Regional
Sun the most efficient energy source
Thursday 27 August 2015 | Published in Regional
Nuku‘alofa – Solar power is the most efficient renewable energy method in Tonga, students from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand found after investigating various renewable energy projects during a one-week trip.
Tonga a potential Whale Heritage Site
Thursday 27 August 2015 | Published in Regional
NUKU‘ALOFA– Tonga has been included in the draft list of destinations with the potential to become accredited international Whale Heritage Sites.
Sorcery action needs urgency
Thursday 27 August 2015 | Published in Regional
PORT MORESBY – The United Nations has condemned the latest incidents of sorcery-related violence in Papua New Guinea.
Challenge to save Tonga's ancient sites
Thursday 27 August 2015 | Published in Regional
NUKU‘ALOFA – An endangered ancient site threatened by government development has triggered the creation of the Tonga Heritage Society.
Climate talks failure 'not an option'
Tuesday 25 August 2015 | Published in Regional
JAIPUR – Two of the world’s most vulnerable low-lying island nations – Kiribati and Tuvalu – say failure at upcoming climate talks in Paris is not an option, as rising sea levels threaten their very existence.
Collapse 'not linked' to mine shut down
Tuesday 25 August 2015 | Published in Regional
PORT MORESBY – A section of Papua New Guinea’s Ok Tedi mine collapsed in June, damaging machinery and blocking an access road, but the company insists the fall has nothing to do with the shutdown of operations.
Pacific's ' garbage patch' mapped for clean up
Tuesday 25 August 2015 | Published in Regional
PACIFIC – Researchers have returned from mapping and sampling a massive, swirling cluster of rubbish floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, as part of an ambitious mission to attempt to clean it up.
Drought, frost conditions to worsen
Tuesday 25 August 2015 | Published in Regional
PORT MORESBY – The Papua New Guinea Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, is warning that the country’s current drought and frost conditions will likely worsen.
Islands fighting to secure a future for children
Tuesday 25 August 2015 | Published in Regional
PACIFIC – Greenpeace says the governments of Australia and New Zealand must change their attitudes to climate change and be more supportive of Pacific island countries.
Six months to clear typhoon debris
Tuesday 25 August 2015 | Published in Regional
SAIPAN – The effects of a cyclone remain long after the event stops making news headlines. One of the most unattractive post-cyclone duties involveS the basic but arduous task of cleaning of the mess.
Navy checks for illegal fishing
Monday 24 August 2015 | Published in Regional
HONIARA – The New Zealand Navy has been assisting Vanuatu and Solomon Islands with patrolling their respective Exclusive Economic Zones.
Firms urged to provide roles for Pasifika youth
Monday 24 August 2015 | Published in Regional
AUCKLAND – New Zealand construction firms have been urged to provide jobs and internships for young Maori and Pasifika people.
White bread linked to Pasifika obesity
Monday 24 August 2015 | Published in Regional
Half of Auckland’s Pacific kids are obese and a third overweight at age 10, says a recent nutrition survey by AUT. The New Zealand Herald’s Martin Johnston filed this report.
Samoa commits to human rights
Monday 24 August 2015 | Published in Regional
APIA – The continuous physical and sexual abuse of women and children in Samoa is not acceptable. The point was made by Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi during the launch of Samoa’s first State of Human Rights report. The report was prepared by the Office of the Ombudsman in its role as Samoa’s National Human Rights Institution (NHRI). “In a society which holds such strong community and family values, it is not acceptable that we continue to see women and children physically and sexually abused,” Tuilaepa said. This abuse, he added, is often at the hands of their loved ones. Tuialepa went on to say that abuse includes children who are sent out to work on the streets. “The children, Samoa’s future and the guardians of family legacies, continue to labour in the streets,” he said. He also touched on the plight of people with disabilities who are still denied equal participation in many areas of society. The launch of the report follows months of hard work by the Ombudsman, Maiava Iulai Toma and his team at NHRI. The report explores in depth the Fa‘a Samoa (samoan cultural) principles of equality, respect and protection, which complement basic human rights in international law. It also draws attention to the relationship between these principles and the bigger picture issues which form the basis of the report – namely, the equality, respect and protection of vulnerable populations; all aspects of health; environmental health; and religious and economic freedoms. The main focus of the report is the need for better safeguards for equality and respect for women, children, people with disabilities and prisoners – considered by the report as the most vulnerable sectors in Samoan society and the most in need of stronger human rights protections. The report concludes with a discussion of the emerging issues of mental health and freedom of speech. Also contained within the report are a number of recommendations made to relevant government ministries and agencies in order to better strengthen human rights protections for the people of Samoa. “As Samoa continues to develop and prosper, more needs to be done to ensure quality health care is available and accessible for all Samoans,” Tuilaepa said.
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.
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