Photo: 123RF
Papua New Guinea - health
Bosavi Health centre in Southern Highlands has been without basic medicine since June last year.
The National reports patients with serious conditions are referred to Moro which is a five-day walk.
Villagers in the surrounding area are asked to take care as it may be some time before medical supplies are restocked.
Samoa - visa
Samoa's opposition leader Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi has called on government leaders to advocate for Samoa's inclusion in Australia's new visa category, the Pacific Engagement Visa.
Australia's High Commissioner to Samoa, William Robinson, said countries are invited to participate based on their priorities, and Samoa was still considering its position.
Tuilaepa said the government has the power to implement ways to keep skilled people in Samoa, but citizens have the right to be offered opportunities so they can contribute to the development of their families and the country as well.
The ballot for the visa opens on 3 June.
Fiji - girmit
A Girmit descendant in Fiji is calling for 99-year leases ahead of Girmit Day commemorations.
Girmitiyas, or indentured labourers, is the name given to the Indians who left India in the middle and late 19th century to serve as labourers in the British colonies, where the majority eventually settled.
Labasa Town Council special administration chair Paul Jaduram said decades on the Indo-Fijian population still needs security.
He said farmers are only given 30-year agricultural leases.
In an interview with fijivillage.com, 84-year-old Jaduram said they need to be given 99-year leases upfront.
Bougainville - investment
The Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) says it is looking at working with Chinese foreign investors on development projects in the region.
This decision comes amid growing interest from Chinese companies to invest in Bougainville's infrastructure and economy.
Vice President Patrick Nisira has acknowledged public concerns about China's Belt and Road Initiative and emphasised the need for independent decision-making, free from biassed information sources.
New Caledonia - land
An indigenous New Caledonia clan has gifted one hectare of land to ni-Vanuatu living in the French territory.
The Kamboa Ouetcho clan of the customary area of Djubea-Kapone performed a custom ceremony to give a hectare of land to the Vanuatu community in New Caledonia.
The ceremony took place at the weekend on the 35th anniversary of the assassination of the Kanak leaders Jean-Marie Tjibaou and Yeiwéné Yeiwéné, in 1989.
This is the first time the Vanuatu community has been given land in New Caledonia by the indigenous Kanak community.
The Vanuatu community showed up in force to receive it and performed a custom ceremony of gratitude in return.
US Pasifika - film festival
The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival is shining a spotlight on Asian and Pacific creatives in the US.
The Festival is the largest festival of its kind in Southern California, and since 1983, has been the premier showcase for the best and brightest of Asian Pacific cinema.
Visual Communications produces the festival and its senior programmer, Eseel Borlassa said archival documentaries are also running.
She said one of her favourites is a documentary made in the late 70s, called 'O mai fa'atasi'.
The festival runs from 1-10 May.
