Regional
Fiji PM sends Trump a message
Wednesday 3 May 2017 | Published in Regional
FIJI – Fiji’s prime minister Frank Bainimarama has asked his Australian counterpart to press Donald Trump over climate change.
Jailed politicians released on parole
Wednesday 3 May 2017 | Published in Regional
VANUATU – Ten former Vanuatu MPs jailed for bribery two years ago have been released on parole.
Celebrity visits a boost for tourism in Tahiti
Friday 28 April 2017 | Published in Regional
FRENCH POLYNESIA – French Polynesia’s tourism authority says a recent spate of high-profile visits is some of the best free advertising they could have wished for.
'Suitcases of cash' offered for land in Palau
Friday 28 April 2017 | Published in Regional
PALAU – Palau’s Chamber of Commerce says property values are going up rapidly and locals are reportedly being offered suitcases of cash for their land.
Kava's potential not fully realised in the Pacific
Friday 28 April 2017 | Published in Regional
PACIFIC – Pacific people are being urged to keep developing kava’s economic potential beyond traditional ceremonies and kava sessions.
Flosse takes repayment case to Europe
Friday 28 April 2017 | Published in Regional
FRENCH POLYNESIA – French Polynesia’s former president Gaston Flosse wants to go to the European Court of Human Rights after being told to repay more than two million US dollars misspent under his rule.
Tough approach by Tonga police welcomed
Friday 28 April 2017 | Published in Regional
TONGA – A commentator on Tongan affairs is giving strong backing to an Easter Weekend police action in the capital, Nuku’alofa, that led to dozens of arrests.
Refugee shamed by Dutton account
Friday 28 April 2017 | Published in Regional
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – The Afghan refugee who brought a small boy into the Manus Island detention centre a few weeks ago has said he and friends only gave the child some food.
Methodist stance worries Fiji military
Friday 28 April 2017 | Published in Regional
FIJI – The Fiji military has issued a warning that recent statements by the Methodist Church could lead to ethnic tension and instability.
Book shows never before seen photographs of old Samoa
Thursday 27 April 2017 | Published in Regional
SAMOA – A new book containing photos dating back to when many Germans lived in Samoa has been released in Apia.
Officers reminded they can be recorded on smartphones
Thursday 27 April 2017 | Published in Regional
FIJI – Fiji’s Commissioner of Police Brigadier General Sitiveni Qiliho has reminded police officers that the way they deliver their services to members of the public can now be recorded or captured with the use of smartphones.
Dutton demands apology from ABC
Thursday 27 April 2017 | Published in Regional
AUSTRALIA – Australia’s Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has called on the ABC to apologise for its reporting on a shooting at the Manus Island detention centre.
Lawyer calls Australia a 'rogue state'
Thursday 27 April 2017 | Published in Regional
AUSTRALIA – Australia has been labelled ‘a rogue state’ by lawyers troubled by the pending deportation of a Manus Island asylum seeker from Papua New Guinea.
Islanders flee Manam as volcano erupts
Thursday 27 April 2017 | Published in Regional
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Evacuation warnings have been issued again for Papua New Guinea’s Manam Island as the island’s volcano continues to rumble and spew ash.
Election violence played down
Thursday 27 April 2017 | Published in Regional
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – A regional police commander in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands has played down the threat posed by firearms in the approaching elections.
Study prompts mercury in fish alert
Thursday 27 April 2017 | Published in Regional
PAcific – People in the Pacific are being advised to avoid certain fish after a study revealed high levels of mercury in hair samples from the region.
Shunned soldiers finally given credit
Wednesday 26 April 2017 | Published in Regional
AUSTRALIA – Often shunned by an Australian society that did not recognise their service, today Indigenous veterans led the national Anzac Day march for the very first time.
Niue's war effort unrecognised
Wednesday 26 April 2017 | Published in Regional
NIUE – Most of them had never worn shoes let alone marched in greatcoats on a cold, wet battlefield. Most of them couldn’t even speak English.
High rates of abstention in French Pacific
Wednesday 26 April 2017 | Published in Regional
FRENCH PACIFIC – The French Pacific territories had some of the highest rates of abstention in the first round of the French presidential elections.
Fiji 'excluded' from Pacer Plus
Wednesday 26 April 2017 | Published in Regional
FIJI – Fiji’s Trade Minister Faiyaz Koya says Fiji didn’t pull out of the Pacer Plus trade negotiations – he says his country was excluded.