November 2009
US airline reiterates Guam as regional hub
Updated 30/11/2009 09:48:01
Continental Airlines has confirmed Guam as its regional hub as Micronesia President and Chief Operating Officer Charles Duncan has moved to Guam permanently.
PNG-born Catholic bishop for Vanuatu
Updated 30/11/2009 09:48:01
Vanuatu has a new Catholic bishop, with the Vatican naming Papua New Guinea-born Father John Bosco Baremes to take on the role.
Affects of global warming on Pacific food security
Updated 30/11/2009 09:48:01
Pacific nations are being warned that global warming could seriously affect their ability to grow food and catch fish in the future.
NZ PM calls Copenhagen one big 'photo op'
Updated 30/11/2009 09:48:01
Today's release of New Zealand's 2025 Taskforce Report states the nation faces a huge challenge in closing the income gap between New Zealand and Australia over the next 16 years.
Pacific rep to Copenhagen to take Rarotonga Declaration
Updated 30/11/2009 09:48:01
Our reporter in Cook Islands, Ulamila Kurai Wragg, has been a climate change witness representing the Pacific at the United Nations, and is on the move again this morning on the way to Copenhagen.
Scientists frustrated at Australia ETS bickering
Updated 30/11/2009 09:48:01
There's more frustration in Australia as the debate over the proposed emissions trading scheme continues, destabilising the opposition's leadership and causing rifts within the government.
'Good budget' as compared to balanced Fiji budget
Updated 30/11/2009 09:48:01
In Fiji last Friday interim Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, handed down the 2010 budget.
Team sports to dominate Vanuatu Games
Updated 30/11/2009 09:48:00
The Vanuatu Games are set to kick-off from the 4-12 December, and our regular contributor Brian Minikin is there to conduct training aimed specifically at the Sports Development Unit, responsible for the Results Center of the Games.
Port Vila to host Vanuatu National Games
Updated 30/11/2009 18:09:58
Vanuatu's capital Port Vila will host this year's National Games.
PNG Vision 2050 - a theory
Updated 30/11/2009 18:09:58
Papua New Guinea's government has come up with an ambitious ''Vision 2050'' plan to manage the country's resources.
Fiji out of Commonwealth Games
Updated 30/11/2009 18:09:59
Fiji has been kept out of next year's Commonwealth Games in India.
Tonga Inquiry - no interim finding on ferry disaster
Updated 30/11/2009 18:09:59
Tonga's Royal Commission of Inquiry into the sinking of the MV Princess Ashika has decided not to hand down a preliminary finding on the disaster.
CHOGM strong stand on Climate Change
Updated 30/11/2009 18:09:59
The most important declaration coming out of the Heads of Commonwealth Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago at the weekend was on climate change.
China adopts Little New Zealand
Updated 27/11/2009 09:59:52
An original and ambitious project is underway to build a replica New Zealand city in northern China.
Australian cane toad sneaks into New Zealand
Updated 27/11/2009 09:59:52
A cane toad has managed to get past New Zealand's strict border security by hitching a ride across the Tasman with an unsuspecting tourist from Cairns.
Balanced PNG budget draws cautious optimism
Updated 27/11/2009 09:59:52
The Papua New Guinea opposition has come out with a cautiously optimistic reaction to last week's budget, with analysts also surprised that the government was able to balance its books.
Organisations evolving with climate science
Updated 27/11/2009 09:59:52
The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, or SPREP, completed its annual meeting last week where it began reviewing the relevance of ongoing and future projects as climate science evolves.
How PNG agriculture drives a nation
Updated 27/11/2009 09:59:52
Agriculture is the most important activity carried out by most Papua New Guineans and dominates life physcially, culturally, economically, socially and nutritionally.
Australian opposition ETS disarray threatens leader
Updated 27/11/2009 09:59:52
Australia's opposition leader, Malcom Turnbull, is facing increasing resistance within his own ranks with at least seven - and possibly more - of Mr Turnbull's frontbenchers having now resigned their shadow portfolios.
Capital at risk if tsunami hits Tongan island
Updated 27/11/2009 09:59:52
A review committee has heard that Tonga's capital, Nuku'alofa, is at great risk if a tsunami hits the country's main island of Tongatapu.
Full cost emerging of Fiji floods
Updated 27/11/2009 09:59:53
Fiji is getting closer to knowing the full impact the February floods are having on industry, economy and communities.
Major polluters swap last-minute notes on Copenhagen
Updated 27/11/2009 09:59:53
A legally binding deal from December's Copenhagen climate change summit is highly unlikely, but 58 world leaders are now going.
Fiji's Cibi war chant polarises
Updated 27/11/2009 17:53:09
Fiji's decision on religious grounds not to perform the Cibi, or war chant, before their rugby test against Scotland in Edinburgh has polarised the deeply religious but rugby-mad nation.
Australia Sports CEO backs Fiji to Comm Games
Updated 27/11/2009 17:53:09
Fiji will learn this weekend if they will compete at the Commonwealth Games in India next year.
Australia's PM backs island nations' plight
Updated 27/11/2009 17:53:10
Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has again said the plight of the world's island nations is a major reason action on climate change is needed sooner rather than later.
Region at risk in Pacific HIV-STI fight
Updated 27/11/2009 17:53:10
The Secretariat of the Pacific Community says there's no time to waste in the fight against the spread HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in the region.
PNG Kandep re-poll amidst high security.
Updated 27/11/2009 17:53:10
Papua New Guinea's Electoral Commissioner has ordered that polling be carried out again in three areas in the Kandep Constituency in Enga Province.
No Fiji budget documents released
Updated 27/11/2009 17:53:10
Fiji's interim prime minister commodore Frank Bainimarama has announced an increase in funding for the police in his budget announced today.
Vanuatu PM forced out of electorate seat
Updated 27/11/2009 17:53:10
The Prime Minister of Vanuatu, Edward Natapei has been forced out of parliament.
Soccer mad Solomons hanging on results of Cup
Updated 26/11/2009 10:04:10
Solomon Islands is currently hosting the country's most popular biennial event, the Solomon Cup soccer championship.
Netball coach continues Fiji court case as Wales beckons
Updated 26/11/2009 10:04:10
Former Fiji netball coach Melissa Walker has been confirmed as the new high performance coach of Wales.
Vanuatu breaks world story writing record
Updated 26/11/2009 10:04:11
It already has the world's first underwater post office, and now Vanuatu has broken another world record - this time for the most people writing a story in 24 hours.
Email leaks give climate change sceptics ammunition
Updated 26/11/2009 10:04:11
As Pacific leaders prepare for the United Nations Copenhagen climate change meeting next month, a computer hacker has sparked a new round of debate between climate change activists and sceptics.
Fiji NGO concerned about broadcast license change
Updated 26/11/2009 10:04:11
A prominent Fiji non-government organisation, Citizens Constitutional Forum, has questioned the interim government's latest moves to regulate the broadcasting spectrum.
Poverty reduction lags as PNG economy booms
Updated 26/11/2009 10:04:11
Papua New Guinea is in its seventh consecutive year of economic growth, with the level of poverty estimated to have dropped 8-point-8 percentage points.
