Pope suspends bishop

Church takes hard stand against abuse THE head of the Roman Catholic Church in Guam has been suspended over allegations of sexual impropriety. Archbishop Anthony Sablan Apuron, who has led the Agana Archdiocese for 30

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PNG bishops stop the rot

People focus of new laws LAST year the Roman Catholic Church in Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Kiribati moved swiftly to put in place guidelines to stop sexual abuse by priests and teachers on orders from Pope Francis. Deeply

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Time for tolerance

WITH the decriminalisation in Nauru of homosexuality under the Crimes Decree, many questions will surface from concerned individuals and civil society organizations. There will be a number of nongovernment organisations

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Pacific islands to bear costs of PACER-Plus

PACIFIC island governments must retain their right to regulate to protect their national development interests as sovereign states, argues a report commissioned by the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) on the

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Whispers

FAMILY connection … So a senior member of Fiji’s media fraternity found himself aged 55 and recommended for retirement under Civil Service regulations. Hoping for special consideration due to his high-level

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The dark side of the trade deal

Pacific nations can open up markets without help of our big brothers THE Pacific Network on Globalisation has been vocal on its opposition to the PACER-Plus trade agreement. It has been at the forefront of civil

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Stuck in the slum

Corruption investigation into NGO activities WHEN Fijian Prime Minister, RearAdmiral Frank Bainimarama, handed out keys to the residents of Lagilagi Housing Estate in November 2013, he was giving homes to the

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Growth masks Palau’s flaws

ADB highlights setback in policy enforcement. TOURISM continues to be Palau’s bread and butter and a contributed to its economic growth for the past two years but a recent private sector assessment by the Asian

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What is Lagilagi Estate?

LAGILAGI (Fijian for Glorious) is a portion land in what was once the Jittu Estate in Fiji’s capital, Suva. In the late 1960s and early 1970s it was the largest squatter settlement in Fiji, housing families from

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Smoke and mirrors

The regional scourge of tobacco TOBACCO remains a major contributor to non-communicable diseases in this region. Smokers are more susceptible to coronary artery disease, diabetes and infections involving the lungs,

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