperation agreement and a maritime surveillance deal.

Persons: Sitiveni Rabuka, Chris Hipkins, Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON, ”, Rabuka, “, ” Hipkins, Lucy Craymer, Michael Perry Organizations: Fiji Prime, Zealand, REUTERS, Fiji Defence Force, Fiji’s, New Zealand, New, U.S, NZ, Thomson Locations: Wellington , New Zealand, New Zealand, Fiji, Wellington, Australia, China, Solomon Islands, U.S, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu

☆ New Oral History Peers Back at Obama, His Era and the Tradeoffs He Made
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The first tranche of interviews being made available does not include those of the former president, first lady or other major recognizable figures from the Obama era. Instead, it is tightly focused on one issue that the researchers deemed vital to his presidency, a wonk’s feast of policy discussion rather than a broader look at Mr. Obama himself or his overall eight years in power. As he sucked down his favorite Fiji water, Mr. Obama would tease scientists and engineers. We don’t need to look at any more of those.”The focus on climate change in the first set of interviews also highlighted the larger trade-offs Mr. Obama made between competing priorities. At one point as he was expending all of his influence to pass the Affordable Care Act, he ruefully explained his priorities to Mr. Chu.

Persons: Obama, “, ”, I’m, Steven Chu, Steve, we’ve, We’ve, ruefully, Chu Organizations: “ Energy Locations: Fiji

☆ Opinion | If You’re Reading This, You’re Probably ‘WEIRD’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( The Ezra Klein Show | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +83 min

You’re probably very weird, and not just for all the obvious reasons you’re thinking of. Because, obviously, there’s going to be some overlap in the curve here. How you’re going to behave with your professor is quite different than how you’re going to behave with your friends. But it’s really kind of faceless, and you’re not really helping anybody you know. I think things are dynamic, and directions are changing, and that sort of thing.

☆ US and Papua New Guinea poised to sign defense pact as Washington, Beijing vie for influence in the Pacific
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The United States and Papua New Guinea are poised to sign a new bilateral defense cooperation agreement – a move that has sparked controversy in the Pacific Island nation and comes as Washington and China jostle for influence in the region. Those concerns were heightened last year after Beijing signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands – and tried, but failed, to win support for a sweeping, regional trade and security communique with Pacific Island nations. “Papua New Guinea does not have enemies but it pays to be prepared. Blinken is expected to meet with leaders of the Pacific Island Forum regional body in Port Moresby on Monday, the forum has said, taking Biden’s place at the gathering. That bid has included opening embassies in the Solomon Islands and Tonga this year, while Biden hosted Pacific Island leaders in Washington for a summit in September and released the first-ever national strategy on engaging the Pacific Islands.

Climate change drove heat in the city to a record-breaking 48C (118F) in 2016. While traditional insurance can take months to pay, with so-called "parametric" insurance there is no need to prove losses. At annual climate talks in Egypt last year, nonprofits urged richer nations to help finance parametric insurance as a way of compensating victims of worsening weather extremes. At the moment, insurance schemes in the developing world are largely subsidized by nonprofit groups, national governments, or wealthy countries. Insurance payouts allow them to buy things like gloves to protect their hands from scorching hot metal tools, or fans to stay cool and avoid heat exhaustion.

☆ Magnitude 7.7 quake off New Caledonia triggers tsunami warning in South Pacific
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

View of Ouvea Island, one of the Loyalty Islands, in New Caledonia. Tsunami warnings were issued to countries in the South Pacific on Friday after a 7.7 magnitude struck southeast of the Loyalty Islands in the French territory of New Caledonia. Potential tsunami threats were issued for Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, while Australia's meteorology bureau said there was a threat for Lord Howe Island off its east coast. The United States Geological Survey said the quake hit at a depth of about 38 km (24 miles). New Zealand said it was still assessing if the quake posed any tsunami threats to its coasts.

