Regional
Plan for united Pacific rugby team
Tuesday 15 May 2018 | Published in Regional
PACIFIC – A secret plan to create a combined Pacific Islands rugby team with players from Samoa, Fiji and Tonga has been revealed.
Six dead in row over disputed land
Tuesday 15 May 2018 | Published in Regional
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – As many as six people have reportedly been killed in renewed tribal fighting in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands province of Enga during the weekend.
Russian navy ship visits Port Moresby
Tuesday 15 May 2018 | Published in Regional
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – A Russian warship will make a port visit to Papua New Guinea for the first time this week.
New fissure spews more lava
Tuesday 15 May 2018 | Published in Regional
HAWAII – A new volcanic fissure on Hawaii’s Big Island sent gases and lava exploding into the air, prompting officials to issue calls for more evacuations as residents awaited a possible major eruption at Kilauea volcano’s summit.
Teen should be sent back to Nauru
Saturday 12 May 2018 | Published in Regional
NAURU – A psychiatrist has said an acutely unwell child held within Australia’s offshore detention regime should not be returned to Nauru because his long-running detention there is causing his mental illness.
Governor wants major disaster declared
Saturday 12 May 2018 | Published in Regional
Hawai‘i – Hawai‘i’s governor has asked President Donald Trump to declare the state of Hawai‘i a major disaster area.
Fisherman finds drugs buried on beach
Saturday 12 May 2018 | Published in Regional
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Police in Papua New Guinea believe a village fisherman accidentally disturbed a drug-running operation after finding nearly 60 kilograms of what is suspected to be illicit drugs buried on a remote beach.
More evacuations as eruption escalates
Thursday 10 May 2018 | Published in Regional
HAWAII – Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano has erupted out of two new vents prompting authorities to call for an immediate evacuation of residents from a second neighbourhood on the Big Island.
Polynesians opt out of same-sex blessing
Thursday 10 May 2018 | Published in Regional
NEW ZEALAND – The Anglican Church in New Zealand has paved the way for the blessing of same-sex relationships – but Anglican churches in Polynesia will all opt out – the Anglican Synod said in a statement this week.
Peters boosts aid to the Pacific
Thursday 10 May 2018 | Published in Regional
PACIFIC – New Zealand is set to hike foreign aid by more than $700 million over the next four years, as part of its signalled Pacific Reset strategy.
Seabed investor pulls out
Wednesday 9 May 2018 | Published in Regional
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – A multinational mining company has withdrawn its financial support of the Solwara 1 seabed mining project in Papua New Guinea.
Peters announces Pacific aid budget
Wednesday 9 May 2018 | Published in Regional
NEW ZEALAND – It will soon be revealed whether the New Zealand government is putting its money where its mouth is when it talks about a “Pacific reset”, with Foreign Minister Winston Peters unveiling his ministry’s funding plan last night.
Island haven now unrecognizable
Wednesday 9 May 2018 | Published in Regional
Hawai‘i – The latest eruptions of Kilauea, the most active volcano on Hawai‘i’s Big Island, have rendered parts of a once-serene neighbourhood on the island unrecognisable.
More homes destroyed by lava flows
Tuesday 8 May 2018 | Published in Regional
Hawai‘i – Emergency authorities battling lava flows and gas erupting from Hawai‘i’s Kilauea volcano are warning some residents to “go now” as a new fissure has opened.
Tourists told only Big Island affected
Tuesday 8 May 2018 | Published in Regional
Hawai‘i – Officials in Hawai‘i have sought to reassure residents of other islands and tourists that the eruption is concentrated in a small region of the island and that most areas remain safe.
Tribal violence blocking quake relief
Monday 7 May 2018 | Published in Regional
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – An ongoing security crisis in Papua New Guinea’s Hela province is preventing many earthquake-affected communities receiving relief.
Pasifika children at higher risk of diabetes
Monday 7 May 2018 | Published in Regional
NEW ZEALAND – Pasifika children in Auckland have an 18 times greater chance of developing type-2 diabetes than their European peers.
Missile deployments worry Australia
Monday 7 May 2018 | Published in Regional
AUSTRALIA – Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has warned Beijing against militarising the South China Sea following reports that China has installed missile systems in the Spratly Islands for the first time.
Lava flows destroy homes in Hawai'i
Monday 7 May 2018 | Published in Regional
Hawai‘i – More homes on the Big Island of Hawai‘i have been destroyed as eruptions linked to the Kilauea volcano increased, with lava spewing into residential areas and forcing nearly 2000 people to flee, officials said.
Navy to flex muscles in Pacific
Saturday 5 May 2018 | Written by Jaimie Keay | Published in Regional
PACIFIC – American marines will soon embed on Australia’s largest warship for a tour of Pacific island nations, as concerns grow among western allies over Beijing’s rising influence in the region.