Vanuatu holds snap election a month after destructive earthquake

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Vanuatu held a snap general election on Thursday after Prime Minister Charlot Salwai’s decision to go to the polls two years early rather than risk a no-confidence vote in his divided coalition government. The election is being held amidst the...

What to know about Vanuatu, the Pacific island nation struggling to recover from a massive quake

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A search expanded on Thursday for those killed or trapped alive by an earthquake in the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, as rescue workers arriving from abroad fanned out through the capital, Port Vila, encountering flattened buildings that had not yet been...

Number of dead and missing still unclear as first aid arrives in quake-hit Pacific nation of Vanuatu

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Amid the havoc wrought by a violent earthquake two days earlier, Ivan Oswald and his staff prepared for lunchtime service Thursday at Nambawan Cafe, on an idyllic stretch of Vanuatu’s waterfront. The menu for the usual lunchtime rush was replaced...

Rescuers dig for survivors of Vanuatu earthquake with no water and unclear death toll

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Vanuatu's capital was without water on Wednesday, a day after reservoirs were destroyed by a violent magnitude 7.3 earthquake that wrought havoc on the South Pacific island nation, with the number of people killed and injured expected to rise. The...

14 dead and hundreds injured in magnitude 7.3 quake in Vanuatu. Some people are trapped in rubble

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A magnitude 7.3 earthquake that struck off Vanuatu killed at least 14 people, injured hundreds more and caused widespread damage across the South Pacific island nation, officials said early Wednesday. Frantic rescue efforts got underway after the...

USGS says magnitude 7.3 earthquake hits near Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — USGS says magnitude 7.3 earthquake hits near Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean.

Hearings are done: Now the wait begins for verdict on closely-watched climate case at UN’s top court

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A lawyer for a small South Pacific island nation told the world’s highest court to heed her warning. “Tuvalu will not go quietly into the rising sea,” Phillipa Webb said, hoping her ominous words this week would make a mark as two weeks of...