Regional

Apart from obesity, cigarette smoking by children is also of concern to the health authorities. The Ministry of Health in Fiji has revealed that some children and young people have type two diabetes, which is normally confined to adults only. The national advisor for non-communicable diseases, Dr. …

New Zealand’s Ministry of Labor and Commerce says the number is relatively low and it is unlikely Tonga will be dropped from the Recognized Seasonal Employers Scheme as a result. Tatafu Moeaki, chief executive of Tonga’s Ministry of Labor, said 24 is a very low proportion of the thousand or so Tong…

More than 200 auditors and government finance managers are attending the annual conference of the Association of Pacific Island Public Auditors in Majuro from Palau, Yap, Guam, Northern Marianas, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands and the Marshall Islands. “Public office is …

Gerson Jackson, the FSM consul general to Guam, said Yap needs to send participants like the other FSM states. The Center for Micronesian Empowerment on Guam has recruited more people into the program from Kosrae than any other FSM states. So far, Chuuk and Pohnpei have sent at least two-groups eac…

But the vast, western half of New Guinea Island is slowly opening its doors to tourists as a “hidden paradise,” a land of ancient tribal cultures, glittering reefs, soaring glaciers and teeming wildlife. Recreational travelers are still few, at most a few thousand a year; people like Sarah Gabel, a…

This prevented the company from running out of fuel for power plants in Majuro and Ebeye, the two urban centers that have about 70 percent of the total Marshall Islands population of 56,000. “We were running low on fuel last weekend, but we bought a load of fuel from a high seas tanker,” said Marsh…

The grants will enable the states to preserve and protect the nation’s historic sites without expending tax dollars. “These grants will enable citizens of every state and territory to keep alive their heritage as a vital part of the American experience,” Salazar said. “The grants are not only an in…

Cmdr. Viliame Naupoto, permanent secretary of Fiji’s Department of Fisheries and Forests, said a review of fisheries laws will include a ban on the trade of all shark fin and other products derived from any type of shark that is captured in Fiji waters. “Due to the emerging new trends in shark tour…

Patrick M. Walsh, Brig. Gen. Richard L. Simcock II, principal director of the Office of the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Asia & Pacific and U.S. Agency for International Development assistant administrator for Asia Nisha Desai Biswal visited Pohnpei state. The visit was part of a six-da…

Overcrowding is becoming a serious problem in Kiribati and Solomon Islands and rising sea levels is also expected to lead to climate change refugees. Leading Pacific demographer Professor Richard Bedford, from the Auckland University of Technology, said New Zealand and Australia are obvious destina…