<gu-island name="KeyEventsCarousel" priority="feature" deferuntil="visible" props="{"keyEvents":[{"id":"654a8bb38f08a667a2c26df5","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" Optus’ network is suffering a major, apparently national blackout this morning, leaving people unable to make calls. ","elementId":"d10f9e19-3c3a-4913-b0fe-040a6e830f67"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" The company’s website says: “Our engineers are currently investigating a network fault that is impacting Optus Mobile & Fixed customers.” ","elementId":"460898d4-4704-4aba-9fd8-b8f6c84db35b"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" On social media, people in multiple capital cities, from Sydney to Perth, are complaining about the outage. ","elementId":"a2dea91f-b047-4744-9157-77f2c8c27e8c"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" Their social media rep has replied, saying: “We’re aware of an issue impacting connections for some Optus mobile and fixed customers. We understand connectivity is important and are…
Tag: Pacific islands
Pacific Islands Forum: China-US rivalry takes centre stage as Solomon Islands deepens ties with Beijing
Pacific island leaders are descending on the Cook Islands for the region’s most important annual political gathering, with the talks likely to be dominated by the climate crisis and growing US-China rivalry. The Pacific Islands Forum (Pif) is an 18-member grouping of 16 Pacific nations, including Australia and New Zealand, plus two French territories. This year, Solomon Islands – which has drawn closer to China since signing a security agreement in 2022 – is reported to be sending a delegation led by the foreign minister, Jeremiah Manele, not the prime…
Australia’s support to Pacific surges as China focuses on ‘friendly’ states, aid map shows
Australia dramatically increased its overall support to the Pacific in 2021, while Beijing is targeting its development financing to “the most China-friendly Pacific island states”, the latest Lowy Institute Pacific Aid Map shows. The map, released on Tuesday, also revealed that at a time of elevated debt sustainability risks in the Pacific, Australia has become the leading source of loans and contributed to a surge in infrastructure support. “Australia looks set to become the region’s dominant infrastructure financier, having committed an additional $780m in new projects,” the Lowy Institute research…
US vows to support ‘free media’ in Pacific as concern over China influence grows
Regional media has emerged as a new front in the contest between the US and China in the Pacific, as Washington said it will support “free media” while warning of the dangers of Beijing’s efforts to manipulate information around the world. During a visit to countries in the Indo-Pacific in October, the US under secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, Elizabeth Allen, said Washington was “prioritising the support of independent media” across the region. Speaking to the Guardian in Sydney, Allen said the support would take “different forms’’ and…
Aukus will ‘get done’ despite jitters in Congress, Biden tells Albanese at White House meeting
Joe Biden has played down congressional jitters over the Aukus nuclear-powered submarine deal and has revealed he assured Xi Jinping that the countries involved are not aiming to “surround China”. The US president welcomed the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, to the White House and insisted he was “confident that we’re going to be able to get the money for Aukus because it’s overwhelmingly in our interest”. “So the question is not if, but when,” Biden said during a joint press conference with Albanese in the rose garden on Wednesday…
Australia politics live: no vote came from ‘grievance camp’, Labor MP says; trade minister to urge China to review wine tariffs
From 1h ago No vote came from ‘grievance camp’, Labor MP says Marion Scrymgour: With the failure of the referendum, we are stuck with a Constitution built on a deliberate plan for exclusion and discrimination by way of race, which still retains a race power rather than a mechanism for recognising the special relationship the commonwealth government must have with its First People as a result of the way this continent was colonised. That is something which we are all going to have to accept and do our best to…
Pacific divided on Biden’s charm offensive with calls for more ‘results on the ground’
US president Joe Biden’s latest bid to woo Pacific nations has been broadly welcomed by the region’s leaders and analysts, while some called for more to be done to support their economies and sought “results on the ground” over pledges. Biden hosted a group of Pacific leaders at a summit in Washington this week, after a similar meeting a year earlier, in an effort widely seen as a push against China’s growing presence in the region. Kaliopate Tavola, an ex-minister in Fiji and the country’s former ambassador to Brussels, said…
Biden Pacific summit suffers setback as Solomon Islands PM skips meeting
The White House has said it is disappointed the Solomon Islands prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, will not attend a Pacific Islands summit with Joe Biden next week. The US president will host a second summit with leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum at the White House on Monday as part of his efforts to step up engagement with a region where the US is in a battle for influence with China. “We are disappointed that PM Sogavare of the Solomons does not plan to attend,” a Biden Administration official said.…
New Vanuatu prime minister wants to ‘revisit’ security pact with Australia
Vanuatu’s new prime minister says the Pacific island nation will likely need to rethink a security agreement signed with Australia. Less than a day into his tenure, Sato Kilman said the parliament was unlikely to ratify the agreement, with questions raised about it being in Vanuatu’s best interests. “What I’ve heard is that it may be difficult to get ratification from parliament, so my view would be to revisit the agreement with both sides,” he told the ABC. He also hit back at reports about his political alignments as western…
China ‘gifts’ and cost concerns: Pacific Games stir controversy in Solomon Islands
Luke Haga has spent the past two years getting ready for the race of his life. Haga, a sprinter, is preparing for the Pacific Games which will be held in his home of Solomon Islands in November. “It’s a time for sports, fun, and to celebrate our togetherness, ” says the 23-year-old, who is training for his events in China. Held every four years, athletes from 24 Pacific Island countries will compete in the Olympic-style tournament. While many share Haga’s excitement, the Games have also attracted controversy, primarily over the…