NGO says Commonwealth 'caught in old habits'
Updated 26/11/2009 10:04:11
The director of the Royal Commonwealth Society, Danny Sriskandarajah, is currently in Trinidad where he just finished launching a damning report into the modern relevance of the Commonwealth to assembled media.
Damning report into modern relevance of Commonwealth
Updated 26/11/2009 10:04:11
The Commonwealth, the once revered body, is being told it is out of touch and should undergo radical reform to regain relevance and clout.
Security Concerns for Solomons Cup Final
Updated 26/11/2009 17:56:37
Players and match officials have been told to avoid inflaming fans during Saturday's Solomon Cup soccer final.
PNG airports to get major revamp
Updated 26/11/2009 17:56:37
Papua New Guinea is about to begin a major revamp of its airports.
Australian growers snub Pacific guest worker scheme
Updated 26/11/2009 17:56:37
Australia's Pacific Seasonal Workers Pilot Scheme is still struggling to get off the ground.
Vanuatu villagers evacuated from active volcano
Updated 26/11/2009 17:56:37
More than 300 people are being evacuated from villages near a Vanuatu volcano which is spewing ash and gas into the air.
Continue PNG anti-Asian inquiry says sacked chair
Updated 26/11/2009 17:56:38
The sacked head of the inquiry into the violent anti-Asian riots in Papua New Guinea in May has warned the government against abandoning the inquiry.
Misconceptions of Pacific foods unearthed
Updated 25/11/2009 09:52:08
Agriculture dominates Papua New Guinea's rural economy, but there is a fair deal of ignorance about just how important it is.
Literacy as a peacekeeping device in Solomons prisons
Updated 25/11/2009 09:52:10
Traditionally, peacekeepers work in theatres of war and in areas of armed conflict, but Ollie Pokana now happens to be teaching literacy in Solomon Islands prisons.
Tongan democracy debate given plenty of publicity
Updated 25/11/2009 09:52:10
The Tongan government is saturating the media to make sure its people follow the parliamentary debate on huge changes to the country's political system.
Indonesia, fisheries troubled by Timor Sea oil leak
Updated 25/11/2009 09:52:10
More reports have emerged of decimated fish stocks off the coast of our near-neighbour Indonesia following a massive oil spill in the Timor Sea.
Conservation group reiterates climate tipping point
Updated 25/11/2009 09:52:10
A document just released by the World Wildlife Fund offers a stern warning - shape-up or suffer the consequences of global warming.
Opposition says PNG budget 'puts all eggs in LNG basket'
Updated 25/11/2009 09:52:10
Our Papua New Guinea Correspondent in Port Moresby, Liam Fox, has been closely following the reactions to last week's budget announcement.
Rally as French Polynesia Assembly votes on no-confidence
Updated 25/11/2009 09:52:11
A crowd has gathered outside French Polynesia's Assembly in protest at the French territory's latest motion of no-confidence.
Fiji constitution author says decrees not democratic
Updated 25/11/2009 09:52:11
One of the co-authors of the abrogated 1997 constitution, Dr Brij Lal, says that the coup-installed interim government decreeing which parts of a constitution to choose is problematic.
Fiji govt to resurrect elements of former constitution
Updated 25/11/2009 09:52:11
Fiji's interim government says it will continue to use parts of the 1997 constitution as a basis for its governance program.
More women wanted in Pacific police forces
Updated 25/11/2009 17:40:41
Police women in Pacific island countries will have a better chance of getting front line positions if Samoan policewoman Siripa Uelese has her way.
Australian resort owners in Samoa not happy
Updated 25/11/2009 17:40:41
The Australian owners of a resort in Samoa which was wiped out by the Tsunami, have accused the Australian government of abandoning them.
Samoan businesses want access to tsunami relief aid
Updated 25/11/2009 17:40:41
Samoa's business community wants aid money for victims of the tsunami to be shared with disaster affected private sector enterprises.
ADB 5-year focus in Pacific
Updated 25/11/2009 17:40:41
Living standards are set to improve in the Pacific after the Asian Development Bank announced a five year plan for the region.
Fiji awaits Commonwealth Games decision
Updated 25/11/2009 17:40:40
Fiji sports leaders will learn this weekend if they are going to the Commonwealth Games, in India, next year.
Fiji answers critics of broadcast license change
Updated 24/11/2009 10:02:08
Fiji's interim Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says the current broadcast spectrum licensing practises are haphazard and poorly planned.
China push for greater peacekeeping role
Updated 24/11/2009 10:02:05
China continues to win praise as it aims to expand an already significant role it plays in United Nations peacekeeping.
New York activist leader stands by Pacific women
Updated 24/11/2009 10:02:07
Colette Tamko may co-facilitate the global Gender Equality Architecture Reform Campaign - comprising of more than 400 organisations working towards a stronger women's agency at the United Nations - but the rest of her CV is also an impressive read.
Vanuatu's huge logistical task for census
Updated 24/11/2009 10:02:08
The 2009 Vanuatu Census is underway, with officials given two weeks to count every person on the country's more than 80 islands.
Solomons considers new parliamentary way to remove PM
Updated 24/11/2009 10:02:08
The Solomon Islands Parliament is today debating whether to pass the Political Party Integrity Bill which will give ruling parties the right to remove a prime minister without a motion of no-confidence.
Icebergs heading for New Zealand
Updated 24/11/2009 10:02:08
New Zealanders living on the country's southern tip could be treated to a rare sight as a cluster of Antarctic icebergs slowly makes its way north, and could even reach the coastline.
East Antarctic ice sheet melt faster than expected
Updated 24/11/2009 10:02:08
A new study shows that the world's largest ice shelf has lost almost 60 billion tonnes of ice per year for the past three years - long thought to be largely unaffected by climate change.
International condemnation of Fiji broadcast changes
Updated 24/11/2009 10:02:08
Fiji's bid to reorganise the country's broadcast spectrum has drawn criticism from Australia and New Zealand's foreign ministers.
PNG's troubled Kandep by-election count delayed
Updated 24/11/2009 18:32:11
Papua New Guinea's Electoral Commission has delayed the counting of votes for the seat of Kandep in the PNG highlands due to security concerns.
New government lineup sits in Vanuatu's parliament
Updated 24/11/2009 18:32:11
Vanuatu's parliament has commenced its latest sitting with a new government lineup.
IMF warns Fiji on debt and inflation
Updated 24/11/2009 18:32:11
Fiji's economy faces serious problems and efforts are needed to contain government debt and inflation.
Outsiders helping Fiji government cautioned
Updated 24/11/2009 18:32:11
According to the New Zealand-based Coalition for Democracy in Fiji, citizens of democratic countries should think twice before doing anything which helps the coup-installed interim government of Fiji.
Coral Triangle's stand on climate change threats
Updated 24/11/2009 14:08:14
Coral Triangle countries have a powerful voice on climate change to take to Copenhagen next month.
Australia seals climate change legislation
Updated 24/11/2009 18:32:12
The Australian government has sealed a political deal which it hopes will get its long-delayed climate change legislation through Parliament.
