The vessel was delivering fuel in mangrove-rich South West Bay on Malekula Island when it burst into flames, injuring at least three people
A massive fireball has erupted after a fuel transport barge caught fire in a pristine bay on a remote Vanuatu island, injuring at least three people.
The Western Star, a barge fitted out to carry fuel and cargo, burst into flames at South West Bay on Malekula, Vanuatu’s second largest island, on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Management and Training Corporation is set to take over running Australia’s immigration regime on the island
Canstruct has lost the lucrative contract to run Australia’s offshore immigration regime on Nauru with the Brisbane firm to be replaced by a US-headquartered private prisons operator that has a controversial past.
Sources have told the Guardian that Canstruct’s current contract, set to end on 30 September, will not be renewed and from 1 October “facilities, garrison, transferee arrivals and reception services” will be run by Management and Training Corporation (MTC) Australia.
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Continue reading...Pacific country had recorded no community transmission of the virus until last week, and healthcare is struggling to cope
After dodging the Covid-19 pandemic for two years, the Marshall Islands is grappling to control the spread of infections, which have tripled since the first community transmissions were detected a week ago.
The number of positive cases in the north Pacific nation, which has a population of about 60,000 people, has skyrocketed to more than 3,000 cases with four Covid-linked deaths and seven hospital admissions.
Continue reading...Judge David Lambourne was detained after a failed bid to deport him, which he called a ‘devastating assault on the rule of law’ in Kiribati
Kiribati is in the midst of a constitutional crisis after its government detained one of its most senior judges, Australian citizen David Lambourne, after a failed attempt to deport him.
Despite an order from the Kiribati court of appeal that Lambourne should not be removed from the country, police and immigration officials sought to forcibly deport him at Bonriki international airport on Thursday.
Continue reading...Manasseh Sogavare has moved to change the constitution to stay in office until after the Pacific Games in November 2023
The Solomon Islands prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, has offered assurances any changes to the constitution to extend his time in office would be a one-time move, Australia’s Pacific minister says.
Sogavare has moved to change the constitution to extend his term in government until after the Pacific Games in November 2023.
Continue reading...Marape, leader of PNG since 2019, defeated ex-PM Peter O’Neill in an election plagued by violence and electoral fraud
James Marape has been returned as Papua New Guinea’s prime minister for its 11th parliament after a fraught and violent election period that has run for roughly six weeks.
Marape – who became prime minister in 2019 after toppling his predecessor and former party leader, Peter O’Neill – was invited to form government by the governor general, after his Pangu Pati secured 36 seats and was able to strike deals with coalition partners to bring its numbers to more than 80.
Continue reading...Prime minister Sogavare’s office claims country does not have resources to host Pacific Games and an election at same time, raising outcry from opponents
A bill to delay elections in Solomon Islands has been submitted to its parliament, officials said, prompting concern from opposition politicians.
Manasseh Sogavare’s government has said it wants to extend parliament until after it hosts the Pacific Games in November 2023, for which China has donated seven stadiums and venues that are being built by Chinese companies.
Continue reading...New US ambassador to Australia was in Honiara to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal
A visit to Solomon Islands by senior US diplomats included a touching personal moment, as Caroline Kennedy, the new US ambassador to Australia, met with the children of two men who saved the life of her father, John F Kennedy, during the second world war.
Caroline Kennedy was in Honiara to mark the 80th anniversary of the battle of Guadalcanal, a brutal seven-month land, sea and air fight between allied and Japanese forces that marked a turning point in the war.
Continue reading...All stories are to be approved by the government before broadcast on the SIBC, prompting grave concerns about press freedom
The Solomon Islands’ government has prompted outrage by ordering the censorship of the national broadcaster, forbidding it from publishing material critical of the government, which will vet all stories before broadcast.
On Monday the government announced that the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC), a public service broadcaster established in 1976 by an act of parliament, would be brought under government control.
Continue reading...Warning comes after 18 people allegedly killed in gruesome attack in Highlands region
Dozens of people have been killed in Papua New Guinea during a tense few weeks of voting during the country’s elections, along with reports of sexual abuse, including of children, and 3,000 people displaced due to conflict, the UN has warned.
The warning comes after 18 people were allegedly killed in a gruesome attack on Wednesday by warring tribes in Porgera, Enga Province, in the north of the Highlands region.
Continue reading...While leaders presented a picture of harmony, more vexing topics like Australia’s fossil fuel ambitions and China were kicked down the road
At the close of the Pacific Islands Forum the leaders emerged from their retreat smiling, cut a giant cake with a sword and then, in an impromptu moment of diplomatic bonhomie, posed for a selfie after Anthony Albanese whipped out his phone, Ellen DeGeneres style.
