Results for Pacific

Just as tourists were starting to return to Guam, the island has reported a record number of new COVID cases, a surge that is filling up hospital beds and dashing hopes of an economic recovery despite a successful vaccination campaign.

New York Times reporting: As the Summer Olympics stumbled to an unsteady start on Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee took a big step toward crystallizing its long-term future by voting to officially select Brisbane, Australia, as host of the Summer Games in 2032.

New York Times reporting: More than 50,000 New Zealanders have flocked home during the pandemic, offering the country a rare opportunity to win back some of its best and brightest. The question is how long the edge will last. The Ardern government has announced no specific measures aimed at retaining citizens who return. But it is using its border shutdown as a moment to “reset” its immigration priorities, saying last week that it would loosen controls for wealthy investors while curtailing temporary visas for the migrants the country has long relied on as citizens moved away.

New York Times reporting: When Australian officials announced last week that the country was unlikely to fully reopen its borders until mid-2022 because of the coronavirus, the backlash immediately began building. Critics warned that Australia risked becoming a “hermit nation.” Members of the Australian diaspora who had been struggling to return home for months saw it as another blow. The announcement drew dire warnings from business, legal and academic leaders. But polls show that keeping the borders shut is a popular idea.

New York Times reporting: First the houses and cars vanished. Fences, driveways and the other remaining markers of suburban life followed. Now, only stretches of green remain — an eerie memorial to two earthquakes that leveled Christchurch, New Zealand’s second-largest city, 10 years ago. The undulating expanse, which begins 2 miles from downtown Christchurch, was deemed uninhabitable after the quakes, the second of which killed 185 people on Feb. 22, 2011. The 8,000 properties it encompassed were bought by the government and razed, the remnants swept away.

New York Times reporting: In a major escalation, Google threatened Friday to make its search engine unavailable in Australia if the government approved legislation that would force tech companies to pay for journalism shared on their platforms. Australia’s assertive challenge to the online giants has placed it in the vanguard of a movement to bolster a traditional news media ecosystem that America’s trillion-dollar tech companies threaten with extinction. For Google and Facebook, their intense pushback has become a focal point of their global efforts to limit regulation, as governments around the world look to rein them in. Here’s a summary of the fight... By Damien Cave

New York Times reporting: An unexpected contest over the 2021 presidency of the U.N. Human Rights Council is pitting some of the United Nations' most powerful member states against tiny Pacific Island nations and is playing out as U.N. members jockey for influence in anticipation of a new, more engaged U.S. administration.