Olympian inducted in Fiji Sports Hall of Fame
Updated 24/11/2009 18:32:10
And now a tale about a Pacific island track and field athlete who reached the quarter finals of the Montreal Olympic Games only to retire the following year at 25 years of age.
Guam unhappy with US fund use to cover shortfall
Updated 23/11/2009 10:08:48
Guam's Governor Felix Camacho has criticised the US Department of the Interior for deciding to use 2010 Compact Funds to cover a funding shortfall without consulting him.
Tongan newspaper condemned by AG over judge criticism
Updated 23/11/2009 10:08:46
A Tongan newspaper has been criticised by the country's Attorney-General for its comments about one of the country's judges.
NZ Santa unveils his new look
Updated 23/11/2009 10:08:48
The 20 metre-high Santa that has graced the city centre of Wellington, New Zealand, for decades has unveiled his new facelift after years of complaints that his former look was "creepy".
National Games a fertile field for new PNG champions
Updated 23/11/2009 10:08:48
The Papua New Guinea National Games are now well underway, and our regular commentator and Manager of Regional Sport Development for the Oceania National Olympic Committees is there to review this growing event.
Kurt Fearnley's remarkable journey through Kokoda
Updated 23/11/2009 10:08:48
The Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea was the scene of an inspirational story last week as wheelchair athlete Kurt Fearnley conquered the 96-kilometre mountain trek on his hands and knees.
Mobile phones leapfrog old banking, trade ways in Pacific
Updated 23/11/2009 10:08:48
The Pacific has one of the highest uptakes of mobile phones per capita for practical reasons as they prove to be a powerful tool for the delivery of basic financial services to lower income housholds.
Melting pot of Australian migrants shows strain
Updated 23/11/2009 10:08:48
Last week, our sister program on the ABC, AM, toured Australia's northern-eastern state of Queensland to gauge the way the quickly growing population there is coping with issues such as fewer resources and assimulation.
Police update injury list in Saipan shooting
Updated 23/11/2009 10:08:49
Five people are dead, including the gunman, after a shooting rampage on the island of Saipan in the Northern Marianas on Friday.
Interim Fiji govt revokes broadcast licenses
Updated 23/11/2009 10:08:49
Fiji's interim government has revoked all of the country's broadcasting licenses and since Saturday all television and radio stations have been given a temporary license.
Security threat for PNG's by-election count
Updated 23/11/2009 18:02:48
The Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission has moved the venue for the counting of votes for the Kandep by-election in Enga Province, to Goroka in the Eastern Highlands province due to security concerns.
Pacific leads world in sustainable palm oil
Updated 23/11/2009 18:02:48
The New Britain Palm Oil - the biggest palm oil operator in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands has become a world leader sustainable palm oil production.
Yap grieves for murdered student missionary
Updated 23/11/2009 18:02:47
The residents of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia are reeling from the murder of a student missionary on the island.
Peak environment group backs binding Copenhagen treaty
Updated 20/11/2009 13:13:03
The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, SPREP, has backed pleas for the adoption of a legally binding treaty at next month's UN climate change talks.
Winners and losers in PNG budget
Updated 20/11/2009 13:10:01
Two guests join us to help us analyse Papua New Guinea's 2010 national budget - David Caradus is a tax partner from PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and our regular finance commentator and CEO of Kina Securities, Syd Yates.
Pacific urged to follow UK and scrap criminal libel laws
Updated 20/11/2009 13:14:25
A Pacific regional journalists organisation says a review of the law of criminal libel in the United Kingdom is something which should be replicated in the Pacific region.
PNG survivors in Marshalls recovering well
Updated 20/11/2009 13:16:18
Five Papua New Guinea men who escaped death after being lost at sea for more than two months are recovering well in a hospital in Marshall Islands.
Conservation blueprint for Pacific sharks
Updated 20/11/2009 10:03:27
The Pacific's key regional conservation groups have established a plan of action for the management of sharks and stingrays.
Thai television pandas to viewers
Updated 20/11/2009 10:03:26
Seinfeld was the long-running American TV show about nothing, but television producers in Thailand seem to have a cult-hit on their hands with something quite similar.
High-tech material in voyaging canoes defended
Updated 20/11/2009 10:03:26
The use of modern materials in the construction of traditional-style Polynesian ocean-going canoes is being defended by the company which has made the sails for the project.
Safety concern as Pacific adopts mobile phones
Updated 20/11/2009 10:03:26
The Pacific region has one of the highest uptakes of the mobile phone per capita, but are they safe for users?
New Zealand to hit local farmers with emissions tax
Updated 20/11/2009 10:03:26
New Zealand farmers have congratulated the Australian government for excluding agriculture from its planned emissions trading scheme - something the NZ government is imposing locally.
Australia maintains top in per capita carbon pollution
Updated 20/11/2009 10:03:27
An annual global snapshot has given world leaders a solid idea of how the planet is tracking with its carbon emissions and the latest audit has found carbon emissions are continuing to rise at 2 per cent a year.
Cancelled PNG trip suggests Yudhoyono busy with fraud case
Updated 20/11/2009 10:03:27
Doubt is being raised on claims by some Australian observers that Australia-Indonesia relations have been damaged by the Rudd government's handling of the saga of the Sri Lankan asylum seekers on the Australian vessel the Oceanic Viking.
Captain stands by Law of the Sea in PNG rescue
Updated 20/11/2009 10:03:27
The captain of the fishing vessel Ocean Encounter which saved the lives of five Papua New Guinean men says it was the most tragic and enduring rescue he has been involved in.
Australian Parliament hears claims of Pacific aid waste
Updated 20/11/2009 10:03:27
An Australian Parliamentary committee says Pacific states are not doing enough to assist their own development despite years of aid, particularly from Australia.
Australian palaeontologist finds new dinosaur
Updated 20/11/2009 10:03:24
An Australian palaeontologist has unearthed the fossilised remains of a new species of dinosaur, which has prompted a re-think of dinosaur evolution.
Trans-Pacific Partnership hopes to benefit Pacific
Updated 20/11/2009 13:08:13
United States President Barack Obama has thrown his weight behind using the Trans-Pacific Partnership as a way of bringing countries of the Asia-Pacific region into a free trade agreement.
New Caledonia's SLN nickel mine to cut workforce
Updated 20/11/2009 17:40:03
New Caledonian nickel miner SLN has confirmed plans to cut its work force by 12 percent.
PNG cholera spreads to East Sepik
Updated 20/11/2009 17:40:03
Five people have died from cholera in Papua New Guinea's East Sepik province.
Tonga Royal Commission in recess till December
Updated 20/11/2009 17:40:03
The Tongan Royal Commission into the sinking of the MV Princess Ashika has gone into recess until next month.
Offer to re-open PNG asylum-seeker detention center
Updated 20/11/2009 17:40:03
The governor of Papua New Guinea's Manus Province is backing the idea of an Australian government built detention centre in his province being re-opened.
Shooting rampage on Saipan leaves five dead
Updated 20/11/2009 17:40:03
Five people are dead after a shooting rampage on the island of Saipan earlier today.
Unacceptable maternal death rate in PNG
Updated 19/11/2009 09:42:34
After the launch of the State of the World Population report for this year in Canberra, Linda Mottram spoke further to the UNFPA's Najib Assifi about Papua New Guinea.
