Samoa’s ombudsman and a supreme court judge say they’re at a loss as to what has motivated a move to reinstate corporal punishment in Samoa’s high schools. Samoa banned the use of corporal punishment in 2013. But a proposed amendment to the Education Bill 2009, section 23, would allow teachers in schools to use reasonable Read more
Men and women in the Indonesian province of Aceh are no longer allowed to dine together unless they are married or related. Under the latest regulation in Bireuën district on Sumatra island, men and women will not be able to dine together at restaurants and coffee shops unless they are accompanied by their husband or Read more
Facebook is growing in both users and regional relevance in the Pacific. Analysts and human rights groups in the region are pointing to a rise in online abuse, as Pacific communities grapple with translating their culture to the digital meeting house. Online abuse is not easily detected when local languages are used. Facebook would not Read more
The presence of the asylum seekers detention centre loomed large at the four-day Pacific Forum meeting in Nauru last week. There have been calls from human rights groups such as Amnesty International to close a facility it calls “a stain on the region.” Prior to the meeting, Amnesty released an open letter co-signed by 80 Read more
The August 22 edition of L’Osservatore Romano devoted prominent front-page coverage to the suffering of child migrants detained on Nauru. “Tragedies linked to immigration are not limited to the Mediterranean, North Africa or the border between Mexico and the United States. There are other routes that do not make it into the international news headlines, but that Read more
The Methodist church in Fiji will teach its ministers to speak the Indo-Fijian language and educate them so that they can understand the Indian culture. This follows the passing of a motion at the church’s annual Bose ko Viti conference at the Centenary Church in Suva last month. The president of the Methodist Indian Division, Reverend Read more
President Joko Widodo paid a visit to the headquarters of the Bishop’s Conference of Indonesia (KWI) in Jakarta on August 24. Widodo was welcomed by KWI president Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo of Jakarta, secretary-general Bishop Antonius Subianto Bunjamin of Bandung and 8 other bishops. “In the meeting, I talked about issues related to the Pancasila [the Read more
The archbishop of Suva, Peter Loy Chong, says parts of Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu, are on course to disappear because of rising sea levels. He said: “We can see it with our own eyes – the ocean levels are increasing each year, so the island [of Viti Levu] is disappearing.” The archbishop said “Pacific Read more
The Fiji Police have asked the Methodist Church in Fiji and Rotuma to help in the fight against crime. Assistant Commissioner of Police Rusiate Tudravu made his appeal to delegates at the church’s annual conference in Suva on Friday. He asked for their support in regard to crimes against women and children and in the Read more
Staff at a British Catholic charity were baffled when a handwritten letter arrived from a remote parish in the South Pacific Solomon Islands seeking help to build a new church. With no internet access, how could the parish priest have got their address in Cirencester, an English country town? And how could he know his Read more