United States

Last last week, for the first time, frozen albacore tuna was off-loaded at Port Vila's main wharf before being transported to the Chinese-funded fish packing plant at Black Sands.

The Daily Post reports that with the assistance of United States surveillance vessels, the Vanuatu government is committed to having all Vanuatu-flagged fishing vessels unload their catches from the country's Exclusive Economic Zone in Port Vila.

The paper says Bumblebee is in discussion about building a plant in Vanuatu.

Besides the 30 civilians, two US service members were killed in the operation that targeted Taliban leaders planning additional attacks in Kunduz city.

"I deeply regret the loss of innocent lives, regardless of the circumstances," Gen. John W. Nicholson, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, said in a statement Saturday.

"The loss of innocent life is a tragedy and our thoughts are with the families. We will work with our Afghan partners to investigate and determine the facts and we will work with the government of Afghanistan to provide assistance."

Holiday shopping, the city's marathon, and the US voting against the rest of the world at the UN over Washington's Cuba embargo.

On Wednesday, however, the US took the small but significant step of changing its vote to an abstention on the annual UN General Assembly resolution calling for an end to the US economic embargo of the island nation.

 Davis Love III's team held a 9.5 - 6.5 lead heading into Sunday's singles and received a huge boost when Patrick Reed recorded a 1up win over Rory McIlroy in a gripping opening match.

Henrik Stenson, Thomas Pieters and Rafael Cabrera Bello all secured points for the reigning champions, having been sent out early by Darren Clarke, the Belgian breaking new ground as a European rookie with his fourth triumph of the week.

A woeful start at Hazeltine left Europe 4-0 down after Friday's foursomes and they never recovered to take the lead in the tournament.

It left Clarke needing another miracle like the one he contributed to as a vice-captain at Medinah in 2012 and, despite comfortably winning three of the first five matches out, it was all downhill from there.

It was left to Ryan Moore to pick up the winning point to spark wild celebrations among Davis Love III's team and the raucous home fans.

Ri's comments came as the US and Asian nations gathered in New York Friday with a fresh reminder of what they consider the gravest threat facing the region: North Korea's announcement this week that it had successfully tested its most powerful rocket engine yet.

The test Tuesday was followed by a US show of force, as the Pentagon on Wednesday flew two B-1B bombers alongside the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea, setting the the stage for US-South Korea joint military exercises in October that will include a simulated nuclear facility strike.

Danny Howard, who plays for Sydney club Wentworthville in the NSW Cup, scored three of his side's eight tries in Jacksonville.

It confirmed the Hawks' place at the tournament in Australia and New Zealand following their success at the 2013 World Cup in which they were surprise quarter-finalists before going down 62-0 to the Kangaroos.

Howard and brother Stephen were born in Los Angeles before their family moved back to Canberra when they were young.

He also donated equipment valued at about $200,000 to Solomon Islands for use in unexploded ordnance (UXO) recovery. 

Ambassador North praised the RSIPF and U.S. military divers for their teamwork in this important endeavour: “The United States values its longstanding relationship with the Solomon Islands and appreciates the efforts of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force in rehabilitating the contaminated areas.” 

Unexploded ordnance remaining from World War 11 still impacts Solomon Islands.

The Office of Insular Affairs is accepting applications for 2016 technical assistance which will be processed on a first-come, first-serve basis until funds are exhausted.

Assistant Secretary Esther Kia'aina says the island communities continue to face extreme climate events, including typhoons and hurricanes, storm surges, high winds and king tides.

Ms Kia'aina says the areas are also feeling the effects of slow, progressive climate-induced stresses, such as sea level rise, ocean acidification, coral bleaching and saline intrusion into water systems.

The Europeans invoke the success of the Iran nuclear talks in arguing for a similar format — with key additions.

Iran negotiated with the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany to reach their July 14 agreement. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Wednesday called for a similar arrangement "enlarged with regional partners."

The Americans, in contrast, want a tighter group, without the Europeans.