‘We want legitimate leaders’: Bougainvilleans head to the polls amid push for independence
By Margot Staunton, RNZ Pacific senior journalist| Asia Pacific Report
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk French national politics have once again cast a shadow on New Caledonia’s issues even though the French Pacific territory is facing a pressing schedule. Debates in the French National Assembly on a New Caledonia-related Bill were once again heated and rocky yesterday, resulting in further delays.| Asia Pacific Report
RNZ Pacific Former Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has been given a 12-month suspended prison sentence by the Fiji High Court in Suva, local news media reports say. Bainimarama, 71, was found guilty of “making an unwarranted demand with menace” on October 2. The court found he used his position as Prime Minister in 2021| Asia Pacific Report
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter New Zealand’s opposition parties have promised to repeal the coalition government’s changes to the Marine and Coastal Area Act (MACA) if re-elected in the face of criticism over “mindsets of colonisation”. While the coalition has pitched the changes as restoring the legislation to its original intent, critics argue| Asia Pacific Report
Greenpeace Cook Islanders holding a banner reading “Don’t Mine the Moana” have confronted an exploration vessel as it returned to Rarotonga port today, protesting the emerging threat of seabed mining. Four activists in kayaks paddled alongside the Nautilus, which has spent the last three weeks on a US-funded research expedition surveying mineral nodule fields around| Asia Pacific Report
RNZ Pacific Fiji Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica has stepped down from his position on the eve of his court appearance for corruption-related charges. Kamikamica has been charged by the country’s anti-corruption office with perjury and providing false information in his capacity as a public servant. Kamikamica, who also serves as the Minister for Trade| Asia Pacific Report
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor The Solomon Islands government is looking into establishing a defence force which would make it the fourth Pacific nation to have a military. Some parliamentarians support the idea, while others are pointing to the country’s history of violent unrest. National Security Minister Jimson Tanagada said the government was in| Asia Pacific Report
RNZ Pacific A Fiji deputy prime minister has been charged by the country’s anti-corruption office with perjury and providing false information in his capacity as a public servant, according to local news media reports. Manoa Kamikamica, who also serves as the Minister for Trade and Communications and a key part of Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s| Asia Pacific Report
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk As part of a never-ending rollercoaster of instability in French politics, the latest appointment of a Minister for Overseas has caused significant concern, including in New Caledonia. In the late hours of Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron approved the latest Cabinet lineup submitted to him by| Asia Pacific Report
RNZ Pacific Pesi Siale Fonua, a veteran Pacific journalist and the publisher-editor of Tonga’s leading news website Matangi Tonga Online, has died at the age of 78. Fonua’s family announced his passing on Monday. “It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Pesi Siale Fonua (78), well known Pacific Islands journalist, publisher| Asia Pacific Report
By Margot Staunton, RNZ Pacific senior journalist| Asia Pacific Report
RNZ Pacific| Asia Pacific Report
By Grace Tinetali-Fiavaai, RNZ Pacific journalist in Apia, Samoa| Asia Pacific Report
Asia Pacific Report| Asia Pacific Report
RNZ Pacific| Asia Pacific Report
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk| Asia Pacific Report
By ‘Alakihihifo Vailala of PMN News| Asia Pacific Report