Annual population review sees dire maternal death rate
Updated 19/11/2009 09:42:35
The 2009 UN population assessment says global maternal mortality rates remain tragic and warns that climate change presents another burden for the poor - and women in particular.
Winning fight against malaria one nation at a time
Updated 19/11/2009 09:42:35
Half a billion people catch malaria every year and one million die, nevertheless, the fight has been energised in the years since the establishment of The Global Fund in 2002.
Pacific health surveillance strategy excites ASEAN
Updated 19/11/2009 09:42:35
The Secretariat of the Pacific Community, or SPC, received a delegation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, for the first time last week.
PNG National Games opens
Updated 19/11/2009 17:54:50
Police and Organisers are bracing for the largest ever PNG National Games in Port Moresby.
PNG shrugs global credit crisis to face inflation
Updated 19/11/2009 09:42:35
Papua New Guinea has emerged from the global economic crisis relatively unscathed, and the PNG budget handed down by Treasurer Patrick Pruaitch on Tuesday reflects that.
Food, agriculture perceived low on Copenhagen agenda
Updated 19/11/2009 09:42:35
With just weeks until the Copenhagen conference, 60 of the world's top agricultural scientists are urging global leaders to put crop research on the agenda at the climate change talks.
Excitement builds for Samoa Women's Rugby World Cup bid
Updated 19/11/2009 09:42:33
There's some good news for womens rugby in the region with Samoa entering a four-way race to host the Women's World Cup in 2014.
NZ more trusted than Australia
Updated 19/11/2009 17:54:51
New Zealand has been declared the world's least corrupt country.
Danger to Pacific coral reefs warns expert
Updated 19/11/2009 17:54:51
The worlds industrialised nations need to cut their carbon emissions by 90% by the middle of the century or the Pacific's coral reefs will be in severe danger.
RAMSI weighs short-term emergency versus development
Updated 18/11/2009 09:47:32
The Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, RAMSI, is now well into its seventh year - hailed by Pacific leaders as an outstanding example of regional cooperation, while at the same time condemned by some critics as simply Australian neo-colonialism.
Reviewing Solomon Islands conflict six years on
Updated 18/11/2009 09:47:32
The ethnic crisis in Solomon Islands in which Guadalcanal and Malaita competed for limited resources - namely jobs and housing - subsided in the late 1990s to early 2000.
New Caledonia voting changes place citizens first
Updated 18/11/2009 09:47:32
In 1998 the Noumea Accord created a new separate category of citizenship for New Calednonians, and ever since then concerned citizens - particularly the Kanak community - have worked tirelessly to protect the rights of locals over those of their French national compatriots.
City council calls for Solomon Cup to be scrapped
Updated 18/11/2009 09:47:32
The Solomon Islands Football Federation has been asked to abandon the remaining two weeks of the national soccer tournament, the Solomon Cup.
Budget reliant on success of PNG LNG development
Updated 18/11/2009 09:47:32
Papua New Guinea has handed down its 2010 budget at a time of gloal economic recovery and continued strong domestic growth.
Trans-Pacific Partnership hopes to benefit Pacific
Updated 18/11/2009 09:47:32
United States President Barack Obama has thrown his weight behind using the Trans-Pacific Partnership as a way of bringing countries of the Asia-Pacific region into a free trade agreement.
PNG men survive two months adrift at sea
Updated 18/11/2009 09:47:32
After two months lost at sea, seven men from Papua New Guinea have been found by a US-based fishing vessel , the Ocean Encounter.
Explorers hope to find Antarctic whiskey stash
Updated 18/11/2009 09:47:28
Early next year a team of New Zealand explorers will set off on one of the more unusual Antarctic expeditions - aiming to find some whisky which has been on ice for exactly one hundred years.
PNG LNG prominent in 2010 national budget.
Updated 18/11/2009 17:44:06
Papua New Guinea's National Research Institute has called on landowners, the government and developers to allow PNG's first Liquefied Natural Gas or LNG project to get off the ground, as it will fuel the country's economy.
Five PNG survivors recovering after two months at sea
Updated 18/11/2009 17:44:06
Five Papua New Guinea men who survived being lost at sea for two months are now recovering in hospital in the Marshall Islands.
Major reshuffle of Vanuatu's government
Updated 18/11/2009 17:44:07
Vanuatu's Prime Minister Edward Natapei has expelled three minority political parties from his coalition government, and brought the alliance of opposition MP's into power.
Police ready for PNG National Games
Updated 18/11/2009 17:44:06
There will be about 400 more police patrolling in and around Port Moresby during the PNG National Games, starting Thursday.
New dengue virus strains re-enter Australia
Updated 17/11/2009 09:41:52
Papua New Guinea health authorities have been struggling over the past few months with a steadily increasing incidence of dengue fever, while Fiji is also rolling out its own Dengue Fever Clean-Up campaign across the islands.
Confirmation any Copenhagen climate pact non-binding
Updated 17/11/2009 09:41:52
The Danish Prime Minister, Lars Rasmussen, has confirmed there will be no legally-binding climate pact signed by world leaders in Copenhagen next month.
Conservative cut to Atlantic bluefin tuna quota
Updated 17/11/2009 09:41:53
Following cuts just weeks ago to Pacific tuna fishing quotas of between 20-30 per cent, the number of Atlantic bluefin tuna allowed to be caught each year will now also be cut by nearly a third.
Coral Triangle meet to discuss conservation strategy
Updated 17/11/2009 09:41:53
A meeting this week in Solomon Islands seeks to find ways to preserve the reefs in the Coral Triangle within the territories of six countries - Malaysia, Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Solomon Islands.
Rural Fijian women get personal, economic security update
Updated 17/11/2009 09:41:53
The coordinator of FEMLINK, a media organisation for women based in Fiji, is currently in rural Sigatoka holding a women, peace and security consultation with locals there.
Tonga gets women's crisis center for abuse victims
Updated 17/11/2009 09:41:53
Tonga's first women's crisis centre has opened, giving women and children fleeing domestic violence a secure refuge.
Efforts to pacify scary NZ Santa makes matters worse
Updated 17/11/2009 09:41:50
A giant Santa that has been erected in the heart of Auckland isn't bringing much cheer, with large white bandages wrapped around his head scaring children and prompting one tourist to liken him to Michael Jackson.
Regional activitists caution about PACER Plus
Updated 17/11/2009 13:32:00
With Pacific island nations currently in discussions on a proposed free trade deal, PACER Plus, and both Australia and New Zealand having launched temporary guest workers schemes for Pacific islanders, globalisation is a hot topic.
Fiji to receive H1N1 flu vaccines
Updated 17/11/2009 13:32:00
The World Health Organisation in Fiji will receive a batch of vaccines in December to help protect against the H1N1 flu virus.
Solomons' students travel delayed by bank transaction ban
Updated 17/11/2009 17:59:07
The Solomon Islands says it will still use money provided by Iran to send 25 medical students to Cuba.
Pacific Trade with China sees explosive growth
Updated 17/11/2009 17:59:07
A new report from the ANZ Bank shows China's trade with the Pacific Islands has grown dramatically.
