More Top Stories
Cook Islands has its first mosque
14 November 2024
CI Muslim opens up about her faith and journey
16 November 2024
RAC to address mosque legality
19 November 2024
I don’t expect much change: PM Brown on US Elections
6 November 2024
Fifth weekly Sydney flight to Rarotonga announced
23 October 2024
CIIC directors seek $350,000 in damages over defamatory claims
21 October 2024
Man found guilty of rape, burglary
24 September 2024
Tenants face water bill burden
8 October 2024
Concerns over Minister’s role in inmate work releases: PAC
5 October 2024
Tourism contribution set to surpass half-billion dollar mark
25 September 2024
Parliament’s 12 sitting days sufficient for business: Clerk
24 September 2024
Parliament Clerk sparks outrage over deep sea mining statement
23 September 2024
Parliament’s 12 sitting days sufficient for business: Clerk
24 September 2024
Tapaitau and Charlie-Puna released to ‘family jobs’
21 September 2024
Police apprehend four juveniles in connection with motorcycle thefts
23 September 2024
Deep sea dilemma: Cook Islanders weigh the cost of mineral riches
21 September 2024
Anxiety on the rise: Cook Islands faces mental health challenge
7 September 2024
Cook Islands deep sea mining poll sparks controversy
7 September 2024
MCI rejects ‘dark fleet’ label
3 August 2024
Rising seas, rising costs: Climate impacts on Cook Islands economy
2 September 2024
Inflation eases but concerns remain
31 August 2024
Prime Minister defends $659,000 MPs travel bill
23 August 2024
Taxpayers foot $659,000 bill for MPs travel and allowance
22 August 2024
Corruption report exposes ‘bribe and sexual favours’
17 January 2023
PM Brown eager to hand over Forum chair role to Tonga
13 August 2024
ICI explains road works delay in front of old Sheraton site
10 August 2024
Diaspora dismayed over lack of Te Maeva Nui livestream
8 August 2024
Everyone is a winner, says Culture
7 August 2024
Local women outshine global peers in business leadership
8 August 2024
Housing crisis hits tourism industry
27 July 2024
MCI rejects ‘dark fleet’ label
3 August 2024
Challenging ‘rape culture’
8 July 2024
Pacific
Roadshow not consultation
Non-government organisations are frustrated with the Cook Islands government seabed mineral consultations that are being held in New Zealand, calling for a 10-year moratorium to allow for independent research and capacity building within the Cook Islands.
USP Student body represents 14,000 students
The University of the South Pacific Students’ Association (USPSA) from 14 campuses spanning 12 member countries convened in Rarotonga yesterday representing the voice of 14,000 students.
Tongan government deadlocked, Pohiva says
TONGA – Tonga’s Prime Minister said his government was deadlocked and struggling because some chief executive officers and top officials did not like him and his government.
Four get prison for beating up woman
VANUATU – The Supreme Court in Vanuatu has sentenced four men to prison after finding them guilty of assaulting and kidnapping a woman who had criticised the behaviour of tourist transport providers in Port Vila on Facebook.
Auckland bust nets meth worth $17 million
NEW ZEALAND – A police operation in South Auckland has netted $17 million worth of the illegal drug methampetamine.
PNG to keep transit centre running
Advocate says court ruling being misinterpreted
Fugitive nabbed in Pago Pago
US murder suspect who escaped from Tonga by yacht is located
High seas pursuit of murder suspect
TONGA – A murder suspect in Tonga continues to evade police on the high seas, after he escaped from a police station in Vava’u on Thursday.
Duterte apologises
PHILIPPINES – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte specifically apologised to Jews on Sunday for his earlier comments in which he compared his war on drugs with the way Adolf Hitler slaughtered millions of Jews during World War II.
Breakthrough in trial for cure of HIV infection
BRITAIN – UK scientists and clinicians working on a groundbreaking trial to test a possible cure for HIV infection say they have made remarkable progress after a test patient showed no sign of the virus following treatment.
'Living hell' as Aleppo battle rages on
SYRIA – Civilians in the rebel-held part of the Syrian city of Aleppo are enduring a “living hell”, the UN humanitarian chief has said, as fighting rages on.
Swarms of termites invade Fiji town
FIJI – Communities around the Fiji town of Lautoka have reportedly been hit by swarms of termites.
New Zealand bans asbestos products
But flow of material into Pacific goes on unabated
Mud men make visit to Sydney
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Four Asaro tribesman have travelled to Sydney’s Australian Museum to take part in the opening of a new exhibition.