It was, quite literally, a picture of harmony.
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Continue reading...Albanese hails Pacific Island Leaders Forum a success but Fiji’s prime minister says Australia must end its ‘fossil fuel addiction’
Pacific leaders have welcomed Australia’s “renewed commitment” on climate change and interest in co-hosting a United Nations climate summit with Pacific nations, as Anthony Albanese heralds a successful reset of relationships in the region.
At the close of the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva on Thursday, leaders emerged on time and smiling from their daylong leaders’ retreat, before cutting a cake with a ceremonial sword and posing for a selfie when Albanese pulled out his phone.
Continue reading...The International Monetary Fund could downgrade its expectations for global economic growth this month.
Its head Kristalina Georgieva has hinted as much, saying the war in Ukraine, higher than expected inflation and the Covid pandemic are to blame.
As G20 ministers and central bank governors gather in Bali this week, they face a global economic outlook that has darkened significantly.
Recent indicators imply a weak second quarter – and we will be projecting a further downgrade to global growth for both 2022 and 2023 in our World Economic Outlook Update later this month.
Continue reading...Prime minister Anthony Albanese’s comments come after meeting with Solomons leader at Pacific Islands Forum and despite Pacific nation’s security pact with China
The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has said he is “very confident” there will not be Chinese bases in Solomon Islands, despite the two countries’ security pact.
Albanese made the comments from Fiji, where he is attending the Pacific Islands Forum in a bid to reset relations with Pacific neighbours by outlining higher ambitions on climate change and asking for Australia to remain the region’s security partner of choice, not China.
Continue reading...Agency to lead consortium in scheme targeting battery materials while conservationists say Australia on ‘wrong side of debate’
Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, has agreed to work with a controversial deep-sea mining project in the Pacific as a fourth island nation joins a call for a moratorium on the industry.
CSIRO will lead a consortium of scientists from Australia and New Zealand to help the Metals Company (TMC) develop an environmental management plan for its project, which is backed by the Nauru government.
Continue reading...Cockroach alert at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane
As the Maroons and Blues prepare to face off in the State of Origin final decider tonight, another showdown is occurring between the SES and the “influx” of cockroaches in the stadium where the final will take place.
To be very clear, my government has not made this decision, this is a decision that was inherited from the former government and state governments.
I’d encourage concession cardholders to go and get the 10 free rapid antigen tests that they’re eligible for by the end of this month. There’s still a lot of time to go and do that. Of course, on top of that, there are free rapid antigen tests available in aged care facilities, across a range of areas as well in addition to that.
Continue reading...Manasseh Sogavare says relationship with Australia is ‘strong’ despite his recent security pact with Beijing
Anthony Albanese has met with the Solomon Islands prime minister in Suva to discuss their common interests of climate change and regional security issues, despite recent tensions between the two nations over China.
It is the first time that Albanese has met Manasseh Sogavare. The relationship between the countries has become increasingly tense since the signing of the controversial security pact with China earlier this year, but ahead of the meeting Albanese reiterated the importance of the relationship and said it “will be even better after this afternoon”.
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Continue reading...Fijian police escort the men from media space where US vice-president Kamala Harris was making virtual address
Two Chinese defence attaches have been kicked out by Fijian police from a Pacific Islands Forum meeting at which the US vice-president, Kamala Harris, was giving a virtual address.
The men were sitting in on a session of the forum’s fisheries agency at which Harris announced the step-up of US engagement in the region, believed to be in response to China’s growing influence.
Continue reading...Absence of Kiribati from the meeting is ‘really devastating’ to the body’s long-term strategy, security expert says
When Anthony Albanese touches down in Suva on Wednesday to attend his first Pacific Islands Forum, he will be walking in to a regional meeting that is putting on a brave face.
While it had been thought that the forum would be focused on the growing influence of China and as an opportunity for Australia to showcase its new climate credentials, Albanese will arrive to a group wrestling with other problems.
Continue reading...Vice-president Kamala Harris has announced postings in Kiribati and Tonga as leaders gather in Fiji for the Pacific Islands Forum
The US has announced a major step-up in its engagement with the Pacific region, including the establishment of new embassies in Kiribati and Tonga, in moves that will be seen as attempts to counter China’s growing influence in the region.
The US vice-president, Kamala Harris, made the announcement on Tuesday, as Pacific leaders gathered in Suva, Fiji for the Pacific Islands Forum, the most significant regional meeting.
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