AUSTRALIAN Foreign Minister Julie Bishop visited the Pacific state of Fiji last Friday and Saturday, promising steps to drop sanctions against its military government as part of efforts to “normalise” diplomatic relations between the two countries. Canberra imposed various sanctions after the Fijian military, led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama, seized power in 2006. The Australian…
GRIFFITH University and the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Secretariat have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 30th January 2014 at the Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia to consolidate a framework for long-term collaboration and partnership between the organisations. The purpose of the MoU is to provide clear direction to the agreed activities and to strengthen…
THE water, sanitation and sustainable energy crises are among the world’s pre-eminent development challenges, senior United Nations officials warned yesterday. And they urged Member States to adopt coherent integrated policies and innovative strategies to tackle these issues, which take a tragic toll on the lives of millions of poor people, especially women and young girls.…
RNZI: The Papua New Guinea police say it has not had any reports of Manus island locals being involved in attacks on asylum seekers in Canberra’s off-shore processing camp. One asylum seeker is dead following two nights of rioting and escapes from the Manus camp, 13 suffered serious injuries, including one flown to Australia in…
United States Congressman and chair of the Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security Homeland Defence and Foreign Operations in the House of Representative Jason Chaffetz has thanked the Papua New Guinea government for its ongoing support of the PNG LNG project. He expressed gratitude when paying a courtesy call on Prime Minister Peter…
RNZI: An advocate for Australia’s asylum seekers on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island says police were involved in a savage attack in the camp last night. Ian Rintoul of the Refugee Action Coalition says more than 50 detainees were seriously hurt when locals stormed the camp. Australia’s immigration minister, Scott Morrison, has confirmed a serious…
THE Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) has reinforced its commitment to support negotiations regarding the reopening of the Panguna mine. ABG President Chief Dr John Momis (pictured) said this during the Panguna landowners meeting with the ABG and stakeholders in Buka town last Thursday. The reinforcement stems from the K5 million per year allocation for 2014…
There are simply too many ships fishing within Fiji waters for too little tuna stocks. This was the message Radhika Kumar, a representative of the Fiji Tuna Boat Owners Association who was a panelist at last week’s public lecture on Fiji’s tuna industry. Kumar, who is also the general manager of Solander Pacific Limited,…
A cruise ship could be brought in if enough accommodation can not be found when Samoa hosts the Small Island Developing States conference in September. It will be one of the biggest events ever stage in the region with over 3000 delegates and media. The conference is being held to focus on issues such…
Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) president Moses Stevens from Vanuatu, is in for his third term as the PINA president. During its Annual General Meeting at Koniambo, in New Caledonia’s northern Province, acting PINA secretariat manager Makereta Komai said from the advice of their lawyers, Stevens and his deputy Michael Jackson, from Niue, had to…