An industrial dispute at Freeport, the world’s biggest gold mine in Indonesia’s Papua province, has turned ugly, after a striking worker was shot dead by police. Seven others were critically wounded when officers tried to stop striking workers from going into a facility at the mining complex on Monday. About 8,000 workers have been on Read more
A two-year dispute was ended when a Catechist knelt before Matai to ask forgiveness in Afega village in Samoa. Confirming this, Assistant Police Commissioner, Le’aupepe Fatu Pula, said: “The complaint has been withdrawn and both parties have agreed to reconcile.” He said the complaint was lodged in 2009 by the village matai council’s Tu’ua or Village Read more
Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand is calling on the leaders of the four Pacific Island countries that have the death penalty to remove it from legislation. A spokesperson, Margaret Taylor, says although it’s not been practised in the Pacific in the past 30 years, the death penalty remains law in Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Nauru Read more
A judge has described the unlawful dismissal of a Divine Word University employee as inhumane and indecent. Resident Madang judge Justice David Cannings also said the manner in which the university decided to sack George Podas in August 2008 “stinks”. Cannings, who heads the national and supreme court of PNG’s human rights tract, said there Read more
A severe drought in the Pacific Islands has created a critical water shortage. The island groups of Tuvalu and Tokelau have declared emergencies, relying on bottled water and seeking more desalination machines. Parts of Samoa are starting to ration water. Six months of low rainfall have dried out the islands. Climate scientists say it’s part Read more
Australia’s Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Affairs, Richard Marles, was recently interviewed about the relationship between Australia and Fiji. He said that Australia’s beef is not with the the Fiji people, “in fact quite the opposite. We want to stand with the people of Fiji in what is a very difficult time for them.” He said Australia took issue Read more
The United States has been told China will go its own way with its growing aid and investment in the South Pacific and does not support combined efforts, a senior US official said Tuesday. At a 16-nation Pacific island summit this month in New Zealand, Chinese officials explained they were “not particularly interested in sharing” Read more
On Monday the Nauruan government confirmed it was now a party to the UN Refugee Convention. The paperwork necessary to join the convention in June was signed in June. It then had to wait for the UN to process its application. Nauru’s decision to sign the convention bolsters Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott’s calls to recommence offshore processing Read more
It was two years on Thursday since the Samoa tsunami. A Church leader in Samoa says the sudden loss of life from the tsunami will always be remembered. The Secretary General of the Samoa Council of Churches, the Reverend Ma’auga Motu, says a ceremony will be held on Sunday to commemorate the dead. The Reverend Read more
The establishment of a high school at Navunibitu in the Saivou district of Ra moved a step closer to reality when the Catholic Church raised money ($83,600) last week in a fundraising drive. Organising committee chairman Iosefo Jone said the church had been working closely with the vanua of Saivou to build the first-ever high school in Read more