Portal:Oceania
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The primary use of the term Oceania is to describe a continental region (like Europe or Africa) that lies between Asia and the Americas, with Australia as the major land mass. The name Oceania is used, rather than Australasia, because unlike the other continental groupings, it is the ocean rather than the continent that links the nations together. Oceania is the smallest continental grouping in land area and the second smallest, after Antarctica, in population.
The population (total 4.1 million in 2005) is mostly of European descent, with Māori being the largest minority. Non-Māori Polynesian and Asian peoples are also significant minorities, especially in the nation's cities. The capital is Wellington, and the largest city is Auckland.
Rear Admiral Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville (May 23, 1790, Condé-sur-Noireau, France – May 8, 1842, Meudon, France) was a French explorer and naval officer, who explored the south and western Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica.
D'Urville made three circumnavigations of the world; the first as second in command on La Coquille under Duperrey in 1822-25, and the others as captain of the same ship, now renamed Astrolabe, in 1826-29 and 1837-40.
He invented the terms Micronesia and Melanesia, distinguishing these Pacific cultures and island groups from Polynesia. The D'Urville Sea, D'Urville Island and the Dumont d'Urville Station (all in or off Antarctica), Cape d'Urville in Indonesia and D'Urville Island in New Zealand were named after him. The Rue Dumont d'Urville in Paris was also named for him.
- 4 November: Johnson Toribiong is declared the winner of the Palauan presidential election and will succeed Tommy Remengesau as President.
- 9 October: The Supreme Court of Fiji rules that the appointment of Commodore Frank Bainimarama as prime minister following the 2006 Fijian coup d'état was legal.
- 22 September: Edward Natapei is elected the new Prime Minister of Vanuatu following the 2008 general elections replacing Ham Lini after weeks of negotiations to form a new government.
- 20 September: The Palau Public Utilities corporation issues a notice of disconnection to the government for failure to pay its power bills.
- 17 September: Papua New Guinea launches the National Television Service, a free-to-air state-run channel which competes with EM TV.
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