PNG - human rights
The US government is recognising a Papua New Guinea woman for her work in defending human rights and mediating conflicts in the nation.
Linda Rau Tule, a village court magistrate who is also president of the Human Rights Defenders Association PNG, has been named a recipient of the Distinguished Humphrey Fellowship, which is awarded to between 10 and 15 people internationally each year.
Rau Tule told Benar News they are a small group of men and women who go out every day to help conflict victims.
Under the fellowship, Tule will visit the US from late April to mid-May to receive her award and participate in an intensive course on human rights and social justice at the Duke Center for International Development, at Duke University in North Carolina.
Fiji - water supply
Water Authority of Fiji chief executive has called for the installation of rain tanks as a solution to the lack of resilience in the country's water supply system.
Amit Chanan told FBC News that having a two to three days' supply of water at home can significantly contribute to building resilient capacity for the entire system.
Chanan emphasised that water tanks are a critical solution to mitigate the risk of water shortages and disruptions in Fiji's water supply system.
He said rainwater tanks are the most practical and effective means to ensure water resilience in Fiji, unless additional infrastructure is built after the Viria water project comes online.
French Polynesia - cruise ships
French Polynesia hopes to increase the number of annual cruise ship visits to 1500 by 2025.
The target was announced by Tahiti tourism delegates after the Seatrade Cruise Global conference in the United States.
French Polynesia had about 1000 cruise ship visits annually before the pandemic, which was double the number about a decade ago.
Tahiti Cruise Club head Bud Gilroy said French Polynesia has managed to develop an original model of sustainable cruising by having small and medium-sized ships.
Gilroy said they are adapted to the islands and their reception capacities.
He said cruise ships now touch more than 30 of French Polynesia's islands.
Tonga - drugs
Seven Tongans have been jailed for their roles in handling blocks of cocaine from a large shipment found washed up on Otualea Beach in 2021.
An eighth defendant has been given a suspended sentence.
The estimated 36kg of cocaine washed ashore could be worth close to $US8.2 million based on Australian market values.
Not all of it was recovered.
The eight accused were sentenced via video link last month on charges including the supply and possession of the illegal substance.
The sentences ranged from the suspended sentence, to three years' imprisonment, to 13 and half years behind bars with the last two years suspended for two years with conditions.
Fiji - violence
Fifteen percent of women in Fiji who have faced intimate partner violence were pregnant at the time of the abuse.
This was highlighted by the Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation Lynda Tabuya in Parliament last
week.
Tabuya said two out of three women in in the country face some form of violence, which was higher than the world average of one out of three.
She said it should be something that Parliament should pursue and support to declare it a national crisis.
She also noted nearly six in 10 women are subjected to emotional violence over their lifetime.
Samoa - teachers
Samoa's Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture is struggling to stop teachers leaving the profession amid a chronic shortage.
Ministry chief executive officer Aeau Christopher Hazelman said there were a number of reasons behind the departures, including finding work with the seasonal work schemes in Australia and New Zealand, and better paid jobs in other ministries.
Some teachers were taking up theological studies.
The ministry has recently reached out to qualified teachers working in other ministries to work part-time at teaching.
It is also looking at the use of volunteers as an option to tackle the critical shortage of teachers.
Guam - court case
Guam's government is suing the owner of a local helicopter company for using uncertified helicopters and hiring unqualified mechanics and pilots.
The US territory's attorney's office filed a civil complaint against John Walker and his company Hansen Helicopters last week.
It comes over seven months since a helicopter belonging to the company crashed, killing 10 people.
Federal prosecutors told Guam Daily Post they are holding Walker accountable for the deaths and are seeking to close down his company.
Walker has already been found guilty of fraud in a separate case.
A hearing is scheduled for April 17.
Guam - kingfisher
The Guam kingfisher, locally known as 'sihek', will finally return to the wild on May 4 as an experimental population on Palmyra Atoll.
Guam kingfisher Photo: Supplied
The sihek is a compact rusty-red bird with a long dark blue tail and short dark blue wings, and a large charcoal grey bill.
The last Guam kingfisher was spotted in the wild in 1988, while biologists brought the surviving 29 birds into captivity to rescue them from total extinction.
Today, 152 sihek live in 25 facilities around the world.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service said while the birds were still being held in pre-release aviaries on Palmyra Atoll, they would provide natural prey items so the sihek can learn to forage on multiple food sources.
The service said it will monitor each sihek daily, immediately after release and throughout their first year of release.
