Puna does apparent U-turn on PIF top job
Pacific Islands Forum secretary-general Henry Puna has clarified he is not pushing for another term in the top job.
It follows an interview with RNZ where he said: "I'm enjoying this job so much. Yes. It'd be nice to continue in the role. But it is up to the leaders. And I guess also, it's up to how I can perform over the next year."
Puna has since told reporters in Solomon Islands he hasn't done anything in order to seek an extension, because that would be disrespectful of the leaders' position.
Minister turfed out; PNG gets additional female MP
A cabinet minister in Papua New Guinea has lost his seat in parliament after an electoral challenge was successful.
PNG Minister Delilah Gore. Photo: PNG TREASURY
The Minister for Commerce and Industry, Henry Amuli, had been the declared winner in Sohe in Oro Province.
But local media reports that Delilah Gore, who held the seat from 2012 to 2017, challenged him, alleging bribery.
She alleged that in one district where she expected to do well, a campaign director for Amuli had handed out 50 and 100 kina notes exhorting people to vote for him.
Gore produced additional evidence to show the same campaign director had committed a similar offence in another district.
The judge in the Court of Disputed Returns declared that Amuri had committed offences under the Organic Law on National and Local Level Government Elections.
Repressive media laws could be revised
Fiji's controversial media laws are set to be put under the microscope by the new coalition government in the coming weeks.
Deputy prime minister and minister for communications Manoa Kamikamica told The Fiji Times that calls for a review of the Media Industry Development Act was a "hot topic among media organisations and journalists".
Kamikamica said the government will begin with the review of the act "due to start very soon".
Media rights and press freedom advocates have labelled Fiji's media laws as draconian and among the most repressive in the Pacific.
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has promised that his coalition "will remove threats to media freedom that have no place in a democracy".
New leader for Samoan opposition
In Samoa, the Deputy Leader of the Human Rights Protection Party, Lauofo Fonote Pierre, has been declared opposition leader in Parliament.
Lauofo becomes leader following Parliament's approval of proposed amendments, entitling opposition leadership to the largest opposition party.
Approved amendments also give deputy leaders entitlement as leader of opposition if the party leader has been suspended for more than six months.
It comes over two months since former Prime Minister Tuilaepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi, was suspended indefinitely from Parliament for contempt of Parliament.
Palau joins international development body
Palau has joined the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
Palau's President Surangel Whipps Jr said the government wants to strengthen and diversify the economy.
UNIDO Director General Gerd Müller says UNIDO stands ready to support the small island developing states with know-how and policy advice, especially in areas such as environmental protection, adaptation to the effects of climate change, sustainable energy and the blue economy.
Cargo ship plan in Samoa
Samoa's government is planning to buy a cargo ship to help bring down the cost of freight.
Minister for Works, Transport and Infrastructure, Olo Fiti Va'ai, told Parliament a plan will go to Cabinet soon to purchase the cargo ship following discussions within the transport sector.
The Samoa Observer reports that Olo told Parliament the concerns raised by Members at the rising cost of living is attributed to freight charges over the last three years, going from as low as $3,800 tālā to just over $7,100 tālā for a 20-foot container.
In terms of the continuing rise in diesel prices, Olo said there is no doubt it will go up again, and having a cargo ship owned by the Government will assist the country.
Teen's nuclear message
A 15-year-old eco-fashion designer who lives in Bali has painted a surfboard to give to the Prime Minister of Japan in the hope the country will reconsider plans to release radioactive waste into the Pacific Ocean.
It follows strong opposition due to a lack of assurance of safety.
Surfboard designer Hanalei Swan says she strongly wants Tokyo Electric Power Company and the government of Japan to reconsider this plan.
She spent over 100 hours on the project.
PNG getting ready for indigenous business meeting
The PNG Government is allocating $US2.8 million towards the staging of the Indigenous Business Forum in October this year.
The forum will bring together more than 600 indigenous businesses around the world.
Prime Minister James Marape is encouraging all PNG indigenous SMEs (small and medium businesses) to take advantage of the opportunity.
''You will see and here from around the world how they started from nothing using their resources and becoming some of the successful business men and women,'' said Marape.