Solomon Islands Opposition says the Government has not mentioned the Covid response in the provinces
The Solomon Islands Opposition leader, Matthew Wale, claims the lack of foresight, direction and leadership shown by the Government is making the Covid crisis worse.
Mr Wale said while the virus is impacting rural communities the Government has not mentioned a response plan for the provinces.
The leader of the opposition in Solomon Islands parliament, Matthew Wale. Photo: Parliament Media
He said that provincial health authorities are left in the dark with no response plan from the national government. This shows the lack of pandemic preparedness over the last two years.
Mr Wale said requests from provinces for health infrastructure and other resources, over the last two years, have been ignored by the Government.
He said that Papua New Guinea faces a serious situation with limited resources, and the absence of a robust plan to deal with the crisis.
Insurance claims in NZ from Tonga volcanic eruption close to NZ$6-million
Initial insurance claims filed within New Zealand, in relation to damaged caused by the tsunami following the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruption last month total almost $6-million NZD ($5,876,560). This figure is an aggregate from 60 claims.
Forty-nine of the claims relate to marine craft totalling nearly $2 million ($1,947,282) with four commercial damage claims totalling almost $4 million ($3,862,640).
The claims are focused on the surge wave through Tutukaka marina, which resulted in several vessels being sunk and many other boats being damaged as well as causing extensive damage to marina infrastructure.
The Insurance Council of New Zealand's Chief Executive Tim Grafton said that while members worked quickly to manage the situation at the marina and settle claims, their thoughts remain with "our Pacific neighbours who have seen catastrophic damage which will take much longer to recover from."
EU calls on Indonesia to allow UN to visit West Papua.
The European Union is calling on Indonesia to allow the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit West Papua.
Indonesian security forces in West Papua have been linked to allegations of grievous human rights violations for nearly six decades. The allegations include actions against peaceful protestors.
West Papuan pro-independence activist Benny Wenda said his people have been crying out for such a visit for the last 20 years.
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and the African, Caribbean and Pacific States body have been continually calling on Indonesia to stop blocking the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from visiting West Papua.
Solomons to repatriate students stuck in Fiji
The Solomon Islands Government said it would repatriate its students studying in Fiji as early as next month.
There are close to 200 Solomon Islands tertiary students who have completed their studies but are stuck in Fiji due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.
The secretary to the Solomons' prime minister, Dr Jimmie Rodgers, has told local media two charter flights are being arranged to take the students home.
Meanwhile, Dr Rodgers said a privately arranged charter flight for Solomons students in the Philippines is scheduled to arrive in Honiara on February 26th,
He said arrangements were also being made to repatriate tertiary students from the US, Cuba, Korea and the UK.
New business law in PNG meets anti money-laundering standards
The Asian Development Bank says new legislation in Papua New Guinea will modernise the country's business laws.
Lotte Schou-Zibell, the ADB's Pacific liason, says the Companies (Amendment) Act and Business Groups Incorporation (Amendment) Act will ensure PNG meets global anti-money laundering standards and that PNG's business registry will collect relevant and essential company data.
The new registry will make the process of registering a business faster and more accessible facilitating greater access to finance, contracts, and international trade.
Ms Schou-Zibell said that without this information being available through online registries, businesses may struggle to operate or contract with each other.
Fundraising efforts for Tonga continues in Aotearoa
Community donation drives to support relief efforts in Tonga following the violent eruption and tsunami continue in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
In Oamaru, the town's local rugby team have organised a donation drive to help out with its Tongan players whose families were affected by the tsunami disaster last month.
The senior coach at the Oamaru Old Boys Rugby Football Club Lemi Masoe said that they had organised collections at their home games and encouraged everyone to help out.
"I talked with the North Otago Rugby Union so all our home game will be a donation through the door. You know for some of our boys, they have lost their plantations and just need something to give back to them and help them get back on their feet."
Tonga's domestic communication cable still down
While Tonga's international cable has been repaired the domestic line is still down.
Nearly 60 workers onboard the cable repair ship, the Reliance, have been working nonstop to try to find and pull up the domestic cable, to assess the damage.
Tonga Cable Limited Chair Samuiela Fonua said despite working through the night they have had no such luck.
"They are not very far from where the international cable is, my understanding is they will try and pull various spots to try and see where the cable is even if it is cut or shattered, so we are just waiting to see whether they have managed to pull any up or not," Fonua said.