Results for Pacific

Tonga is providing further input over a five-day workshop to help develop the regional 2050 strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, which aims to ensure Pacific people will lead free, healthy and productive lives. A session on Oceans and Natural Environment was held today 25 May, with representatives from other Pacific countries joining in virtually.

New York Times reporting: First the houses and cars vanished. Fences, driveways and the other remaining markers of suburban life followed. Now, only stretches of green remain — an eerie memorial to two earthquakes that leveled Christchurch, New Zealand’s second-largest city, 10 years ago. The undulating expanse, which begins 2 miles from downtown Christchurch, was deemed uninhabitable after the quakes, the second of which killed 185 people on Feb. 22, 2011. The 8,000 properties it encompassed were bought by the government and razed, the remnants swept away.

Former All Black, Charles Piutau (29) thinks dual-qualified rugby players should be allowed to play for less well-resourced unions in future.

A guide to support countries in the Asia-Pacific region to conduct self-assessments on their legal and technical readiness for cross-border paperless trade was launched on 9 December.

New York times reporting: The shark attacked Sunday, when Charles Cernobori, 59 and a father of three, was bodysurfing off Cable Beach in Western Australia. A couple found him, dragged him to the beach and called emergency services.

Fiji Airways and the South Pacific Cruise Alliance (SPCA) have been appointed to the Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) Board of Directors.

Tonga is one of eight countries in the Pacific region that remain CoViD-19-free as of today 4 November. In the Pacific, the Solomon Islands, Wallis and Futuna and the Marshall Islands recently reported CoViD-19 cases. Only two other countries worldwide have not reported any cases,

Eleven-year-old Sosaia Vea from Ha’ateiho won a speech competition in New Zealand urging Pacific students to stay in school. His headmaster at Remuera Intermediate School said Sosaia’s speech was incredibly powerful and he delivered it flawlessly and with great pride and passion.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a devastating toll in terms of human lives and health, jobs, growth, and economic progress in Asia and the Pacific. Donors have pledged more than $4 billion to replenish Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) grant funds for the region during a virtual meeting on 16 September.