UN speaks out for West Papua's Victor Yeimo
A United Nations human rights expert is calling on Indonesia to provide West Papuan human rights defender Victor Yeimo with proper medical care to keep him from dying in prison.
Despite repeated requests from his lawyers for a delay on medical grounds, Mr Yeimo went on trial in a Jayapura court at the end of August on charges of treason and incitement related to his peaceful involvement in anti-racism and self-determination protests in 2019.
West Papuan pro-independence activist Victor Yeimo was brought to his treason trial under strict guard of Indonesian paramilitary police. Photo: Supplied
Mary Lawlor is the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.
Ms Lawlor said from her experience states deny medical care to ailing, imprisoned human rights defenders, which results in serious illness or death.
She said for months Indonesia authorities have restricted Mr Yeimo's access to medical care, and Indonesia must take urgent steps to ensure the fate does not await Mr. Yeimo.
Medivac from French Polynesia to France called unprecedented
More information has been revealed about the medical transfer of nine severe cases of Covid-19 from French Polynesia to Paris.
An exterior view of the French Polynesia Taaone Hospital in Papeete. - The coronavirus seemed to have almost disappeared from French Polynesia between March and July. But with the Delta variant, it returned with unprecedented violence, saturating the Tahiti hospital centre within a month. Photo: AFP or licensors
The patients were evacuated because of the pressure on the territory's hospital services as a result of covid, and they were put in induced comas for the 24 hour flight.
Le Premier Polynesie reports they travelled on an Airbus A350 with the support of 35 medical staff and two tonnes of equipment in a world first in which the giant aircraft was transformed into a flying resuscitation service.
The patients from French Polynesia have now been moved to various hospitals around Paris.
Auckland Covid alert level drop an additional threat to Maori and Pasifika
A Pacific medical expert said Auckland's drop to alert level three puts Māori and Pasifika at further risk.
There are calls for Aucklanders to be vaccinated as soon as possible to prevent further spread of the outbreak impacting Aotearoa's most vulnerable communities.
Dr Sika-Paotonu Photo: Otago University
Immunologist and Associate Dean Pacific at the University of Otago Wellington, Diane Sika-Paotonu, said Maori and Pacific communities remain highly vulnerable to being disproportionately effected by Covid-19.
Dr Sika-Paotonu said it's critical that those who aren't vaccinated get the vaccine as quickly as possible, and that people stay vigilant despite the lower alert level.
She said a major shift in focus is also needed in order to get young people vaccinated.
PNG PM to press industrialised countries on climate at UN
Papua New Guinea's prime minister James Marape is to raise climate change and the threat to his country's biodiversity at the UN.
Mr Marape is enroute to New York to speak at the United Nations General Assembly for the first time on Friday.
He says he will also speak on behalf of small island states.
Mr Marape said he is of the hope that industrialised countries will help PNG to conserve its great biodiversity and rainforest by mitigating the threat climate change poses.
He suggests that global climate fund institutions who repeatedly tell PNG to preserve its native forests should in exchange finance basic services in his country.