Latest news with #MichaelSomare

RNZ News

Pacific news in brief for 4 August

Photo: AFP / Sebastian Kaulitzki / Science Photo Library Samoa media are reporting a fifth child has died from dengue fever. The country is in the midst of an outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease. Meanwhile, education minister Ae'au Chris Hazelman said all schools will remain closed this week due to the outbreak, including ECE and universities. "Based on the data provided to us by the Ministry of Health, not only at our national hospital at Moto'otua but all of our district hospitals as well and also the hospital in Savai'i - it is based on those numbers that we have made the decision to close the schools." Schools were closed last week and a fumigation programme was launched. The province of East Sepik has opened a new trade route, with a shipment of cocoa to Shandong in China. NBC reported it comes 25 years after Sir Michael Somare forged a sister-province agreement between East Sepik and Shandong. On the eve of the country's 50th anniversary of independence, the East Sepik Governor, Allan Bird, reflected on this legacy, and praised Sir Michael's foresight. He said it may be the first export from East Sepik to its sister province. Bird said not only does it strengthen East Sepik's trade footprint but it's also a symbolic realisation of Sir Michael's diplomatic legacy. NBC reported business leaders and the community see the announcement as a positive milestone for local industry, hoping it paves the way for more exports and collaboration with China. Fiji's Minister for Policing Ioane Naivalurua met with the New Zealand Minister for Customs and Associate Minister for Police, Casey Costello, and her delegation in Suva last week. The Fijian government government said discussions centred on the growing threats of transnational crime and drug trafficking affecting Fiji. A primary school teacher in Fiji has been charged with allegedly beating a young boy with a PVC pipe, injuring his stomach and ear. reports that the man entered no plea when he appeared in the Nadi Magistrates Court last week. He was granted bail and will appear in court again on 9 September.