Kiribati President disappointed at APEC non-commitment on climate
Updated 17/11/2009 17:59:07
The President of the Pacific nation of Kiribati has described the lack of commitment shown by world leaders at APEC to a legally binding climate change agreement, as a major disappointment.
Ban on gillnets in Pacific waters
Updated 16/11/2009 08:49:37
Environment groups are celebrating the news that, come next year, it looks certain that fishing boats in South Pacific waters will no longer be able to use gillnets.
Hi-tech Japanese WWII subs discovered off Hawaii
Updated 16/11/2009 08:49:37
A little bit of World War II history has been rediscovered with a team from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Sanctuaries in the Pacific Islands finding the final resting place of two Japanese submarines scuttled by the US Navy at the end of the conflict.
Australian soldiers to be laid to rest in PNG
Updated 16/11/2009 08:49:37
After months of research, the remains of two Australian soldiers killed during the Second World War in Papua New Guinea have been identified.
Coast inundation to wipe Australian housing from map
Updated 16/11/2009 08:49:37
Up to 250,000 homes around Australia will be inundated by the end of this century, ports will disappear, airports will be submerged, and up to $A63 billion worth of residential property will go according to the most comprehensive climate report to date.
First open ocean conservation zone applauded
Updated 16/11/2009 08:49:37
Scientists are hailing a decision to declare the world's first zone to protect the marine life of the open ocean with a new reserve covering almost 60,000 square kilometres of the Southern Ocean, to the far south of the Falkland Islands.
Tonga pro-democracy movement welcomes proposed changes
Updated 16/11/2009 08:49:37
Tonga's pro-democracy movement has come out in support of moves to change the Kingdom's parliamentary system to give ordinary voters more power.
Fiji PM reiterates 2014 poll date on NZ TV
Updated 16/11/2009 10:12:03
Fiji's military leader and interim Prime Minister, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, has granted a rare interview on New Zealand television over the weekend.
Asia-Pacific leaders concede no hope for Copenhagen deal
Updated 16/11/2009 10:12:03
Asia-Pacific leaders representing about half the world's economy have conceded there will be no legally binding deal at the Copenhagen summit in just over twenty days' time.
Kangaroos win Four Nations Rugby League tournament
Updated 16/11/2009 08:49:33
The Melbourne Storm's Billy Slater ran in a hat-trick of second-half tries as Australia shrugged-off the English challenge to take-out the four nations rugby league tournament.
Positive Japan-US meetings for Guam troop movement
Updated 16/11/2009 10:12:00
The relocation of thousands of US troops, family and support personnel from Okinawa to Guam continues to be on track following meeting between Japan's leadership and the US President and Secretary of State last week.
Fiji to receive H1N1 flu vaccines
Updated 16/11/2009 18:16:00
The World Health Organisation in Fiji will receive a batch of vaccines in December to help protect against the H1N1 flu virus.
Regional activists caution about PACER Plus
Updated 16/11/2009 18:16:00
With Pacific island nations currently in discussions on a proposed free trade deal, PACER Plus, and both Australia and New Zealand having launched temporary guest workers schemes for Pacific islanders, globalisation is a hot topic.
Genetic modification saved Hawaii's papaya fruit industry
Updated 13/11/2009 09:28:31
Today papaya is one of Hawaii's most widely available fruits but that almost wasn't the case.
Delegates at Cooks climate meeting cycle to offset emissions
Updated 13/11/2009 09:28:30
A Pacific Parliamentary Assembly meeting is due to take place in Cook Islands this weekend and already, delegations from around the region are arriving for the event.
PNG parents encouraged to tackle illiteracy
Updated 13/11/2009 09:28:30
About two-thirds of the six million people in Papua New Guinea can't read or write.
Cash economy blamed for youth suicide in Micronesia
Updated 13/11/2009 09:28:31
A Catholic Jesuit priest who has spent 45 years studying the people and cultures of the islands of the northern Pacific says the advent of the cash economy has been a major contributor to youth suicide there.
Solomon Islands gets advice on rice growing from US expert
Updated 13/11/2009 09:28:31
Across Pacific Island nations rice has become the staple of a lot of diets.
SPREP to help break down barriers to renewable energy
Updated 13/11/2009 09:28:30
Despite the push to increase the use of renewable energy sources in Pacific Island nations many local governments are facing a number of financial and logistical barriers.
Australian case could change thoroughbred horse breeding practices
Updated 13/11/2009 10:11:03
The former Australian bookmaker, Bruce McHugh, is challenging restrictions on the use of artificial insemination to breed thoroughbred horses.
Phillipines dismisses claims 16,000 illegal Filipinos in PNG
Updated 13/11/2009 17:55:59
In Papua New Guinea, It's been a bad week for the Philippine embassy there.
Tsunami expert advises against escaping by car
Updated 13/11/2009 17:55:59
Since the September tsunami that left 170 people dead in the Samoas and Tonga, there has been much scrutiny of warning systems.
Port Moresby stock exchange bounces back
Updated 12/11/2009 09:56:24
The Port Moresby stock exchange has experienced another week of good growth after dipping last week.
First Nauru Games proving successful
Updated 12/11/2009 09:56:24
Organisers of the inaugural Nauru Games say the event, which is backed by the Oceania National Olympic Committees, is going well.
Breakthrough in prevention of Pacific's biggest eye problem
Updated 12/11/2009 09:56:25
In many Pacific Island countries, macular degeneration is the leading cause of permanent vision loss in people over the age of 55.
Push for recognition of Montevideo Maru maritime disaster in Australia
Updated 12/11/2009 09:56:25
In 1942 the Japanese ship Montevideo Maru, carrying Australian prisoners of war, and civilians, captured at Rabaul in PNG, was sunk off the Philipines coast by a US Submarine.
Wind and solar power crucial for remote Pacific Islanders
Updated 12/11/2009 09:56:25
Pacific Island governments are being asked to consider using solar and wind power for more remote villages.
New Zealand: Birds crash landing on the bitumen
Updated 12/11/2009 18:27:17
Police in New Zealand's south island get some unusual requests for help - officers are regularly called out to remove seals from people's backyards or chase deer off the road.
Solomons' National Population Census underway
Updated 12/11/2009 18:27:17
The 2009 national population and housing census is underway in Solomon Islands.
Australian MP wants more control of NZ immigration
Updated 12/11/2009 18:27:17
An Australian politician has called for a clamp down on immigration from New Zealand.
Fiji pension fund to recover unpaid contributions.
Updated 12/11/2009 18:27:17
Fiji's main pension fund says it will consider legal action if it can't recover millions of dollars in unpaid employer contributions.
Fiji's FISANOC online email petition
Updated 12/11/2009 18:27:13
The Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee has launched a social networking campaign against its ban from next year's Commonwealth Games.
NZ can't help Australia on current asylum seeker crisis
Updated 11/11/2009 18:00:04
New Zealand has told Australia it can't help solve its current asylum seeker crisis.
PNG considers Sovereign fund for LNG revenue
Updated 11/11/2009 18:00:04
The Papua New Guinea government will consider establishing a soverign wealth fund as a way of managing the huge revenues it expects from the ExxonMobil-led LNG project.
