The French president Emmanuel Macron (centre) and overseas minister Annick Girardin (right) meet with Kanak leaders at the customary senate in Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia. Photo: Twitter / @EmmanuelMacron
New Caledonia fire suspect's revelation; Papuan girl rushed to hospital after being shot; and American Samoa makes major progress on covid
Suspect tells police he was ordered to burn down Kanak Senate
The man detained over the fire at New Caledonia's customary Kanak Senate says he was told to burn down the traditional structure by his chief.
The public prosecutor says the 35-year-old has also told investigators that he set the fire with a lighter after being angered by a threat to be evicted from a nearby shantytown.
The prosecutor says the man will have to go a psychiatric assessment to determine whether he can be held criminally responsible for his actions.
He says the individual has had several hospital admissions for addiction problems and served jail time for aggravated robbery and arson.
The traditional Kanak building had been rebuilt this year after an arsonist burned it down two years ago.
The French prime minister Elisabeth Borne said the weekend fire was a serious attack on the Customary Senate, which is the guardian and defender of the Kanak identity.
Young Papuan girl shot accidentally by security forces
A seven-year-old girl in West Papua suffered a gunshot wound during the arrest of suspected members of the West Papua National Liberation Army by the security forces.
The incident occurred in Intan Jaya Regency at the weekend.
The girl was reportedly injured in the waist and rushed to a hospital in Nabire.
The Indonesian military has confirmed that the girl suffered a gunshot wound caused by the ricochet of a bullet projectile by members of the Military and Police joint forces.
The incident began when the army and police pursued and shot Luther Japugau, a suspected Liberation Army member who fled when he was about to be arrested.
Relief in American Samoa at zero new cases of covid
For the first time since the spead of covid-19 in American Samoa in February, no new cases have been announced in the latest reporting period.
The report was presented to the Covid-19 Task Force last week and covers October 24-30.
It also shows the continued decline in the number of individuals tested for the virus, compared to the start of the outbreak.
The total cumulative Covid-19 count, since February 28, has stood at 8,257 for two weeks.
Meanwhile, the American Samoa government's online safe travel portal, Talofa Pass, will no longer be used to get into the territory from next week.
From November 15, the portal will not be used to register for pre-approved entry, but it will still be used for traveller health forms.
The vaccination requirement to enter American Samoa will also be dropped.
In mid-August, the American Samoa government dispatched hundreds of doses of PaxLovid to help the Marshall Islands with its outbreak. Receiving the donation are Ministry of Health and Human Services and Red Cross representatives. Photo: Marshall Islands Ministry of Health and Human Services
Investigation into deadly house fire in Tonga
A woman has died in a house fire in Tonga.
Police and Fire Services in Vava'u responded to a house fire reported from Neiafu at around 5am on Tuesday local time.
The 46-year-old woman and her husband were tenants of the house and were both at home when the fire occurred.
The husband managed to get out.
The cause of the blaze has yet to be confirmed while police investigations continue.
Tongan Queen's concern about cancer screening
Tonga's lack of diagnostic and screening services leads to more cancer-related deaths, because cancer is only discovered in late stages, Queen Nanasipau'u said in an address.
The Tongan King and Queen attended an event to mark a new partnership with the Arab Women's Authority, which has supported many women's health related initiatives across the developing world.
The palace office said the Queen spoke on the needs of women's health and welcomed support from the Arab Women's Authority to assist with diagnostic and screening services for Tongan women.
She said that lack of diagnostic and screening services is the main issue leading to death in cancer related patients.
Samoa News publisher dies
The publisher of American Samoa's only newspaper, The Samoa News, has died.
In a notice published in the paper, the family announced Vera Milovale Annesley passed away peacefully on November 5 at her home in Honolulu, after a brief battle due
to a stroke.
She become the paper's publisher more than two decades ago after acquiring the newspaper from former owner Lewis Wolman.
Mass will be held in Honolulu and in American Samoa at dates to be announced.
Tourists spending more in Fiji
Preliminary findings from Fiji's International Visitor Survey show $US402.5 million in tourism earnings, from April to August.
This does not include the air component, such as flights.
The five months of findings show visitors spent $US135 per person per night, which was up 12 percent from the average of $US121 a night in 2019, over the same five months.
The Fiji Government says the increase in daily spending can be attributed to Australian and US markets spending more in 2022.
Repeat visitors make up 52 percent of visitor arrivals compared to 45 percent pre-pandemic.
Booking patterns show half of all visitors come on a package.
Vanuatu Tourism Office outlines post-covid programme
The Vanuatu Tourism Office has outlined its priorities for the new government following the appointment of the new Minister of Tourism, Matai Seremaiah.
The first is aviation connectivity and the second is increasing the quallity of the workforce by intergrating experienced workers back in.
And finally, the tourism office wants Government funding support to support businesses after they were hit by Covid-19 border closures.
CEO, Adela Issachar Aru, said the new minister steps into the role at a crucial and pivotal point in the country's Covid recovery phase.
She said pre Covid-19, tourism made up around 40 percent of GDP and work is underway to understand where that figure sits now.