Solomons: Call to adhere to safety protocols at sea
The head of maritime in Solomon Islands said the New Year's Day boating tragedy could have been avoided if basic safety measures were followed.
A boat carrying 14 people including nine children left Gizo for the Shortland Islands but failed to reach their destination.
One of the boats that left Gizo for the Shortland Islands on New Year's Day. Photo: Supplied
The body of a woman was found near Zinoa Island on January 4th - about 100 kilometres from the Shortlands - the but 13 other passengers remain missing.
Thierry Nervale said images circulating on social media that show the passengers were not wearing lifejackets are concerning.
"We understand that the boat was overloaded with 14 people plus some cargo: cement, a drum of fuel, a coffin and we believe the boat capsized because of the overloading."
Nervale said police are working with the families of those missing.
NZers keen to head back to Rarotonga
New Zealanders are keen to head back to Rarotonga when the quarantine free travel bubble re-ignites.
An Air New Zealand spokesperson has told RNZ Pacific, flights have been booking up fast but there are some still available.
Quarantine free travel is set to resume this Friday, with the first flight scheduled for Saturday.
The national carrier says one service per day has been planned so far.
Additional services have not been added just yet with demand not as high as the opening of the previous travel bubble in May last year.
Only fully vaccinated people can travel to the Cook Islands.
Covid-19 deaths, infections continue to rise in Fiji
Five more people have died from Covid-19 in Fiji as the country reels from the devastating floods caused by Tropical Cyclone Cody.
The Government has confirmed 461 new cases of both the delta and omicron variants in the community.
This brings the total number of active cases in isolation to 4,863.
Fiji's Health Secretary Dr James Fong said the five victims were aged between 52 and 75 with all but one of them fully vaccinated.
The death toll is at 714 since March 2020, with 712 of these from April 2021.
Dr Fong said 93 of the latest cases were reported during the height of Cyclone Cody on Monday.
There were also 368 cases recorded on 9 January.
The CNMI records 20th Covid-related death
The Northern Marianas has recorded its 20th Covid-19-related death.
It comes as the government reports 49 positive Covid-19 cases through surveillance and travel testing.
The Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation's chief executive officer, Esther Muña, has also advised the public to swap out cloth face masks for surgical face masks, to better protect themselves against Covid-19 and its highly transmissible variants.
The CNMI has hit a 97% full vaccination rate.
PNG police ID nine men involved in brutal torture of five women
The police in Papua New Guinea say nine men have been identified as part of their investigation into the brutal torture of five women accused of sorcery allegations in the Southern Highlands.
Three of the women died from their injuries.
Police Commissioner David Manning said police will not stop investigating until someone is arrested and charged with this crime.
The National newspaper said the two women who survived are now helping police.
Samoa's Health Ministry says 104,827 people are fully vaccinated
117,020 of eligible Samoans have had their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine but only 104,827 are fully vaccinated according to Samoa's Ministry of Health.
The Samoa Observer reports that only 86 percent of the eligible population have been fully vaccinated which is short of the targeted 90 percent.
The data released by the Ministry of Health indicates that 12,000 people have yet to receive their second dose of the vaccine.
Meanwhile the vaccination campaign with the Pfizer vaccine targeting children 12-17 years old continues, with 6,817 of the eligible population which includes pregnant and breastfeeding mothers still to be fully vaccinated.
The Ministry said only 24,794 have received the first Pfizer shots and 17,887 of that number have had their second dose and are now fully vaccinated.
American Samoa's Governor reminds govt employees to get vaccinated
American Samoa's Governor, Lemanu Peleti Mauga has re-enforced his mandate that all government employees of the Executive Branch must be fully vaccinated by this Friday.
Lemanu reiterated this mandate - in place for more than a month - is outlined in his new Covid-19 Continued Emergency Health Declaration, effective January 8 for 30 days.
Of the 5,071 workforce of the Executive Branch, 3,908 employees are fully vaccinated, with 154 have only received one shot.
American Samoa remains under "Code Blue" with no local community transmission of Covid-19 but it has had Covid-19 cases at the border.
Samoa has a new American Samoa Consul General
Fata Brian Kaio has been appointed as Consul General to Samoa's Consular office in American Samoa.
He replaces Manogimanu Fonoti Etuale whose term has ended.
Fata has extensive senior leadership and management experience over the years in the Samoa government.
In 2018 Fata served as the Deputy High Commissioner at the Samoa High Commission in Canberra, Australia.
Last year Fata was one of the recipients of the prestigious Chevening Scholarship, to undertake Masters studies at Oxford in the United Kingdom.