Latest Noumea News

New Caledonia marks anniversary of French colonization with tight security and simmering tensions

Sep. 24, 2024 16:08 PM EDT

NOUMEA, New Caledonia (AP) — New Caledonia marked the anniversary on Tuesday of France's takeover of the Pacific archipelago with tight security and simmering tensions between the pro-independence Indigenous Kanak people and the white settler communities loyal to Paris. The 171st...

2 killed in restive New Caledonia during a French police operation

Sep. 19, 2024 06:34 AM EDT

PARIS (AP) — Two people have been killed in New Caledonia during a police operation to apprehend activists suspected of involvement in deadly unrest over attempts by Paris to amend the French constitution and change voting lists in the French Pacific territory, according to French media reports...

What is the Pacific Islands Forum? How a summit for the world's tiniest nations became a global draw

Aug. 27, 2024 03:17 AM EDT

NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga (AP) — As leaders of Pacific nations were welcomed to their annual meeting in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, on Monday, they were greeted first by torrential rain and then by an earthquake. The magnitude 6.9 quake was deep enough not to cause damage, but the long shudder...