HONIARA (SIBC/PINA) — A 24-year-old man was attacked by a crocodile at Yandina, Russell Islands in the Central province of Solomon Islands.
Authorities are cautioning people to take extra care when going out fishing after dusk as crocodile attacks are frequent in the area.
A young man was last month attacked by a crocodile and never found.
In the latest incident, the man and a co-worker were diving near the Fisheries Center at Yandina when the crocodile attacked.
Medical reports said he received multiple injuries to his head and other parts to his body. But his condition is improving.
In April, a Guadalcanal man was killed by a crocodile while fishing with two companions on the Hoilava River.
The crocodile population in Solomon Islands is reported to be growing at a fast rate.
PAPEETE (Tahitipresse/PINA) — Four French Polynesian students have been selected to study tourism in New Zealand as part of continuing efforts to develop Tahiti’s key industry.
It follows a meeting in Papeete between Bronwyn Shanks, New Zealand vice consul in New Caledonia, and Tahitian education officials to select students who will get a financial aid.
New Zealand is one of Tahiti’s numerous visitor markets, with about 8,000 visitors coming from New Zealand last year to visit Tahiti and her islands.
During her stay Shanks also met Tourism and Environment Minister Brigitte Vanizette.
Tahiti is interested in the means used in New Zealand for environmental protection. Vanizette feels some of these measures could also be applied to the islands of French Polynesia.
PAPEETE (Tahitipresse/PINA) — French Polynesia’s President Gaston Flosse met French Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris, and said the minister plans to visit French Polynesia this year.
Flosse said: “First of all, we talked about the evolution of the autonomy statute of French Polynesia. This issue will one day be on the agenda of the French Council of Ministers and Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy will have to deal with it.”
Sarkozy is in charge of security and Flosse said he complained to the minister about a lack of information from French police forces in Tahiti. “We do not have a good knowledge of police statistics. We only get a glimpse at them through media coverage,” he said.
SUVA (FM96/PINA) — Fiji police say four Chinese nationals discovered in a pool of blood at a home in suburban Suva were murdered.
The body of two women, a man and a boy were found in the two-story house. A fifth person, also Chinese, was found drenched in blood and semiconscious a few blocks away
A full investigation is underway but police said they are finding it tough as other Chinese nationals they’ve interviewed have opted to remain quiet.
Fiji has a long-established Chinese community. But there have been public and news media concerns about an influx of new arrivals, how so many are getting into Fiji, and allegations some are linked to crime.
PORT MORESBY (Papua New Guinea Post-Courier/PINA) — The search for gold supposedly carried by a Japanese ship sunk off northern Papua New Guinea in World War II is to begin in earnest under an agreement signed this past week.
The India Maru was said to be carrying bullion taken when the Japanese took Singapore. It was sunk near Papua New Guinea but no sign of the gold said to have been aboard has been found.
The Papua New Guinea government and Australia-based Keysen International Ltd. signed an agreement in Port Moresby for search and recovery from sunken wartime wrecks, including the India Maru. Keysen International managing director Anthony Astridge said his company is planning to spend millions of dollars over the next five to six years on the exercise.
