Regional
Soldiers assist in weapons search
Monday 24 August 2015 | Published in Regional
SUVA – Fiji’s Military Forces Commander Land Force Colonel Sitiveni Qiliho says the military is taking a proactive stand in deploying its men to the Western Division to assist police in investigations on alleged firearms use. “The military’s concern is if there are weapons involved. I’m not saying there are weapons involved,” said Colonel Qiliho. He said the 140 troops sent to the Western Division from Suva would assist police following claims that a group of men, alleged to be involved in a military type training, were allegedly using firearms.
Motocross spreads peace message
Monday 24 August 2015 | Published in Regional
BUKA – A motorcycle sports group made up of former combatants of Bougainville’s civil war is spreading the message of peace across the country. The Bougainville Motocross Club has proved immensely popular and has helped turn around the lives of people who were affected by the war. The repercussions from Bougainville’s civil war still echo in the lead up to a referendum on independence from Papua New Guinea. The club’s founding president, Emilroy Augustine, said the members had toured across Bougainville. “We go to remote places and do a bit of a motocross show and all this, some freestyle with our bikes,” he told Radio Australia’s Pacific Beat. “Then we’ll bring our little loud hailers and do our awareness campaigns on weapons disposal and the peace treaty.” Bougainville was administered by Australia after the end of World War II in 1945 until Papua New Guinea gained independence in 1975. Between 15,000 and 20,000 Bougainvilleans are estimated to have died in the civil war, which saw clashes between secessionists and anti-secessionists from PNG and within Bougainville, between 1989 and 1998. The conflict has been described as the largest in Oceania since World War II. Augustine, who fought in the war, said he had used his own experiences to help other former combatants. “I actually went through a very hard time trying to rehabilitate myself,” he said. “The woman who became my wife today – my girlfriend at that time – she played an important role in my rehabilitation.
Cartoon found offensive
Monday 24 August 2015 | Published in Regional
JAKARTA – Indonesia’s Foreign Minister recently expressed her disappointment to US representatives over an offensive cartoon published in American media.
Futuristic yacht sinks in the Pacific
Wednesday 19 August 2015 | Published in Regional
PAPEETE – A European eco-explorer has been rescued in the Austral Islands in southern French Polynesia after his purpose-built “yacht of the future” sank off the island of Tubuai.
Worrying litany of accidents
Wednesday 19 August 2015 | Published in Regional
JAKARTA – The Trigana Air disaster is just the latest in a list of air accidents in Indonesia, which has a poor aviation safety record and has suffered major disasters in recent months, including the crash of an AirAsia plane in December with the loss of 162 lives.
No survivors in Papua plane crash
Wednesday 19 August 2015 | Published in Regional
All 54 people on board a passenger plane that crashed in West Papua found dead.
Underlying shades of racism need to be tackled
Wednesday 19 August 2015 | Published in Regional
Oscar Vai To’elau Kightley (pictured right), a Samoa-born New Zealand actor, TV presenter and screenwriter, recently took a look at the changing currents of Pasifika racism in New Zealand in this article published in the Sunday News.
Walking trail seeks world heritage status
Wednesday 19 August 2015 | Published in Regional
KOKODA – Australia and Papua New Guinea are to jointly seek a world heritage listing for the Owen Stanley Ranges and the famous Kokoda Track.
Athlete dies in fall from truck
Wednesday 19 August 2015 | Published in Regional
Fagae‘e – A promising young Samoan athlete has died after falling from the back of a truck while on the way home from a fund raising outing for his school’s athletics team.
Vow to 'crush' insurrection
Tuesday 18 August 2015 | Published in Regional
Over 60 Fijians arrested linked to attempts to form a breakaway state.
Plane down in remote mountains
Tuesday 18 August 2015 | Published in Regional
Treacherous terrain hampers rescue efforts for crashed Indonesian airliner.
Sedition accused have rights denied, lawyer says
Tuesday 18 August 2015 | Published in Regional
TAVUA – The lawyer for several people facing sedition charges in Fiji has hit out at prosecutors saying they are not following due process.
Angry Tonga minister calls the speaker a 'dictator'
Tuesday 18 August 2015 | Published in Regional
NUKU‘ALOFA – There have been angry scenes in Tonga’s parliament this week.
Major ban on fruit and vegetable imports
Tuesday 18 August 2015 | Published in Regional
PORT MORESBY – Papua New Guinea’s Agriculture and Livestock Minister Tommy Tomscoll has announced a major ban on the import of more than ten different fruits and vegetables.
Canberra rejects Nauru torture claims
Tuesday 18 August 2015 | Published in Regional
CANBERRA – Australia’s Immigration Minister Peter Dutton says claims of waterboarding at the Nauru detention centre are unsubstantiated.
Average Teahupo'o delivers first day surprises
Monday 17 August 2015 | Published in Regional
TEAHUPO‘O – Challenging conditions welcomed the world’s best surfers on the opening day of competition at the 2015 Billabong Pro Tahiti, in Teahupoo on Saturday local time.
Sugar mill deaths raise safety concerns
Monday 17 August 2015 | Published in Regional
BA – Two accidents in less than a week at the Rarawai sugar mill have raised questions about the level of safety in the factories in Fiji’s sugar cane belt.
Marianas dodge storms
Monday 17 August 2015 | Published in Regional
SAIPAN – The Northern Mariana Islands this weekend escaped a direct hit from two tropical storms that have since intensified into typhoons.
54 feared dead in Papua plane crash
Monday 17 August 2015 | Published in Regional
JAYAPURA – A plane with 54 people on board has crashed in Indonesia’s remote and mountainous region of Papua, a government official has said, the latest in a string of aviation disasters in the South East Asian nation.
Marianas on typhoon alert again
Saturday 15 August 2015 | Published in Regional
A tropical depression is forecast to become Typhoon Goni as it moves through the Marianas this weekend.
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