One of Australia's biggest diplomatic efforts to develop closer relations with the Pacific starts today with the opening of the Pacific Engagement Visa. It will allows 3,000 Pacific Islanders to permanently settle in Australia every year. 

Humanitarian aid has begun flowing into Enga province with a number of Australian and New Zealand aid teams set to arrive in the disaster zone today. Among the task force arriving are geological experts from Australia and New Zealand, who will conduct a study of the disaster zone. It comes as...