A 31-year-old woman involved in a human trafficking case in New Zealand has been charged in Fiji with 17 counts of the same crime. Her sister, who is in Australia, has been charged in absentia with five counts of obtaining property by deception and one count of money laundering. It’s alleged that the women organised and Read more
Church leaders from Papua New Guinea led by Cardinal John Ribat the Archbishop of Port Moresby arrived in Buka on Tuesday. They were on a fact-finding mission to the Autonomous Region of Bougainville ahead of next year’s planned vote on possible independence. The aim of the mission was to understand the role churches could play Read more
The Fiji government needs to explain how hundreds of South Koreans have been allowed into Fiji to work for firms connected to the controversial Grace Road Church, a union leader says. Social Democratic Liberal Party leader Sitiveni Rabuka is also calling urgently for an investigation into the running of the Grace Road Group. The Grace Read more
The Executive Director of Dugit Messianic Outreach Centre and the Senior Pastor of Adonai Roi Congregation in Israel visited Samoa last week. Pastor Avi Mizrachi is the second Messianic Jewish leader to visit Samoa following the visit by Pastor Benjamin Berger, earlier this year. During their visit, Avi and his wife met and prayed with Read more
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has once again broken his promise to refrain from criticising the Catholic Church. During the launching of an entrepreneurship alliance in Malacañang on Tuesday, Duterte reiterated that he has his own concept of God. He then asked whether there was a bishop in the audience composed of business leaders, politicians and Read more
A Fijian academic is calling for the formation of a civil society group focused on online safety and regulation in the Pacific. Jope Volavola Tarai is part of a social media research team based at the University of the South Pacific in Suva. He said it should be on the agenda for civil society because Read more
One of the region’s most experienced Pacific journalists suggests that countries such as Australia and New Zealand should use more people of faith in their development programmes. Bruce Hill has for many years reported for RNZ and ABC on Pacific issues. He says current secularism in the more developed nations is not exactly looked on with Read more
Last year the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) pulled the plug on its shortwave service to the Pacific region. Some of the ABC’s former shortwave frequencies are now being used by China Radio International, the country’s state-owned overseas broadcaster. Some have argued that, in the age of the internet, shortwave radio is no longer important. But Read more
Refugees receiving medical treatment in Papua New Guinea are no longer provided with interpreters, a Kurdish refugee says. Despite a promise that interpreters would be available, the English speaking Kurd said he had to volunteer to help patients and doctors communicate. Continue reading
In an act of solidarity, all his Buddhist Wild Boar teammates and their coach joined Adun Sarman at his Christian thanksgiving service. Adun is a member of the Wild Boars football team that was trapped in the cave in Thailand. He belongs to the of Mae Sai Grace church and has been sponsored for some Read more