Nauru lifts Facebook ban

The Nauru government has lifted a ban on Facebook access that has applied for nearly three years.

The ban was imposed in May 2015 with the government of Baron Waqa claiming it was to stop 'criminals and sexual perverts.'

The ban, which was widely criticised, came at a time when the government faced international scrutiny over Australia's asylum seeker camps on the island, questions of the independence of the judiciary and the treatment meted out to opposition MPs.

The island is celebrating 50 years of independence and Mr Waqa has announced the Facebook ban has been lifted with immediate effect because the government has created a safer nation and a more transparent justice system.

This comes as his government moves to end legal appeals to Australia's High Court, an action one opposition MP says would undermine the independence of the judiciary.

Meanwhile, despite the supposed ban the foreign minister from the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, Daur Kove, had no trouble posting on Facebook earlier this week.