New Zealand

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand police on Thursday filed five murder charges against the man they say lit a deadly fire at a Wellington hostel two weeks ago.

Police had earlier filed arson charges against the 48-year-old man, accusing him of setting fire to a couch and to the hostel itself. He has remained in jail since his arrest two days after the fire.

More than 100 people were staying at the four-story Loafers Lodge hostel when the fire tore through the building soon after midnight on May 16.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A 7.7 magnitude earthquake caused a small tsunami to wash ashore on South Pacific islands Friday. No damage has been reported, and the threat passed in a few hours.

Waves 60 centimeters (2 feet) above tide level were measured off Lenakel, a port town in Vanuatu, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. Smaller waves were measured by coastal or deep-ocean gauges elsewhere off Vanuatu and off New Caledonia and New Zealand.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Months before an election, New Zealand’s government on Thursday offered some modest financial relief to many people by making most prescription medicines free and increasing subsidies for child care and public transportation.

But the government’s annual budget plan was notable for its lack of big new initiatives. Since taking office earlier this year, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has promised a back-to-basics approach and axed many of the more ambitious — and contentious — plans of his predecessor, Jacinda Ardern.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand police said Thursday they had arrested a man and charged him with two counts of arson in connection with the fire at a Wellington hostel that killed at least six people.

Police said the investigation is ongoing and they could file more serious charges in relation to the deaths at the scene. Earlier, police said they had launched a homicide investigation.

Police Inspector Dion Bennett said Thursday they are confident they’re not seeking anybody else in connection with the fire.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Papua New Guinea had declared next Monday a public holiday in anticipation of an historic visit by U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders from the region.

Police were tightening security, billboards were going up, and people were getting ready to sing and dance in the streets. Expectations were high for what would have been the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to any Pacific Island nation.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A fire ripped through a hostel in New Zealand’s capital overnight, killing at least six people and forcing others to flee the four-story building in their pajamas in what a fire chief on Tuesday called his “worst nightmare.”

Six bodies were found but not all areas of the building had been searched yet because the roof on the top floor had collapsed, bringing down debris and making the area unsafe, said Bruce Stubbs, the incident controller for Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said Monday he personally favors his country becoming a republic, but it’s not a change he intends to push for as leader.

Hipkins made the comments to reporters hours before he was due to depart for this week’s coronation of King Charles III in London.

New Zealand, a former British colony, is self-governing but Charles retains a largely ceremonial role as head of state and king. Charles is represented in New Zealand by a governor-general.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Britain’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly cut short a Pacific tour Friday to return to Britain and deal with the deteriorating situation in Sudan.

Sudan’s military ruled out negotiations with a rival paramilitary force Thursday, saying it would only accept its surrender as the two sides continued to battle in central Khartoum and other parts of the country.

The British High Commission said Cleverly had been dealing with the Sudan situation from its offices in Wellington by making a series of calls to key partners overnight.

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — As President Joe Biden prepares a final decision on the huge Willow oil project in Alaska, his administration announced he will prevent or limit oil drilling in 16 million acres in Alaska and the Arctic Ocean.

Plans announced Sunday night will bar drilling in nearly 3 million acres of the Beaufort Sea — closing it off from oil exploration — and limit drilling in more than 13 million acres in a vast swath of land known as the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Micronesia’s president accused China of “political warfare” in a letter to other national leaders and discussed switching diplomatic allegiance from China to Taiwan in exchange for $50 million.

President David Panuelo said China had been using nefarious tactics, including spying and offering bribes, in an effort to ensure that if it goes to war with Taiwan, Micronesia would be aligned with China rather than the United States, or would at least abstain from taking sides.