(file image) Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
Tonga - flights
An aircraft from the New Zealand airline Air Chathams is back flying domestic routes in Tonga.
This comes after ongoing issues with the Tonga government owned operator Lulutai
Lulutai has now leased a Saab 340B from Air Chathams for three months.
Kaniva News reported the plane is expected to operate under Lulutai's air operating certificate.
It said Tonga's long running issues with domestic flight services can be traced back to after Air Chathams stopped operating its original service there in 2011.
Fiji Airways is also operating an aircraft, an ATR 42, on the Nadi-Vava'u flight.
Kaniva News reported that Lulutai, meanwhile, is expected to buy another Saab 340 with money allocated in the government's latest Budget.
Papua New Guinea - airfares
Air Niugini has put plans to increase its airfares on hold.
This comes after criticism of the proposed changes with airfares on some routes set to increase by up to 25 percent while others remained the same or were to be made even cheaper.
EMTV quoted the airline's chief executive, Gary Seddon, saying that with prices in PNG and around the world "already challenging" the timing is not right to make changes.
Seddon said Air Niugini is more than a business, it is the nation's air carrier and has an obligation to provide affordable accessible domestic and international fares.
New Caledonia - prices
Food prices in New Caledonia soared a record 3.7 percent last month, according to the Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies.
Civil unrest continues in the territory with fires at a church and school, vandalism and looting in parts of the country..
The Institute told New Caledonia La Premiere that food prices had not gone up that much in a month since 1983.
In June price hikes included 5.9 percent for bread and cereals, 4.2 percent for eggs and dairy products, 3.8 percent for meat, 3.7 percent for oils and fats and 3.1 percent for fish.
A sales ban on alcohol imposed by the High Commission during the month of June kept the price of alcoholic drinks stable.
Tahiti - security
The French high commissioner in Tahiti is calling for a review of the level of security at the Olympic Games Surfing competition in French Polynesia.
Around 600 police and military personnel are being deployed for the event which is expected to attract around the same number of visitors with a thousand volunteers also accredited to help run the tournament.
High commissioner Eric Spitz told French Polynesia La Premiere it is good organisers are ensuring optimal security for sea, land and air but he warned if it was too invasive it would spoil the event.
Residents will be given passes to the games and traffic will be tightly monitored.
Cook Islands - appeal
The Court of Appeal has dismissed Cook Islands former deputy prime minister Robert Tapaitau appeal against his two-year nine-months sentence.
In March, Chief Justice Patrick Keane sentenced the former Tongareva MP to prison for three counts of cheque fraud.
Tapaitau's lawyer Norman George challenged the sentence calling it excessively long and unconscionable.
He argued that it is disproportionate to the amount of money involved and established precedents.
The Cook Islands News reported the appeal was heard on 4 July before the Appeal Court judges Judge Robert Fisher, Judge Raynor Asher and Judge Terence Arnold.
The judgement, released earlier this week, said: "As with any other small country seeking to attract grants and business from others, it's vital that the Cook Islands maintain a reputation as a country that is free from corruption.
Where corruption is brought to light, deterrence and condemnation must be given priority over other sentencing considerations."
Cook Islands - history
A Cook Islands Minister is set to make history as the first female chair of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Committee for the Western Pacific meeting.
Health Minister Vainetutai Rose Toki-Brown will chair the meeting in Manila, Philippines, this October.
The invitation was extended by WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, Dr Saia Ma'u Piukala, following a visit to the Cook Islands.
In the letter, Dr Piukala stated that her dedication to improving the health of her people is truly inspiring.
He also noted the close collaboration the government and Ministry of Health have with traditional leaders, following a visit to the House of Ariki.
Fiji - conference
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women has agreed to hold its extraordinary 91st session in Suva.
According to UN Women 1 in 3 women globally have experienced physical or sexual violence and in Asia and the Pacific, as many as 75 per cent of women have experienced sexual harassment.
In a statement on Wednesday, the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, or CEDAW, accepted in principle the request from the Pacific to hold the meeting in Suva, Fiji.
Traditionally, the CEDAW Committee conducts its work in Geneva.
It said holding an Extraordinary CEDAW session in Fiji would, for the first time, enable hundreds of women, children, civil society organisations and others from across the Pacific region to directly engage with the Committee on home territory.
While the CEDAW decision is still "in principle" Fiji's prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, says the country is looking forward to hosting the meeting.
