Kiribati reforms; Free education, corruption probe, pay rise
THE new government of Kiribati last month announced sweeping changes in the country’s education, health and social welfare policies that will see free education up to year 12 in the whole of the country. The major
PNG court rejects detention centre Is Fiji next
WITH the Papua New Guinea Supreme Court ruling that the Manus Island refugee processing centre is illegal, Australia may be forced to look to other Pacific islands to house 800-odd residents. Australia’s detention
Islands reach out to visitors
WITH a 12 per cent growth in its tourism industry in 2015, Samoa will use its recent Tourism Expo and a national initiative to drive arrivals higher this year. Fresh from the Samoa Tourism Expo, a high-level delegation
Tribute to godfather of Pacific music Sounds of Sevesi
SEVEN months after becoming the first Tongan to be inducted into New Zealand Music’s Hall of Fame, Wilfred Jeffs, who went by the stage name Bill Sevesi, passed away, aged 92,,on April 23. When the news trickled
Singapore – the new focus
FIJI’S national carrier has embarked on a twice-weekly service to Changi International Airport, Singapore, casting aside New Delhi and Shanghai. The airline’s intention is to use the new destination as a hub from
Down Memory Lane; History emerges in Fiji novel
FIJI changed forever when the then Lieutenant-Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka walked into Parliament on May 14, 1987 and removed a democratically elected government. On that day Fiji lost her innocence and the nation was forced
Pohiva runs foul of free press
TONGA’S veteran democracy campaigner now Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva has run foul of a key cornerstone of democracy which is freedom of the press over the suspension of the editor of the kingdom’s
The tussle for power; China’s intentions in the Pacific cause unease
CHINA’S land reclamation in the South China Sea may be tapering off for now but the implications of its actions will run as deep as its ability to project power further into the Western Pacific. Yes, China has
David stands against Goliath; Palau’s single patrol boat defends the region
IN the far west of the northern Pacific, a single patrol boat stands against the waves of Distant Water Fishing Nation vessels which threaten the region’s fish stocks. Outnumbered and outgunned, the President