Voting in the PNG election Photo: Raguel Kepas
PNG - election process
The Papua New Guinea government has been told changing the electoral framework may cause inconsistency, especially in gaining public confidence for any new system.
The former country director of the International Foundation of Electoral Systems (IFES), Paul Roland, is reported by The National saying it's not necessary to change the limited preferential voting system in the country in order to have a better general election.
He warned that many countries which change their election framework fail to increase public confidence in the election process.
Roland was speaking amid calls for changes, including the use of electronic voting.
He has told an election summit that the PNG Electoral Commission needs the support of multiple agencies and government bureaucrats.
Roland said he believed in the PNG election framework, but it was the implementation and enforcement of existing laws which needs work.
American Samoa - measles
American Samoa's epidemiologist says the territory remains under a measles declaration because the Department of Health is waiting on eight laboratory test results.
American Samoa's governor released a new Measles Emergency Declaration last week, replacing the previous one.
It means American Samoa is under a state of emergency until June 8.
The epidemiologist Scott Anesi said if the test results come back negative the Department of Health will recommend ending the outbreak declaration.
He said the territory has reported 76 probable cases and two positive.
Pacific/Korea - summit
The Korea-Pacific Islands Summit in Seoul has ended.
Leaders from around the region have been in attendance including the prime ministers of Kiribati, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.
Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and New Zealand's Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta were also there.
The closed conference promotes Korean relationships in the Pacific, but it also serves as a forum for further discussions on regional agreements.
On the agenda was the Pacific Islands Forum's 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent - a blueprint to address the climate crisis and intensifying geopolitical rivalries in the region.
Oceans - plastic
The plastic plight of the Pacific has been raised in Paris, where officials are negotiating a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.
According to a release from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme, delegates from Pacific countries are among more than 2000 officials meeting in Paris.
Executive director of the UN Environment Programme, Inger Andersen, said much of the plastic arrives on Pacific shores.
French Polynesia - shark attack
A kite surfer in French Polynesia has been injured in a shark attack.
The 25-year-old woman was around 100 metres offshore near a hotel in Arue when the attack occurred.
Rescue services rushed the woman to Tahiti's main hospital, with reports saying the bite is not life-threatening.
Local authorities have now discouraged swimming along that beach, but not declared a ban.
It follows the death of a man over in New Caledonia on Sunday, from a shark attack while fishing.
Samoa - public service
Public servants in Samoa are set to receive a cost of living adjustment to their salaries, ranging from 3 to 10 percent.
This has been announced as part of the government's $1.08 billion tālā budget for 2023/2024.
Finance Minister Mulipola Anarosa Ale Molio'o said this adjustment will be implemented over two years, in consideration of the private sector keeping up.
The budget has now been tabled and will go to the Parliamentary Finance Committee.
Cook Islands - national park
Suwarrow National Park in the Cook Islands will re-open its doors to visiting international vessels, after being closed since the start of the covid-19 pandemic.
The low-lying atoll is home only to two caretakers - who are there for around 5 to 8 months of the year - and they also serve as immigration officers for visitors travelling by boat.
A national environment service spokesperson told the Cook Islands News there are strict rules in place for visitors, including designated places where they can anchor in the lagoon.
Wallis and Futuna - accident
Wallis and Futuna has recorded its first fatal crash of the year.
A man in his 60s ran off the road in the village of Alele at high speed, crashing into a ditch.
According to the public broadcaster in Wallis and Futuna, firefighters were quick to arrive at the scene only to find the driver had died.
