Regional
Fire destroys Anzac tour bus
Friday 27 April 2018 | Published in Regional
New Zealanders heading to Gallipoli for Anzac Day whose bus went up in flames are thankful to be alive despite many having lost passports, money and other belongings in the fire.
Northland defence plans revealed
Friday 27 April 2018 | Published in Regional
NEW ZEALAND – Researchers working for Heritage New Zealand have uncovered archival documents showing Northland was expected to bear the brunt of a Japanese invasion in World War Two.
Cold winter ahead for the homeless
Friday 27 April 2018 | Published in Regional
NEW ZEALAND – Groups working with homeless people are bracing themselves for another gruelling few months as winter sets in.
PACIFIC BRIEFS - 27/04/2018
Friday 27 April 2018 | Published in Regional
LOCATOR BEACON RESCUES FISHERMAN
MP gives the PM a good telling off
Friday 27 April 2018 | Published in Regional
SAMOA – Samoa Member of Parliament, Olo Fiti Vaai, has called on Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, to act like a leader and keep the peace in Samoa.
Flood threat adds to Ambae misery
Friday 27 April 2018 | Published in Regional
VANUATU – The danger of landslides and flash flooding on the Vanuatu island of Ambae is complicating evacuation efforts, with as many as 800 people now sheltering in emergency relief centres.
Polls may change map of the region
Friday 27 April 2018 | Published in Regional
New Caledonia and Bougainville prepare to vote on independence
Plastic shopping bag ban 'not legal'
Thursday 26 April 2018 | Published in Regional
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – A business in Papua New Guinea licensed to import plastic shopping bags has questioned the legality of the recent ban imposed by the government.
Garbage Patch clean up underway
Thursday 26 April 2018 | Published in Regional
PACIFIC – Scientists are preparing to launch the world’s first machine to clean up the planet’s largest mass of ocean plastic.
Samoa's Pinktober ambassador passes away
Tuesday 24 April 2018 | Published in Regional
SAMOA – The face of Samoa’s Pinktober and the fight against cancer, Manamea Apelu-Schwalger, died peacefully on Sunday.
Missing gun baffles Samoa police
Tuesday 24 April 2018 | Published in Regional
SAMOA – The mystery of how a gun disappeared from a police evidence storage room continues to embar-rass Samoa’s justice department.
Pacific charm campaign underway
Tuesday 24 April 2018 | Published in Regional
PACIFIC – UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters have plans to work closely in the Pacific region.
Nations unite to confront ocean issues
Monday 23 April 2018 | Published in Regional
The United Kingdom government has pledged to provide more funding to help developing countries in the Commonwealth cut their emissions and prepare for the impacts of climate change.
First round of voting underway in Tahiti
Monday 23 April 2018 | Published in Regional
FRENCH POLYNESIA – Voters in French Polynesia go to the polls today to elect a new territorial assembly for a five-year term.
Tokelau heralds first newspaper
Monday 23 April 2018 | Published in Regional
TOKELAU – Chiefs and local leaders from the tiny Pacific territory of Tokelau are heralding the launch of the island nation’s first-ever local newspaper that claims to meet international standards.
Focus on low islands welcomed
Monday 23 April 2018 | Published in Regional
SAMOA – Samoa’s prime minister has welcomed the focus of the Commonwealth on vulnerable member states affected by climate change. Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi was speaking from London at the closing of the CHOGM conference on Friday. All 53 member countries have affirmed their commitment to the most ambitious UN Paris Agreement target of limiting the increase of global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times. Members also committed to protecting oceans and marine environments from threats such as climate change, pollution and over fishing. Tuilaepa welcomed the renewed interest in the Commonwealth’s values and principles. “As well we welcome the focus of the Commonwealth familty to acknowledge the most vulnerable of its members. In particular, the impacts of climate change on our small island developing states.” Tuilaepa acknowledged the Commonwealth working to foster a fairer, more prosperous and sustainable future for all. Samoa is to host the CHOGM conference in 2022. - RNZI
PACIFIC BRIEFS 21/04/2018
Monday 23 April 2018 | Published in Regional
REFUGEES ROUNDED UP IN DAWN RAID PAPUA NEW GUINEA – A Manus Island refugee in Port Moresby says the Papua New Guinea immigration authority assisted by the army conducted a dawn raid yesterday at a motel in the capital. They were targeting a group of 20 refugees brought to Port Moresby from Manus for medical treatment. The refugee said most of the men were taken from the motel and escorted to the airport for transport back to the island. He said a small number of men avoided capture by hiding, or by being unaware of the raid and away from the motel at the time. About three dozen other men were sent back to Manus from the motel this year after receiving medical treatment. The refugee said about 60 refugees remained in the motel of about 750 in PNG, where they’ve been exiled by Australia for the last five years. PASIFIKA CRIME RATES DECREASING NEW ZEALAND – The former National government in New Zealand is taking credit for halving Pacific youth offending during its time in office. It was revealed this week that the rate of Pacific youth offending dropped by 61 per cent between 2009 and 2017. National’s spokesperson for Pacific People’s, Alfred Ngaro, said National had the right plans and policies in place to improve the lives of Pasifika. He said the figures came as achievement results among Pasifika high school students showed a marked jump. Ngaro said it was known that “a lack of education can lead to a young person offending, so it’s no surprise that as Pacific student achievement goes up, Pacific youth offending goes down”. FIJI AND NZ LOOK TO INCREASE TRADE FIJI – The Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama says his country is exploring new opportunities for trade and investment with New Zealand. Bainimarama has met with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in the margins of the Commonwealth Head of Governments Meeting in London. Bainimarama said there was a great deal of unrealised potential between the two countries in trade and investment. He said the Fiji-NZ Business Council could be an effective vehicle for greater economic exchange. Ardern said New Zealand’s new approach to regional co-operation would see it becoming a more involved partner in the development of Fiji and other Pacific nations. TOURISM STAFF SWEPT AWAY BY RIVER SOLOMON ISLANDS – Staff at the Solomon Islands Visitor Bureau are receiving counselling after a staff member died and another is still missing during an assessment of a hiking track. The office’s marketing officer, Stella Lucas, died during the assessment in the Mataniko River region near Honiara. Another worker Chris Nemaia is still missing. The Bureau chairman, Wilson Ne’e, said he cannot comment on the exact circumstances until local authorities release an official report. Honiara’s a police chief Alfred Uiga said the pair were swept away by the river after a downpour of torrential rain. “One male is still missing and searches are ongoing,” Uiga said. “At this stage, the cause of death of the woman is not confirmed but it appears at this early stage she may have drowned in the river.”
Vanuatu's island of no return
Monday 23 April 2018 | Published in Regional
VANUATU – Thousands of south Pacific islanders at the mercy of an active volcano will be permanently resettled by the end of May, the Vanuatu government has said.
Refugee policy splits family three ways
Monday 23 April 2018 | Published in Regional
NAURU – A refugee family split between Sydney and Nauru is desperate to reunite.
Pasifika reacts to Folau's stance
Monday 23 April 2018 | Published in Regional
NEW ZEALAND – There have been a range of reactions from New Zealand’s Pacific community over anti-gay comments made Australia’s highest-profile rugby player, Israel Folau.