Sailors from Tahiti edged over Rarotonga, proving to be very competitive taking out first place in both the Lasers and the Optimist classes, winning the 2024 sailing challenge overall trophy.
Former Cook Islands prime minister and secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum, Henry Puna, has been confirmed as the first Cook Islander appointed to the East-West Center Board of Governors based in Honolulu, Hawaii.
DENGUE OUTBREAK ‘NO CAUSE FOR PANIC’
FRENCH POLYNESIA – French Polynesia’s Tahoeraa party says there have been a number of irregularities on part of the ruling Tapura party in the first round of voting for a new territorial assembly and complaints will be lodged.
NEW ZEALAND – The New Zealand aid programme is in the process of equipping Pacific fishermen with electronic locator beacons.
PACIFIC – As the world watches to see the outcome of a proposed denuclearisation talks between North Korea and the United States, islands in the middle of the Pacific are hoping it will mean a stop to the constant threat of a nuclear attack.
FLIGHTS SUSPENDED AFTER EMERGENCY
AUSTRALIA – Coral reefs are under threat if atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to rise, new research has shown.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Sitting at the collision point of several tectonic plates, Papua New Guinea is ranked the 10th most disaster-prone country in the world and is regularly rattled by earthquakes.
PACIFIC – New findings show that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a rotating soup of plastic in the north Pacific Ocean, contains up to 16 times more waste than previous surveys were able to detect.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Papua New Guinea’s foreign minister says his country is looking to draw on Australia’s expertise to better respond to future natural disasters after the massive earthquake that devastated PNG’s Highlands in February.
PACIFIC – An all-female crew of sailors, scientists and film-makers are set to cross the Pacific later this year to research plastic pollution.
NEW ZEALAND – Fresh air, fun and fitness combine when you take an electric bike for a spin, but what happens when it breaks down?
An extensive aerial search has been unable to find a fisherman who went missing from Karikari peninsula last Thursday.
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.
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.
NEW ZEALAND – Groups working with homeless people are bracing themselves for another gruelling few months as winter sets in.
LOCATOR BEACON RESCUES FISHERMAN
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.
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.
New Caledonia and Bougainville prepare to vote on independence
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.