Death of man in police cell, Vanuatu's new helpine for kids, and pioneering academic dies
Death of man in police cell, Vanuatu's new helpine for kids, and pioneering academic dies
Tongan man dies in custody
Tonga police have reported that a 22-year-old man died in custody on Saturday.
Police said the man was arrested in a drunken state and that the initial indication was that he took his own life.
The Commissioner Shane McLennan says it's the second death in police custody in a month, and he has now ordered a new approach.
This includes the closure until further notice of the Mua Police Cell, the promise of a investigation as a priority, an inspection of the state of all cells, a review of the police custody policy and in-service training on custody management and human rights.
Vanuatu sets up hotline for vulnerable children
Vanuatu now has a helpline to support children facing abuse.
Photo: Lifeline
The Child Helpline and Referral Pathway was launched as part of National Children's Day, which was on Sunday.
The Justice Minister, Esmon Saimon, said children are growing up in a well-connected online world and many become victims of cyberbullying.
He said children sometimes experience abuse in their own homes and communities, from people who are supposed to be protecting them.
Saimon said these challenges are real and need urgent attention.
Tributes paid to renowned Pacific academic and writer
One of the Pacific's most respected authors and academics, Cook Islander Marjorie Tuainekore Crocombe, has died at the age of 92.
Ms Crocombe, who was a lecturer at the University of the South Pacific Cook Islands and senior lecturer at the Centre for Pacific Studies at the University of Auckland, collaborated with her husband, the late Ron Crocombe, on several books and articles.
Her son, the hotelier Tata Crocombe, posted online that his mother helped and touched so many people during her lifetime.
He says Ms Crocombe was a pioneer - the first Cook Islands female sent as a scholarship student to Wanganui Collegiate, the first Cook Islands graduate from a New Zealand Teachers College, first Cook Islands recipient of an honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of the South Pacific and so on.
USP Cook Islands campus director Debi Futter-Puati said Crocombe was a hugely influential vaine toa who made an impact on generations of scholars and academics.
"She was a teacher, a writer, academic leader and friend. She was an ally for all things scholarly in the Cook Islands and right across the Pacific region for that matter," Dr Futter-Puati said.
Senior school kids in Nauru returning to class
Nauru's Department of Education and Training has announced that schoolchildren in years 11 and 12 will go back to school on Monday.
A government spokesperson said both teachers and students must mask up for the full school day.
Everyone in Nauru must socially distance and get RAT tested.
Students who are not vaccinated are not allowed to return to school.
As of Thursday, July 21 there were 196 active cases; 4,399 people have recovered from infection.
Police aim to make Tonga safer
Tonga police have set three goals for the next four years - safe homes, safe roads and safe communities.
In a statement the police said most of the unnatural deaths in Tonga occur on the roads, with six deaths last year and four so far this year.
To make the roads safer, the police will address high risk driving behaviours, including speeding, impaired driving from alcohol or drugs, not wearing seatbelts, and distracted driving, such as using phones while at the wheel.
Police said more than a third of traffic violations are due to such behaviours.
They aim to ensure drivers respect other drivers and road users, don't drive when drunk, and don't overtake at intersections and on the wrong side of the road.
Seventy-five new covid cases in Samoa
Samoa's Ministry of Health has reported 75 new positive cases taking the total number of covid-19 cases in the community and at the border to 15,318 since the pandemic arrived in the country.
The Ministry does not however indicate the number of active cases.
The Ministry's report said there were two patients currently isolating at Moto'otua National Hospital but none in the Intensive Care Unit.
The Ministry has recorded 29 covid-related deaths including a one-year-old baby girl recorded as the youngest covid-related death in Samoa.
The baby girl had no health conditions and was not eligible for covid-19 vaccination and died of severe pneumonia on June 20.
One new covid case in Niue
There is one active case of covid-19 at the border in Niue.
Twenty-nine cases have been recorded at the border since March.
There are no patients with covid in the island's hospital.
The Niue Government said there's no community transmission of the virus at the moment.
PNG and Tonga play out six-goal thriller in football cup
In football, the semi-finals of the Oceania women's Nations Cup have been decided.
On Saturday, Jayda Stewart's hat-trick helped Samoa beat New Caledonia 4-2 in their quarter-final in Suva.
On the same day Papua New Guinea beat Tonga in a penalty shoot-out after the teams finished 3-all after an engrossing 120 minutes of play.
PNG fought back from two goals down to force the extra half hour.
Yesterday, hosts Fiji booked their place in the last four after overcoming a stubborn Cook Islands side thanks to goals in either half from captain Sofi Diyalowai and vice-captain Luisa Tamanitoakula.
And in the final match, Solomon Islands defeated Tahiti by a single goal from Mary Maefiti.
In this weekend's semi-finals, Samoa play PNG, and Fiji face off against Solomon Islands.