Vanuatu public calls for compulsary voting
Updated 11/11/2009 09:18:27
Authorities are getting ready to announce the line-up of the new municipal council for Vanuatu's capital Port Vila.
Rain makes conditions harsh for US Samoa's tsunami survivors
Updated 11/11/2009 09:18:26
Heavy rain in American Samoa has made for difficult conditions for the Pacific tsunami survivors still living under tarpaulin.
Artificial rabbit penis first step in reproducing human organs
Updated 11/11/2009 09:18:26
The rabbit is probably the last animal you'd think would need help with breeding, but help is on the way, nonetheless.
Niue turns to New Zealand for more tourism funding
Updated 11/11/2009 09:18:26
The Premier of Niue, Toke Talagi, says his country needs assistance from New Zealand to develop its tourism industry.
PNG accused of not having plan for Copenhagen talks
Updated 11/11/2009 09:18:27
There's concern in Papua New Guinea that the government hasn't yet come up with a set of proposals for next months' International Climate Change talks in Copenhagen.
PNG government under pressure over carbon trading policy
Updated 11/11/2009 09:18:27
Questions have been raised about the government of Papua New Guinea's policy on trading carbon emissions.
Business leaders urge APEC to move on trade deal
Updated 11/11/2009 09:18:27
Business leaders have met in Singapore ahead of the upcoming Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting.
Solomon Islands looks at outdated land ownership laws
Updated 11/11/2009 09:18:27
Community groups and business leaders in the Solomon Islands are drafting recommendations on how the land below the high water mark should be shared between traditional land owners and the government.
French Polynesian senator Gaston Flosse detained
Updated 11/11/2009 09:18:27
The former French Polynesian president, Gaston Flosse, has been taken into custody.
Australia still locked in emissions trading debate.
Updated 11/11/2009 18:00:04
Well with the Copenhagen talks just around the corner, climate change couldn't be more topical.
"Voluntourism" sees tourists in Samoa offer help
Updated 11/11/2009 18:00:04
Many tourists who have visited Samoa in the past are now returning to help the country recover from the recent tsunami.
More services needed for French Polynesian youth
Updated 11/11/2009 18:00:04
The organisation behind a new helpline for gay and lesbian people in French Polynesia says not enough is being done to support young people living in the territory.
AFL's Pacific recruiter at the helm of new Western Sydney team
Updated 10/11/2009 10:07:22
After agreeing to head a recruitment drive for Australian Football League (AFL) players in the Pacific, the former Essendon and Richmond coach, Kevin Sheedy, has also announced plans to win coverts in his own country.
Claims anti-plam oil campaign is contributing to poverty
Updated 10/11/2009 10:07:22
An Australian think tank is blaming environmental groups campaigning against palm oil for pushing people in developing countries further into poverty.
Claims fossil fuel subsidies are counterproductive
Updated 10/11/2009 10:07:22
A coalition of environmental groups calling on the G20 to abolish fossil fuels is disappointed with the outcome of this weekend's gathering of finance ministers in Scotland.
Leaked documents reveal role of Fiji Chief Justice in expulsions
Updated 10/11/2009 10:07:22
Fresh details are emerging about the role of Fiji's Chief Justice in the recent explusions of Australia's High Commissioner from Suva and Fiji's representative from Canberra.
Inquiry into PNG riots hears of anti-Asian sentiments
Updated 10/11/2009 10:07:23
The public inquiry into last May's riots in Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby has been postponed because many of those participating in the inquiry are members of parliament who are due to return to work.
Samoan minister sues US over passport dispute
Updated 10/11/2009 10:07:23
The Samoan government minister, Hans Joachim Kiel, has decided to sue the US government for US$10 million over his eight day imprisonment last year.
Pacific women's rights groups to bring domestic abuse issue to men
Updated 10/11/2009 10:07:21
A group of Pacific Island organisations working to tackle domestic abuse have turned their attention to men.
Volunteers to rebuild villages in Samoa
Updated 10/11/2009 18:12:03
Habitat for Humanity has been given the go ahead by Samoa's government to build 350 new homes in villages along the country's tsunami devastated south coast of Upolu.
Study wants Australia to increase scholarships for Pacific
Updated 10/11/2009 18:12:08
A new report calls for a decade-long funding boost and a host of new institutions to substantially upgrade Australia's expertise on the Pacific.
Taiwan helps Solomons Telecommunication
Updated 10/11/2009 18:12:08
Taiwan has helped to bail the Solomon Islands government out of a legal issue it got itself into, in its move to free up the monopoly in the telecommunication industry given to Our Telekom company.
Tonga takes giant step to democracy
Updated 10/11/2009 18:12:03
Tonga has made some giant leaps towards democracy today.
NZ politicians in hot water over travel expenses
Updated 09/11/2009 10:49:43
New Zealand has pledged an extra $3 million to help rebuild Samoa's tourism industry.
Vanuatu uses cellphones to register births and deaths
Updated 09/11/2009 10:49:43
Vanuatu has started using mobile phone technology to register births and deaths in the country.
Australian study finds no difference between filtered and unfiltered r
Updated 09/11/2009 10:49:43
Drinking waster is obtained from many sources in the Pacific.
Former Fiji netball coach faces deportation
Updated 09/11/2009 10:49:43
Fiji's former national netball coach, Melissa Walker, has been served with a deportation notice.
Guam monitors Japanese protests over US navy base
Updated 09/11/2009 10:49:43
Guam's government says its still confident the movement of U-S marines from Japan to Guam will go ahead as planned, despite a number of protests over the weekend.
UN holds workshops on documenting human rights abuses for Pacific NGOs
Updated 09/11/2009 10:49:44
The regional Office for the Pacific of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), is running two workshop this month on how to improve the monitoring and documenting of human rights abuses.
PNG opposition calls for more scrutiny of government spending
Updated 09/11/2009 10:49:44
Papua New Guinea's Deputy Opposition Leader is calling for more scrutiny of how and where the Somare government is spending money.
China signs million dollar LNG agreement with PNG
Updated 09/11/2009 10:49:44
China has signed an agreement to buy 40 million tons of liquefied natural gas from Papua New Guinea.
CNMI governor to be decided in run-off election
Updated 09/11/2009 10:49:44
The next governor of Northern Mariana Islands will be decided in a runoff election, after all four pairings failed to get the 50 percent plus one votes required for an outright win.
Nauru holds first National Games
Updated 09/11/2009 10:49:43
Nauru is holding its inaugural National Games, as part of an initiative backed by the Oceania National Olympic Committees.
ADB sees Pacific hope in increased tourist numbers
Updated 09/11/2009 18:02:07
The Asian Development Bank says a sharp increase in the number Australian tourists visiting the Pacific has raised hopes that the region's vital tourist industry is recovering from the global financial crisis.
Anti-government blogs in Fiji say they're being blocked
Updated 09/11/2009 18:02:07
Some anti-government blogs in Fiji are reporting that their readers are finding it impossible to read them.
Tonga's Shipping company boss suspended
Updated 09/11/2009 18:02:07
In Tonga, a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the country's most recent ferry disaster has entered its third week.
