People stand on the roofing of collapsed shops in the port after a 5.2-magnitude earthquake in Jayapura. Photo: FAISAL NARWAWAN/AFP
Authorities survey damage after Papua quake
Papua acting governor Muhammad Ridwan Rumasukun says his administration is taking an inventory of structural damage caused to buildings in the 5.4-magnitude earthquake that jolted Jayapura on Thursday.
A cafe collapsed into the sea killing four people.
Rumasukun says there's been damage to the Governor's Office, the State Building, the Swiss Bel Hotel and the Jayapura Hypermart, among other buildings.
The acting governor appealed to residents to remain calm and vigilant against potential aftershocks.
Earlier, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency reported that more than 2,000 people were displaced by the earthquake, and they all sought refuge at evacuation locations spread across 15 areas.
Kanak Senate has new president
New Caledonia's customary Kanak Senate has a new president after the removal of Hugues Vhemavhe.
Victor Gogny has been chosen as his replacement.
The senators acted after Vhemavhe was caught drink-driving and driving without a licence.
The Senate brings together traditional representatives of Kanak councils from 16 areas and has jurisdiction over law proposals concerning the Kanak identity.
It was created by the 1998 Noumea Accord, which was meant to be the roadmap to New Caledonia's independence.
Inquest into death of Samoa prisoner ordered
In Samoa, the coroner, District Court Judge Alalatoa Rosella Viane Papali'i, has called for an inquiry into the death of a prisoner who died from allegedly consuming paraquat in prison.
Alalatoa told Police in a letter, obtained by Samoa Observer, that she cannot brush aside a number of key issues that have arisen including the possible negligence on the part of prison authorities in not providing proper supervision to prisoners working at prison plantations.
She has also ordered a post-mortem be performed on the body.
The letter also states the possible failure of the prison authorities at Tanumalala to exercise reasonable care and attention to prevent those in custody from hurting themselves.
Ex-PM Tuilaepa no longer has police protection
The Samoa Police has withdrawn a security detail assigned to safeguard the leader of the Human Right Protection Party saying there was no longer a risk.
Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi was assaulted by at least one elderly woman last month at the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration carpark.
Police provided security for Tuilaepa following a written request by the former prime minister.
After two and a half weeks the Ministry of Police and Prisons recalled the officer.
Samoan islands receive help for projects
Samoa's Government has received grant assistance of over $US373,000 from Japan to support construction projects on the small islands of Apolima and Manono.
Representatives from both islands signed the grants in a ceremony at the Japanese Embassy in Apia.
The grant is for the construction of a safe house on Apolima to support residents in the event of natural disaster, and to renovate Salua Primary School on Manono Island.
Air France will retain French Polynesia flights
Photo: icholakov/123RF
The French government says Air France will not cut French Polynesia from its routes after concerns were raised by a parliamentarian.
The French state is the majority shareholder of Air France.
Tematai Le Gayic, who is a representative of Tavini Huiraatira in the French National Assembly, feared that Air France's US partner Delta Airlines was unsettling the aviation market.
He said with lower fares, Delta was undercutting Air Tahiti Nui and Air France, thereby putting local employment at risk.
But the French transport minister Clement Beaune said Air France resumed its five weekly flights to Tahiti after the pandemic in March.
The carrier also plans to hire more personnel in French Polynesia.
Air Moana flies to French Polynesian islands
French Polynesia's Air Moana has flown its inaugural flights to Raiatea and Bora Bora.
The flight was postponed for 24 hours due to organisational issues and the company's main sponsors being unable to make it.
The price of a flight from Tahiti to Bora Bora island is currently $US140.
International Pacific Documentary Film Festival
The New Zealand film No Maori Allowed has won the Grand Prize at the International Pacific Documentary Film Festival in French Polynesia.
The jury of the 20th edition of the festival awarded the prize in Tahiti on Friday to the documentary maker Corinna Hunziker.
The Public's Choice Award has gone to Raynald Merienne for his film Motu Haka about the Marquesas.
The Special Prize as well as the inaugural Youth Jury Prize were awarded to Dame Valerie Adams: More than Gold directed by Briar March.