☆ Six Pacific countries at high risk of debt distress - World Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

To match Feature PACIFIC-JUSTICE/ REUTERS/Lincoln FeastWELLINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - Six Pacific countries are at a high risk of debt distress in part due to government spending to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, the World Bank said in a report on Thursday. Among other countries in the region, Vanuatu is rated at medium risk, while Palau and Nauru’s debt is sustainable, the report noted. The World Bank last month said that Fiji must also take urgent action to reduce its debt burden. Stephen Ndegwa, World Bank Country Director for Papua New Guinea & the Pacific Islands, said reducing debt, strengthening revenue and improving the quality of government spending are critical areas for Pacific countries to address. It also said that Pacific countries should allocate more to social assistance and protection measures.

☆ Pacific meetings, defence pact, to go ahead in Papua without Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Biden had been expected to meet with 18 leaders from the region's main bloc, the Pacific Islands Forum, and sign a defence cooperation agreement with PNG on Monday. PNG Prime Minister James Marape is expected to announce details of the defence pact with the United States on Thursday, his office told Reuters. Fiji said Pacific leaders would hold discussions with Modi on regional cooperation. The chairman of the Pacific Islands Forum, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, said the regional meeting had originally been organised between the Pacific countries and India, and his plans to travel to PNG were unchanged. Biden will arrange another summit of Pacific island leaders this year after the disappointment caused by his cancellation of the PNG visit, his national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Wednesday.

☆ 'He'll do anything to come for you': Bang Bang, the tattoo artist to stars like Rihanna and Justin Bieber, is a controlling, vindictive boss, ex-employees say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Melkorka Licea | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

Yet some former Bang Bang employees said that McCurdy's meticulously curated image as a thoughtful progressive in a rough-and-tumble industry wasn't much more than good PR. At Bang Bang, "they just woke-wash everything," one former employee said. This kind of behavior extended to other Bang Bang employees. Ganser, the Bang Bang manager, also sent Wang a text comparing her behavior to her father's, who was in prison. Photo by Gotham/GC ImagesNearly a decade after opening the first Bang Bang shop, McCurdy still sees himself as a trailblazer.

Hong Kong CNN —A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the South Pacific on Friday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, triggering a tsunami warning for nearby nations including Vanuatu, Fiji and Kiribati. The US National Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami alert for coasts located within 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) of the epicenter which lay between Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Tsunami waves reaching up to 1 meter are possible along some coasts of Vanuatu, according to the US National Tsunami Warning Center, downgrading an earlier assessment that said waves could be 3 meters high. Smaller waves below 0.3 meters could be expected in Fiji, Kiribati and New Zealand’s remote Kermadec Islands, the warning center added. New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency tweeted that it is assessing whether the quake “poses any tsunami threat to New Zealand.”The quake was earlier reported to be at 7.7-magnitude but has since been revised up.

☆ Wellness travel is rising among a particularly weary group of travelers — parents
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Monica Pitrelli | Morgan Awyong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

But a new survey shows parents increasingly want in on a trend that isn't often aimed at families: wellness travel. The data showed an emerging picture of family travel — one in which parents may be starting to prioritize their own needs alongside those of their children. Traveling for physical health is up eight points among parents since last year, said Lindsey Roeschke, travel and hospitality analyst at Morning Consult. Planning a wellness family vacationThough some wellness resorts only allow adults, places like The Farm at San Benito welcome guests of all ages. Planning your own wellness tripRather than a resort stay, parents can plan their own wellness trips based on their interests.

☆ Exclusive: Biden to sign defence pact in Papua New Guinea, with eyes on China
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Washington is seeking to deter Pacific island nations, which span 40 million kilometres of ocean, from security ties with China, a rising concern amid tensions over Taiwan. Biden will visit PNG capital Port Moresby on May 22 on his way to a summit of the Quad countries - the United States, Japan, India and Australia - in Sydney, the White House has confirmed. There he will meet 18 Pacific island leaders. Biden's meeting in person with Pacific leaders is seen in the region as a major step in restoring trust. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was told by Pacific leaders in Fiji last year: "We have felt at times, to borrow an American term, like a flyover country.