Samoa & Tonga's PMs attend NZ tsunami service
Updated 09/11/2009 18:02:07
New Zealand has hosted a major church service in memory of those who died in the September tsunami.
Regional environment group overseeing Samoa rebuild material
Updated 06/11/2009 10:12:59
The newly appointed Director of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, David Sheppard, joins Pacific Beat for our regular weekly hook up with the regional organisation.
Support for conversational Maori test in Cooks
Updated 06/11/2009 10:12:59
Our regular contributor in the Cook Islands, Ulamila Kurai Wragg, says the Maori language prerequisite is not such a huge leap for other islanders, and only a few passages are needed to pass the residency test.
Spoken Maori prerequisite for Cook Islands residency
Updated 06/11/2009 10:12:59
People who want to become Cook Islanders will soon have to learn Maori.
East Timor to seek compensation if rig oil hits shore
Updated 06/11/2009 10:12:59
East Timor says it will seek compensation from Australia if its waters or shores are polluted by oil from a leaking oil rig off Australia's northern coast.
Solomons official says Fiji incidents harming relations
Updated 06/11/2009 10:12:59
A senior Solomon Islands government official has described the latest stoush between Fiji, Australia and New Zealand as unfortunate.
'I have no reason to lie on this' says Brij Lal
Updated 06/11/2009 10:12:59
Pacific Beat speaks to Professor Brij Lal in Australia's capital, Canberra, his home and also home to the Australian National University.
Fiji swears-in President as academic ban fuels world press
Updated 06/11/2009 10:12:59
As the world's media focused on the ejection of a leading locally-born academic from Fiji, the military regime swore-in its new President and former military man, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau.
AFL legend Sheedy leads charge for Pacific recruits
Updated 06/11/2009 10:12:58
The Australian Football League is now turning its attention to the Pacific for recruits, and it has enlisted one of the sport's most famous characters to lead the charge, Kevin Sheedy.
Guam teenage girls involved in fight club
Updated 06/11/2009 18:09:14
The presence of teen fight clubs on Guam has become a concern in the community, after two girls aged 13 and 14 were caught punching each other at a bus stop in Santa Rita.
Pacific Islands lag behind in preserving culture
Updated 06/11/2009 18:09:15
When it comes to recognising and preserving areas of cultural importance, the Pacific Island countries are being accused of lagging behind.
Row with Fiji a test for Australian diplomacy
Updated 06/11/2009 18:09:15
Has Australia missed an opportunity with Fiji, after its decision to embark on a tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsion this week?
Fiji badly served by censorship
Updated 06/11/2009 18:09:15
A Fijian politician says the military backed regime is doing itself damage by censoring all voices of dissent.
Australian paralympian ready for Kokoda Track
Updated 06/11/2009 18:09:14
Australian paralympian Kurt Fearnley says after 12 months preparation he's ready to face the Kokoda Track this weekend.
Former judges, lawyers despair at Fiji legal system
Updated 05/11/2009 09:51:34
Australian lawyer Frances Douglas QC was sacked in April as a judge on the Fijian Court of Appeal having been there and sworn in for just four days.
NGO backs Fiji govt claim travel ban hinders judiciary
Updated 05/11/2009 09:51:34
Earlier this week, the local chapter of Transparency International backed Fiji's Chief Justice Anthony Gates in his call for the New Zealand and Australian Governments to lift travel bans against members of the judiciary.
Judicial 'meddling' behind Fiji, Australia, NZ fall-out
Updated 05/11/2009 09:51:34
Australia says it's not tit-for-tat, but yesterday Canberra and Wellington ordered the expulsion of Fiji's High Commissioners to their capitals.
Former Fiji commander seeks political asylum
Updated 05/11/2009 09:51:34
With the interrogation of Professor Brij Lal, a colleague at Australia National University and former Fiji Land Forces Commander, Colonel Jone Baledrokadroka, says he is proven right in currently seeking political asylum.
Fiji-born academic interrogated after media comment
Updated 05/11/2009 09:51:34
Fiji-born political commentator Brij Lal is the latest casualty of the interim regime having been taken to military barracks yesterday, then given 24 hours to leave the country.
Business wants Australia to soften anti-Fiji stance
Updated 05/11/2009 09:51:34
The Australia-Fiji Business Council have called on the Australian government to show what it describes as maturity, and soften its hard line stance against the coup-installed military government in Fiji.
PNG stocks take hit before China LNG deal
Updated 05/11/2009 09:51:33
The Port Moresby stock exchange has taken another hit of more than 5 per cent this week, even with yesterday's signing with China's Sinopec to the PNG LNG project to buy 40 million tonnes of gas over 20 years.
Reports Dame Carol loses PNG sport portfolio
Updated 05/11/2009 09:51:33
It seems the Papua New Guinea sports portfolio has been transferred between ministries.
Pacific update suggests remittances, Australia for growth
Updated 05/11/2009 09:51:34
The latest World Bank economic update for East Asia and the Pacific has praised the region's fast rebound from the global financial crisis.
Sustainability theme for Vanuatu National Arts Festival
Updated 05/11/2009 09:51:32
Vanuatu's capital, Port Vila, is the hub of Pacific cultural activity this week as the National Arts Festival kicked off on Monday.
CNMI elections this weekend
Updated 05/11/2009 18:05:37
Two things set this weekend's elections in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands apart from previous polls.
Fiji censors keep Lal expulsion out of local media
Updated 05/11/2009 18:05:37
Over the past week the events in Fiji have been front page news in Australia, New Zealand, and many other parts of the world, including the Pacific.
Fiji deports Fiji-born Australian academic Dr Brij Lal
Updated 05/11/2009 18:05:38
Fijian-born, Australian academic Brij Lal says he was subjected to intense verbal abuse, foul language and explosive anger, while in detention in Suva this week.
Young, skilled Fijians put off returning home
Updated 05/11/2009 18:05:37
An Indo-Fijian law student in the United States says many talented and qualified younger Fiji citizens living and studying abroad are reluctant to return home because of the actions of interim prime minister Frank Bainimarama.
Fiji PM, incoming President, Chief Justice decided ban
Updated 04/11/2009 09:53:16
One of the questions now being asked is how did Commodore Bainimarama arrive at such a position?
Academic says expulsion by Fiji not unexpected
Updated 04/11/2009 09:53:15
A leading Fiji academic says the expulsion of Australia and New Zealand High Commissioners is sending a message that the military government is solidifying the nation's sovereignty, and will stand up to the "big bullies" implementing the travel bans.
Australian Foreign Minister responds to Fiji expulsion
Updated 04/11/2009 09:53:15
Both Australia's High Commissioner, James Batley, and New Zealand's acting Deputy High Commissioner, Todd Cleaver, now have under 24 hours to leave - the third time in three years the top New Zealand official has been kicked out of Fiji.
Fiji orders Australia, NZ chief ambassadors out
Updated 04/11/2009 09:53:16
Fiji's military leader Commodore Frank Bainimarama has ordered the Australia and New Zealand High Commissioners in Suva out of the country.
