Tonga has declared a national holiday this Thursday for the marriage of two royal cousins – to each other. While the marriage of such close relatives is causing embarrassment, even within the royal family, the Tongan Government has issued coverage guidelines to the international media. The lavish wedding, delayed by the death and mourning period Read more
The Anglican Church is defending its decision to hold its General Synod in Fiji, saying it is actively encouraging a return to a duly elected parliament. Archbishop David Moxon, and Bishops Brown Turei and Winston Halapua say the church is trying to keep open the lines of communication with the present Fijian administration. Archbishop Moxon Read more
The Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office is encouraging local communities in Australia to welcome seasonal workers from the Pacific region into their parishes. As from 2 July up to 2000 places are available in 2012-13 for seasonal workers. They will be able to spend six months in Australia, working in hospitality, horticulture and other Read more
Fiji’s Electronic Voter Registration process (EVR) began in major centres last Tuesday. The EVR helps to minimise election fraud and at the same time accelerate the voter identification process. However, some religious organisations have told the Fiji government they may not participate in the electronic voter registration. Commissioner Western Commander Joeli Cawaki said the organisations had refused Read more
Papua New Guinea would favourably consider reopening an asylum seekers’ processing centre if asked by Australia according to Prime Minister Peter O’Neill. And in Nauru, the office of Dominic Tabuna, the Minister for Commerce, Industry and Environment, issued a statement saying that while Nauru stands ready to assist the Australian government, Nauru had “no say” Read more
The World Council of Churches General Secretary the Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit was in West Papua (Tanah Papua) from 17 to 20 June as part of his ten-day visit to Indonesia. Tveit said the focus of his visit was to listen and support the church in its efforts of being church in a difficult situation. Read more
The need to send remittances home makes it very difficult for for Pacific Island migrants living in Australia to save and invest in assets or the education of their own families. It creates enormous pressure often leads to resentment. Queensland University Associate Professor Richard Brown said Samoans, Tongans and Cook Islanders have a culture of Read more
Reports of arrests continue to come out of Papua as a police crackdown intensifies. The Jayapura Police chief announced last Monday that his forces had detained three people responsible for “spreading fear and terror” in the province. The three — Jefry Wandikwo, Zakius Saplay and Calvin Wenda — allegedly acted in conjunction with slain independence Read more
Samoa’s decision to shift to the other side of the dateline at the beginning of 2012 has caused division in the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Samoa. The Seventh Day Adventist administrators in Samoa decided to keep an unbroken cycle of seven days with the seventh day being Sabbath. The first week after the nation Read more
Squatters on Catholic Church land at Wailekutu near Suva in Fiji are to be relocated to new homes. This week, the Fiji Ministry of Lands, a business, Williams and Gosling, the Archdiocese of Suva and the mataqali (a section of a family) Natodre of Waiqanake Village in Lami will sign a memorandum of agreement for Read more