Regional Archive September 2009

The number of confirmed deaths resulting from the tsunami that swept parts of American Samoa, Samoa and Tonga has increased as reports continue to come in of casualties.

A tsunami has claimed lives in Samoa and American Samoa following an earthquake yesterday that caused tsunamis off the Samoan coast and a tsunami warning to be issued for the region this morning.

The 2009 Pacific Mini Games has 3 more days to go as athletes from around the region compete in the Cook Islands.

HA NOI, VIET NAM - As Asia begins to recover from the global economic crisis, governments in the region should look to expand social safety nets that can both protect the poor and help spur economic growth, Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Haruhiko Kuroda said today at the start of a three-day conference.

Fiji is currently leading the medal tally as the 2009 Pacific Mini Games go into the last few days of competition in the Cook Islands.

Press Statement - New Zealand will contribute $NZ1.95 million toward the establishment of the Office of Chief Trade Advisor (OCTA) to support Forum Island Countries' preparations for and participation in PACER Plus.

The 8th Pacific Mini Games is underway in the Cook Islands following the opening ceremony on Monday.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Economic growth in the Pacific will slow sharply in 2009, with five economies in the region expected to contract as the global economic slump continues to erode incomes from tourism and remittances, says a major new report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

A new Fiji university, a merger of six existing State-run tertiary institutions, is set to begin classes next year.

A life buoy from the Princess Ashika, the ferry that sank in Tongan waters last month claiming 74 lives, was found floating in Fijian waters last week.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of the Republic of Vanuatu have agreed to a new strategic partnership aimed at reducing poverty and promoting private-sector led sustainable growth.

The Asian Development Bank's (ADB) updated program in Solomon Islands for the next three years will support prioritized investments in infrastructure and private sector development initiatives.

The latest World Development Report finds that although many countries in the East Asia and Pacific region are vulnerable to climate change, developing countries can shift to lower-carbon paths while promoting development and reducing poverty if they receive financial and technical assistance from high-income countries

The number of deaths resulting from dysentery in Morobe, Eastern Highlands and Gulf provinces of Papua New Guinea has increased, surpassing the number of deaths resulting from cholera, the other deadly disease making its way through the Highlands.

Washington, D.C., September 9, 2009-In a record year for regulatory reform worldwide, most economies in East Asia and the Pacific strengthened business regulations, making them more efficient to help increase opportunities for local firms.

While it is anticipated that most nations will ultimately suffer the adverse consequences from climate change, Niue remains one of the most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. As such, the island faces the most dire and immediate consequences.

Press Release: 11 September 2009, New York - The 42-member Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) - a key negotiating bloc in international climate negotiations - has welcomed growing support for its call to limit global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius (°C).

11 September 2009 - Greenpeace activists on board the Rainbow Warrior today demanded immediate action to protect the endangered Mediterranean bluefin tuna from commercial extinction by deploying buoys marked 'Crime Scene' around cages holding bluefin tuna being fattened up for harvesting and then sold for export.

Press Statement - The first scholarships under the China-Pacific Islands Forum Scholarship Scheme have been awarded to nine students from four countries in the region.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Strengthening the independence and accountability of anti-corruption agencies is key to poverty reduction and sustainable development in the Asia and Pacific region, participants at an anti-corruption seminar in Manila heard on Wednesday.

A public health emergency has been declared in Papua New Guinea's Morobe province following outbreaks of cholera and dysentery.

As of Monday, Samoa's road-users are now driving on the left side of the road following the road-switch.

7 September 2009 - The deteriorating human rights situation in Fiji after the military crackdown which began in April 2009 demands international action, particularly from China, now one of Fiji's biggest foreign donors, Amnesty International said in a report released today.

Digicel launched last week in Nauru, giving the island nation access to GSM mobile telecommunications for the first time.

September 03, 2009. Western Pacific Ocean, , Australia - Two Taiwanese longline tuna fishing vessels were yesterday caught by Greenpeace in the act of illegally transferring fish in Pacific waters.

The Pacific Freedom Forum, along with Pacific media freedom awardees, has condemned threats made against an editor of one of Fiji's main newspapers in a press statement, describing them as 'serious violations of globally accepted standards of human rights'.

Fiji is now suspended from full membership of the Commonwealth after failing to meet the terms set out by the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) in July.