Now 1 year old, Martha was the first baby girl born in Papeete’s general hospital on 1 January 2023. Photo: Supplied
French Pacific's top babies' names for 2023
Newborns in New Caledonia and French Polynesia have been given a variety of names, ranging from traditional to more ethnic ones.
In Nouméa, where some 499 girls and 563 boys were born in the course of last year, the most popular names were Gabriel, Samuel, Emmanuel, Joseph and Kayden for the boys and Zoé, Léna, Eva, Maya, and Olivia for the girls, according to statistics published by the Nouméa Civil Status department.
In French Polynesia's capital Papeete, the most popular names are Kiana, Ohana and Merahi for the girls and Manea, Hia'ai and Kahanui for the boys.
The civil status department also singles out the longest names, such as Onoheaiteraioehau given to a baby girl and Teahimenavaoatitoka for a baby boy.
It also points out that some girls were given unusual names, like Zendaya-Love, Jaymee or K-Weytea.
By comparison, in New Zealand, where the top baby names of 2023 were also revealed earlier this week, Noah and Charlotte take the top spots.
Oliver and Luca were also in the top 3 for boys, while Amelia and Isla were in the top 3 for girls.
Other popular choices included Leo, Jack, Theodore and Hudson for boys and Hazel, Willow and Harper for girls.
LGBTQIA+ rights: French Polynesia, Cook Islands want more cooperation
A delegation from French Polynesia has been invited to take part in the celebrations marking the first anniversary of the de-penalisation of homosexuality in the neighbouring Cook Islands.
The historic move took place in the Rarotonga Parliament in April 2023.
The celebrations to mark one year, dubbed 'Epetoma Te Anuanua, will take place from 14-20 April 2024.
The invitation was extended during a recent visit in Papeete by Valery Wichman, who is the President of the Te Tiare NGO.
Wichman met French Polynesia's Vice-President Éliane Tevahitua, the government said in a release.
In November 2023, French Polynesia held its first seminar dedicated to LGBTQIA+ issues, in presence of several delegations from overseas as well as local representatives from the civil society and churches.
The outcomes from the meeting are currently being used as a base for a more adapted strategy for French Polynesia's government.
While in Papeete, Wichman, who is currently working on a similar LGBTQIA+ strategy for the Cook Islands government, has suggested the Cook Islands and French Polynesia should set up a real cooperation on those issues.
French Polynesia's scouts sent delegation to Hamilton's jamboree
A group of some fifty scouts and guides from French Polynesia was recently participating in New Zealand's one-week 23rd Aotearoa New Zealand Scout national Jamboree which ended on 6 January in Mystery Creek (Hamilton).
The group of Tahitians, aged 12-17 years, was there upon the invitation of Aotearoa to "share the values of scoutism" with the some four thousands participants, including delegations from the Pacific islands.
The Scouts and Guides movement (affiliated to the French Scouts and Guides) was formally set up in French Polynesia only recently, in 2005.
The number of members is currently estimated at 215.
An Air Tahiti ATR-72 domestic aircraft. Photo: Supplied
Air Tahiti plane loses wheel during takeoff
An Air Tahiti ATR-72 domestic aircraft has lost a wheel during takeoff on a domestic flight from Papeete to Boa Bora.
The incident took place on Saturday 6 January, national public broadcaster Polynésie la 1ère reports.
While the loss of a wheel was not immediately noticed, the crew eventually realised something was wrong thirty minutes after takeoff and decided to return to Papeete airport, where it managed to land safely.
Meanwhile, on the tarmac, a precautionary full alert had been sounded and fire services were ready to intervene.