☆ Hurricanes of Data: The Tiny Craft Mapping Superstorms at Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Porter Fox | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +35 min

The Tiny Craft Mapping Superstorms at Sea Shortly after dawn on Sept. 30, 2021, Richard Jenkins watched a Category 4 hurricane overrun his life’s work. That August, a sister ship, SD 1031, successfully entered Tropical Storm Henri, but only in its early stages. Hurricane research, modeling and forecasting requires many terabytes of data for every square mile the storm passes through, including vitally important sea-level data from inside a storm. The next day, the depression was upgraded to a tropical storm and officially given the name Sam. And four months later, Tropical Storm Megi killed more than 150, wiped out several villages with landslides and displaced more than a million people.

☆ Savea ties Super Rugby try-scoring record but Drua stun Canes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

May 6 (Reuters) - Julian Savea crossed twice to equal Israel Folau's Super Rugby record of 60 tries but it was not enough to stop the Fijian Drua adding the Wellington Hurricanes to their list of victims in Suva on Saturday. A noisy crowd at HFC Bank Stadium erupted in delight as replacement back Kemu Valetini kicked two penalties in the last five minutes to give the Drua a 27-24 win, a fourth victory in their second season in Super Rugby Pacific. "The Drua came out to play and they played the whole 80 and put us under a lot of pressure ... Flanker Du'Plessis Kirifi then gave the Hurricanes a 24-14 lead with a converted try under the posts but the Drua would not lie down. Savea, who was playing in his 150th Super Rugby match in his final season with the Hurricanes, was still appreciative of having matched former Wallabies fullback Folau's tally.

☆ Fiji must 'tread a very fine balance' in its economic recovery, says deputy prime minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFiji must 'tread a very fine balance' in its economic recovery, says deputy prime ministerBiman Prasad, Fiji's deputy prime minister and finance minister, says that's because it doesn't want to "engage in a massive fiscal consolidation strategy and disrupt the growth that we are experiencing."

☆ Fiji's former attorney general taken into custody - police
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, May 1 (Reuters) - Fiji's former attorney general, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, who is also general secretary of the Pacific island nation's main opposition party Fiji First, was taken into custody on Monday after being charged with abuse of office, police said. The charge relates to a complaint lodged by an election official in February, Fiji police said in a statement. "Mr Sayed-Khaiyum remains in custody and will be produced in the Suva Magistrates Court tomorrow," the statement said. The criminal charge was approved by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, it added. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside of office hours.

☆ Biden to make historic visit to Papua New Guinea next month - PNG officials
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, April 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will briefly visit Papua New Guinea (PNG) on May 22, officials from the Pacific island nation said on Thursday, as Washington seeks to counter growing Chinese influence in the strategically important region. A Pacific islands source told Reuters that Biden was also expected to meet with more than a dozen Pacific islands leaders during his May visit. Modi arrives in PNG on May 21 for a two-day visit en-route to Australia, the island nation's government has previously announced. The U.S. embassy in Canberra referred questions to the White House. The White House National Security Council did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

☆ Koroibete wins second Australia player of the year award
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, April 24 (Reuters) - Marika Koroibete won the 2022 John Eales Medal as Australia's player of the year on Monday despite missing the end of year tour to Europe because of his club commitments in Japan. The powerful Fiji-born winger came out top in a ballot of Wallabies players ahead of loose forward Rob Valetini after some outstanding performances during the July series against England and the Rugby Championship. Koroibete, who also took the award in 2019, joined George Smith, Nathan Sharpe, Michael Hooper, Israel Folau and David Pocock as multiple winners of the accolade. "It's been a dream come true to represent the Wallabies and I hope I can continue to contribute to the team in what's a massive year ahead." Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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