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.
TONGA – Pita Taufatofua, the sculpted taekwondo fighter who caused a sensation when he carried Tonga’s flag at the Rio Olympics earlier this year, has announced plans to go to the 2018 Winter Games as a cross-country skier.
Latest Fiji expulsion ‘reeks of authoritarianism’
FIJI – A group representing some foreign landowners in Fiji says it’ll be mounting a campaign against travel to the country as a protest over land law changes.
FIJI – Churches have failed in their primary role in providing individuals with spiritual counselling and grounding, according to Fiji’s Ministry of iTaukei Affairs training officer Ro Aca Mataitini.
AUSTRALIA – A sick Iranian asylum seeker on Manus Island missed a flight to Port Moresby because of “visa issues”, an inquest into his death in Australia has heard.
New law to make hospital births compulsory
A 22-YEAR-old man drug grower was sentenced to 18 months probation and a fine of $600 at the Cook Islands High Court.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – A human rights group in Papua New Guinea has congratulated US President-elect Donald Trump on his victory – optimistic that he will correct alleged US atrocities in relation to historic disease research in the Eastern Highlands 60 years ago.
Ministerial changes in Vanuatu pose challenges for organisers
Mobile police unit burns 200 homes in reprisal
Castro: David to America’s Goliath
Islander families bereft after fishing trip tragedy
VANUATU – A man is dead and two homes were set on fire after a fight broke out a wedding on the island of Erakor, a small island in the Efate lagoon off Port Vila, last Friday evening.
NEW ZEALAND – A new film about a New Zealand-born Samoan strongman is aimed at inspiring Pasifika youth to dream big and work hard to achieve their goals.
NEW CALEDONIA – A New Caledonian anti-independence party has called for the French army to be deployed to contain the lawlessness south of Noumea where gunmen have repeatedly attacked road users and blocked the main road.
Bainimarama invites climate change sceptic to Fiji
FIJI – Fiji TV has been asked by Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) chief executive Riyaz Sayed-Khaiyum to retract a story which he says wrongly portrays him by saying he called all social media commentators in Fiji “idiots.”
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – The lawyer representing refugees detained on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island says the government has indicated it will settle his clients’ claims for compensation.
PACIFIC – A US foreign policy scholar says a Trump presidency would bring uncertainty and instability to the broader Pacific region while a Clinton reign would refocus US efforts.
NEW ZEALAND – What does the Trump win mean for New Zealand’s relationship with the US, and how will one of the dirtiest campaigns in recent history influence our own election next year?