Regional
Jacinda Ardern conquers the Pacific
Monday 12 March 2018 | Published in Regional
NEW ZEALAND – Jacinda Ardern has completed a whirlwind trip of the Pacific Islands, stopping in Samoa, Niue, Tonga and the Cook Islands.
Rumours of earthquake causing volcano to erupt are dispelled
Monday 12 March 2018 | Published in Regional
PAPUA NEW GUINEA –Rumours of a pending volcanic eruption is adding to the chaos in the earthquakes shaken highlands of Papua New Guinea.
Desperate victims threaten aid workers
Monday 12 March 2018 | Published in Regional
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Aid workers and government officials have been threatened by people in Papua New Guinea who are angry at the slow delivery of emergency help.
Peter O'Neill: 'Stories of tragedy and loss are being repeated in village after village'
Monday 12 March 2018 | Published in Regional
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – “The earth started to shift and shake violently.”
New Ireland quake downsized
Monday 12 March 2018 | Published in Regional
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – A large earthquake that struck in Papua New Guinea’s islands region this week has been revised downwards to magnitude 6.8.
$13.9m in backpay ordered
Monday 12 March 2018 | Published in Regional
NORTHERN MARIANAS – Construction companies which built the Imperial Pacific Resort on Saipan have been ordered to pay $13.9 million in back wages and damages to thousands of Chinese construction workers.
Skipjack ruled 'sustainable'
Monday 12 March 2018 | Published in Regional
PACIFIC – An independent adjudicator in New York has dismissed an objection to the re-certification of sustainable tuna fisheries controlled by the Parties to the Nauru Agreement, or PNA.
Three politicians get suspended jail sentences
Monday 12 March 2018 | Published in Regional
FRENCH POLYNESIA – The appeal court in French Polynesia has given suspended jail sentences to three politicians, including a former president, for abusing public funds.
Loyalty Islands in the firing line
Monday 12 March 2018 | Published in Regional
NEW CALEDONIA – Tropical Cyclone Hola intensified into a category three system as it yesterday spiralled south towards New Caledonia after earlier passing over Vanuatu.
Nations rally to help Tonga's parliament
Monday 12 March 2018 | Published in Regional
TONGA – Parliaments throughout the Pacific, including Australia and New Zealand with support from the United Nations, have rallied behind Tonga to ensure the March sitting of the nation’s Parliament.
Airport dog's death avoidable
Friday 9 March 2018 | Published in Regional
The fatal shooting of an aviation security dog that escaped onto Auckland Airport’s runway was avoidable, a report into the incident suggests. Grizz escaped from the Aviation Security (Avsec) compound at the airport in March last year.
'Bed tax' option not popular
Friday 9 March 2018 | Published in Regional
Wellington City council has moved to widen a proposed bed tax, as it looks for ways to fund economic and tourism growth in the city while keeping rates down.
Iwi radio needs more funds
Friday 9 March 2018 | Published in Regional
The 21 iwi radio stations that make up Te Whakaruruhau o Nga Irirangi Maori, or the Maori Radio Network, have told the Maori Affairs Select Committee that current government funding is only enough to get by, but not enough to thrive.
$10 extra pay if you ride a bike to work
Friday 9 March 2018 | Published in Regional
NEW ZEALAND – A Christchurch company is offering hard cash to employees who bike to work everyday in a bid to energise staff and move the city away from a reliance on cars.
North Island deluge prompts evacuations
Friday 9 March 2018 | Published in Regional
NEW ZEALAND – Severe weather has caused flooding and disruption for parts of the central North Island.
Cancer sufferers want drugs available overseas
Friday 9 March 2018 | Published in Regional
NEW ZEALAND – A Tauranga woman with terminal cancer has had to fundraise over $100,000 to pay for a treatment that would be free if she lived in Australia.
Tuna cannery penalised
Friday 9 March 2018 | Published in Regional
AMERICAN SAMOA – American Samoa tuna cannery StarKist has been handed a multi-million penalty by a US federal court.
Doctors facing burn out
Friday 9 March 2018 | Published in Regional
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – The doctor who is in charge of the medical response in Papua New Guinea’s earthquake-devastated Hela Province says his team is close to burning out, with backup yet to arrive.
Airport standoff intensifies
Friday 9 March 2018 | Published in Regional
SAMOA – Families refusing to relocate to allow for an extension to Samoa’s Faleolo International Airport may be charged with trespass.
PNG faces long road to recovery
Friday 9 March 2018 | Published in Regional
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Papua New Guinea faces a long road to recovery after the February 26 earthquake that hit the nation’s rugged highlands more than 10 days ago, with the death toll now believed to have climbed to more than 100.