Mystery continues in Ponhpei's Nan Madol
Updated 04/11/2009 09:53:15
It is not very often in a reporter's career that he or she gets the opportunity to trace the steps of Indiana Jones, like Sean Dorney did in the ruins of Nan Madol.
The awe of centuries-old Nan Madol on Pohnpei
Updated 04/11/2009 09:53:15
Australia Network's Pacific Correspondent, Sean Dorney, has just returned from one of the most mystifying places in the Pacific - the ruins of the temple city of Nan Madol on Pohnpei island in the Federated States of Micronesia.
Funding for Micronesian cancer research via Hawaii, Guam
Updated 04/11/2009 09:53:15
A health survey of cancer patients in Micronesia has just received an injection of funds to continue the research.
World Bank Pacific tour sees expansion of project funds
Updated 04/11/2009 09:53:15
The Managing Director of the World Bank, Juan Jose Daboub, has been in the Pacific region for the past few weeks.
Post-tsunami infections shortening life
Updated 04/11/2009 09:53:15
To Samoa now where authorities are growing increasingly concered about the rising number of health issues following the September tsunami.
Timor Sea oil rig leak, fire contained
Updated 04/11/2009 09:53:15
The oil and gas leak in the Timor Sea off Australia's northern coast has finally been stopped, and the huge fire which started on the well head of the West Atlas rig on Sunday has been extinguished.
Australia's diplomatic response to Fiji 'appropriate'
Updated 04/11/2009 18:25:28
Australia's decision to expell Fiji's acting High Commissioner in Canberra, as a response to Fiji's expulsion of Australia's High Commissioner, has been described as appropriate.
NZ Fijian community worried about diplomatic row
Updated 04/11/2009 18:25:33
The tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions have left Fiji citizens in Australia and New Zealand concerned over what the practical effects might be.
Australian Fijian communities differ on diplomatic row
Updated 04/11/2009 18:25:33
Indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians living in Australia are both worried about the diplomatic situation, but have differing perspectives on how best to resolve it.
French Polynesia's Gaston Flosse parliamentary immunity lifted
Updated 04/11/2009 18:25:33
There's been a significant development in the so-called "O-P-T Affair" in French Polynesia.
Australia, NZ match Fiji's diplomatic volley
Updated 04/11/2009 18:25:33
Australia and New Zealand are matching Fiji's latest diplomatic volley, announcing the expulsion of Fiji's envoys from the two countries and expressing frustration that their overtures for dialogue are continually frustrated.
NZ expells Fiji diplomat
Updated 04/11/2009 18:25:33
New Zealand has joined Australia in expelling Fiji's top diplomat.
Timor Sea rig fire burning-off polluting oil
Updated 03/11/2009 08:52:36
The company responsible for an oil leak and fire in the Timor Sea off Australia's north coast says it will now attempt to kill the leaking well today.
Mathematicians crunch Melbourne Cup numbers
Updated 03/11/2009 08:52:36
Australians will bet tens of millions of dollars on the Melbourne Cup runners today, and mathematicians at one Melbourne university are taking a far more scientific approach.
Cook Islands signing sees tax haven loophole closed
Updated 03/11/2009 08:52:36
In the 1980s there were tax havens dotted around the Pacific offering a hiding place for tax-fearing companies and wealthy individuals, but now the number of havens is shrinking fast.
Fears PNG LNG rise will poach public servants
Updated 03/11/2009 08:52:36
Papua New Guinea's largest public sector union has warned the government that the country's first multi-billion dollar Liquefied Natural Gas project will create a brain-drain in the public sector.
Minister outlines aims of Fiji Women's Federation
Updated 03/11/2009 08:52:36
In June this year Fiji's interim government authorised the setting up of a Women's Federation.
Tongan activist ends fast after reading bible verse
Updated 03/11/2009 08:52:36
Tongan womens rights activist Mele Amanaki, who heads the Tongan Women's National Congress, has ended her protest fast after 21 days.
Critical shortage of blood at PNG's Angau Hospital
Updated 03/11/2009 17:43:58
The Angau Memorial hospital in Papua New Guinea's second city of Lae in Morobe Province, is currently experiencing a critical shortage of blood.
Tongan's special election on track for November 2010
Updated 03/11/2009 17:43:58
Tonga is on track to hold elections for a new, more representative parliament in a year's time, according to the prime minister's office.
Australia possible home for Uighers now in Palau.
Updated 03/11/2009 17:43:58
Australia has been put forward as an eventual permanent home for the six Chinese Muslim Uighers who have arrived in the Pacific Island nation of Palau, after seven years in detention at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
Vanuatu cellphone births and deaths registration
Updated 03/11/2009 17:43:57
Vanuatu has started using mobile phone technology to register births and deaths in the country.
Thrilling end to Fiji's netball season
Updated 02/11/2009 09:23:54
There's been a surprising win in the final of this year's MH Netball Fiji grand final with Nasinu clawing to a 45-43 win over Suva.
PNG books place in 2010 Rugby League Four Nations
Updated 02/11/2009 09:23:54
The PNG Kumuls have booked their place to compete in next year's Rugby League Four Nations tournamant after winning the Pacific Cup in Port Moresby with a 42-14 win over the Cook Islands.
Guam build-up progresses as US-Japan meet cancelled
Updated 02/11/2009 09:23:54
The massive relocation of American servicemen and their families from Japan's Okinawa to the Pacific US territory of Guam is set to go ahead despite funding concerns.
NZ MP wants stronger links with Niue, Tokelau, Cook Islands
Updated 02/11/2009 09:23:54
New Zealand politician and former senior diplomat John Hayes thinks the era of decolonisation in the Pacific is over, and some former island nations should standardise financial and constitutional links in line with NZ.
Timor Sea oil platform ablaze in attempt to plug well
Updated 02/11/2009 09:23:54
A big fire which has been burning out of control at the West Atlas rig in the Timor Sea off Australia's northern coast since yesterday afternoon could continue for some time yet.
Guantanamo Uighurs finally resettle in Palau
Updated 02/11/2009 09:23:54
Six Muslim Uighurs from Guantanamo Bay have now finally been transferred to Palau for resettlement.
PNG Bougainville broadcaster wins prestigious award
Updated 02/11/2009 09:23:53
A community radio station that started broadcasting in Papua New Guinea's autonomous region of Bougainville just last year has been recognised for its efforts to achieve social change.
Tongan government appoints commoner MP to Cabinet
Updated 02/11/2009 18:15:09
The Tongan government intends to appoint more cabinet ministers from among the members of parliament in the run up to next year's elections.
Solomons Sir Allan Kemakeza stands by his re-election
Updated 02/11/2009 18:15:10
The re-elected member of Parliament for Savo/Russells in Solomon Islands, former Prime Minister Sir Allan Kemakeza has maintained that according to legal advice, his election was proper.
Australia denies travel threat made to judges moving to Fiji
Updated 02/11/2009 18:15:10
Australia has denied an allegation by Fiji's Chief Justice that it is trying to influence the island nation's judiciary.
Palau the latest lay-up site forup to 30 container ships
Updated 02/11/2009 18:15:09
Up to thirty container vessels could be anchored in the waters off the Rock Islands in Palau as part of a deal between Palau Shipping Company and the Koror State Government.
