The World - News from May 9, 1985

A Melanesian youth was shot and killed and 65 other people were wounded in violent confrontations between native nationalists and opponents of independence in New Caledonia, government officials said. Riot police used tear gas to break up often violent demonstrations in Noumea, the territory’s capital, that began when pro-independence demonstrators began an illegal march on the central square. In a separate incident, vandals destroyed a memorial to U.S. soldiers stationed on New Caledonia during World War II.