Pacific delegation says collaboration needed in troubled New Caledonia
Reuters Three Pacific Islands leaders on a fact-finding visit to New Caledonia heard divided views on the cause of deadly riots that erupted in May, as the region’s diplomatic group seeks to support efforts to de-escalate tensions in the French Pacific territory. The Pacific Islands Forum said on Facebook on Wednesday that the delegation, including […]
Pacific Islands endorse $A400 million regional policing plan
Sydney, Australia Reuters Leaders of several Pacific Islands said on Wednesday they have endorsed an Australian-funded $A400 million plan to improve police training and create a mobile regional policing unit, as Canberra looks to reduce China’s security footprint in the area. The leaders of Tonga, Fiji, Palau and Papua New Guinea said the programme would […]
Postcards: One year after volcanic blast, many of Tonga’s reefs lay silent
GLORIA DICKIE, of Reuters, reports…
Year in Review: 12 pictures that captured key moments in 2022
As part of our Year in Review, we take a look at how photographers captured some of the key moments of 2022…
Snapshot: St Michael’s Church, Tonga
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Sight-Seeing: When justice becomes personal
Rev STEVE WOODS, a church relationship manager with Baptist World Aid Australia, reflects on how, once he saw this broken world through the lens of God’s call to justice, he can longer be a spectator…
Tonga reconnects to world as submarine cable restored after tsunami
Sydney, Australia Reuters Tonga was reconnected to the world on Tuesday following repairs to a submarine cable, officials said, a month after a volcanic eruption and tsunami cut communications to the remote Pacific island nation. “People on the main island will have access almost immediately,” Tonga Cable chief executive James Panuve told Reuters by telephone, […]
Tonga goes into lockdown; COVID cases not at international aid port – official
Sydney, Australia Reuters Two COVID-19 cases in wharf workers in tsunami-hit Tonga were at a different wharf to that used by foreign naval ships delivering aid, a Tongan official said, as the previously virus-free nation prepares to go into lockdown on Wednesday to stop infections. There have been fears an influx of international ships and […]
Essay: Four things tsunami-vulnerable countries must do to prepare for the next disaster
In an article first published on The Conversation, RAVINDRA JAYARATNE, a researcher in coastal defences, outlines how vulnerable nations can mitigate the impacts of tsunamis…
China, West rush tsunami relief supplies to tsunami-hit Tonga
Wellington, New Zealand Reuters Chinese naval vessels carrying aid are set to arrive in Tonga on Thursday as Beijing shored up its disaster response efforts in the tsunami-hit Pacific nation following a coordinated response by its Western rivals. A navy vessel carrying drinking water and food will arrive from Fiji on Thursday, while two military […]