MPs reminded to turn talk on SDGs into action
PACIFIC – Pacific MPs have been given a stern reminder of their responsibility to inform their people at a conference on sexual health in New Zealand.
Church could face abuse lawsuits next week
GUAM – Lawsuits are set to be slapped on the Catholic Church in Guam after legislation was passed allowing child sexual abuse survivors to sue at any time.
Samoan fencers say 'en garde'
SAMOA – Samoa will make its international fencing debut at the Oceania Under 20 Championships in New Zealand this week.
Fiji MP kicked out for the duration
Opposition member apologises but denies racism
Fiji's Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi dies
FIJI – Nauru’s chief justice and a former Fiji vice president, Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, has passed away.
Call to reveal the secrets of pokie machines
AUSTRALIA – Three federal politicians are calling on Australians to leak secret information relating to the poker machine industry.
Relocated villagers want to hear the truth
SAMOA – A community in Samoa is demanding the truth from the government as to why their village has to be relocated. The government said the village needs to be moved because of climate change – but some say its to make way for a new waterfront development. “The government’s decision to relocate Sogi residents – which has led to a legal action – is not only unfair, it is also insincere,” the president of the environmental group, O Le Si’osi’omaga Society, Fiu Mataese Elisara, said. Fiu is urging Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi to tell the truth as to why they have evicted people from Sogi. “The government is using climate change as an excuse and the main reason why they asked the people to relocate,” Fiu told the Samoa Observer. “It seems that there is a conflict in the reasoning by the government when in fact they are actually talking about the waterfront project. “The decision seems insincere. They’ve used climate change as an excuse at the same time, they are planning to develop the Apia waterfront project and it contradicts their decision. “They should tell the people the truth and say that they are asking Sogi to relocate because of the waterfront project and not because of climate change. They need to be honest with the people of Sogi,” he said. Fiu, who is a strong advocate for indigenous rights, said he understands the government has the power to take away people’s land under the Taking of Land’s Act 1964 to remove people from their lands for public purposes.” However, Fiu warns that the decision for the people of Sogi to relocate will have a huge impact socially. “The decision will surely cause stress for the people of Sogi,” he said. “No one is doing an analysis or a research on the impact assessment of resettlement. A lot of global policies we have now require the donors who have projects involving people, to carry out an environment impact assessment. But they also need to look at the social impact assessment and how it affects the mentality of the people. “These people have been there for hundred years. That community is made up of generations and generations from a hundred years ago. That is home for them. “And if we ask them to relocate, that’s violating their rights and that’s an element of injustice, because they finalised their decision without adequately consulting the people first.” Fiu believes that with this decision the people who have been living together as a community will be divided. “This community has been a very closed-community for years, asking them to leave will divide the community.” Adaptation is another challenge the residents will face if they relocate, said Fiu. “If they move out of Sogi, it will take them time to adapt to this new place, new lifestyle and new environment,” he said. “It’ll be just like a life of a new born baby – it’s going to be hard for them.” “The other thing is, most of these people have families and relatives buried at Sogi. This is going to be one major issue for these people.” “Again, this needs to be covered during a social impact assessment. Unfortunately, they don’t carry out researches on the impact of these decisions and projects on people.” One family in Sogi village is taking legal action over government moves to relocate them. The government said it was moving people because of the threat they face from climate change as much of the town is low lying. Some of the families in Sogi were settled there generations ago after their ancestors had been brought there by the country’s then German colonial masters. Ownership of the land was eventually vested in them but a 76-year-old member of one the affected families, Nanai Liu Tokuma, said the government is violating his family’s rights to own and live on the land. The government has maintained that its decision to move families in Sogi village, including the Tokuma family, is final. But Nanai said the government’s plans had less to do with concerns about climate change and more to do with the plans of business people to develop the area. The decision by the government to relocate residents of Sogi was initially announced in 2011. The government then offered families a quarter acre of land at Falelauniu which they will lease to own at just over $30,000 and $3000 cash to relocate. Many families at Sogi have taken up the offer. But many others have refused. A 30-day notice given to residents at Sogi to relocate expired on May 5 this year. Earlier, an elderly mother, Tala Leiataua, issued a heartfelt plea to the prime minister: “We’re ready to face the consequences but we want to be buried on this land. Tuilaepa, this land is where our grave is. This is where we belong. I ask the government to dig a hole and throw us all in there. I’d rather die and be buried on the land my ancestors passed down to us.” - PNC sources
Struggles of albino Fijians documented
FIJI – Fiji is a country that attracts many tourists seeking to bask in its abundance of sunshine, but for a significant number of Fijian locals, sunlight is something they try their best to avoid.
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