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Stacey King's Blog (971)

Rabi & Kiribati Nuns looking after Children at Lautoka Crippled School Hostel

FIJI TIMES ONLINEWednesday, May 20, 2009

Some of the children at the Lautoka Crippled School hostel whom the three nuns look after

THEY may not have grown up in the area, but three Catholic nuns mean the world to a group of disabled children in their adopted home.Though seas and miles away from home, the nuns of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, are both mother and… Continue

Added by Stacey King on May 20, 2009 at 5:00pm — No Comments

Huge iceberg set to break off Mertz Glacier

ABC RADIO AUSTRALIA - Mon May 18, 2009 3:40pm AEST

A massive iceberg with enough freshwater in it to fill Sydney Harbour 135 times is about to break off the Mertz glacier in Antarctica. The iceberg will be 75 kilometres long and contains 750 thousand gigalitres of ice. Scientists are not sure if it's a natural event, or if global warming is to blame. But a joint Australian and French team hope to find… Continue

Added by Stacey King on May 19, 2009 at 8:22am — No Comments

Registering your SKYPE address for future live Rabi broadcasts

We are currently compiling a SYKPE contact list so that we can set up direct broadcasts from Rabi in the future. If you would like to register your SKYPE address please email details direct to stacey@banaban.com

Added by Stacey King on May 18, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

UNICEF says Pacific children should get first call on resources in recession

RADIO NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL - Posted at 01:41 on 15 May, 2009 UTC

UNICEF is calling on Pacific governments not to cut back on resources for children as the global financial crisis hits their economies. UNICEF Pacific’s chief of policy, Dr Will Parks says their monitoring is yet to pick up an impact on children from the crisis. But he says Pacific children will be particularly vulnerable as the economic… Continue

Added by Stacey King on May 15, 2009 at 4:31pm — No Comments

Call to save 'dying oceans'

News Asia-Pacific -Al Jazeera.net

Indonesia's president has called for a concerted move to save the world's oceans from being destroyed by the effects of climate change, but made no mention of his own country's failings in nature conservation. In an address to the World Ocean Conference in the Indonesia city of Manado on Thursday, Susilo Bambang Yudhyono called for a global effort to "rescue… Continue

Added by Stacey King on May 15, 2009 at 4:27pm — No Comments

New regular shipping service for Pacific small island states

RADIO NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL - Posted at 07:56 on 13 May, 2009 UTC

Small island states in the Pacific, which have had to put up with costly irregular shipping services, are about to get more regular servicing. The Government-owned Kiribati Shipping Services has started a service connecting Nauru, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Wallis and Futuna to Suva and says it’s confident it will be profitable. The announcement has come… Continue

Added by Stacey King on May 15, 2009 at 4:16pm — No Comments

Australian researchers find kava is safe

ABC RADIO AUSTRALIA - Updated Thu May 14, 2009 10:40am AEST

An Australian research team has found that kava can be a safe and effective treatment for anxiety. The news has been welcomed by kava-producing Pacific countries which are trying to overturn international import bans on the product.

Presenter: Barbara Heggen

Speaker: Jerome Sarris, University of Queensland's School of… Continue

Added by Stacey King on May 15, 2009 at 12:23pm — 3 Comments

Kirbati Shipping to Start a Regualr Service to 4 Islands

TMCnet.com (Pacnews) - May 13, 2009

NUKUALOFA, May 14, 2009 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) -- Kiribati Shipping Services Limited (KSSL) on Wednesday formally signed an agreement with Nauru, Tuvalu, Kiribati and Wallis and Futuna to provide regular feeder shipping services to these countries. The four small island states (SIS) have been confronted with irregular shipping services since 2006. KSSL general manager Itibwinnang… Continue

Added by Stacey King on May 14, 2009 at 4:31pm — No Comments

Fiji Local News in brief -

Fiji Times Online - Briefly Thursday, May 14, 2009

ROTUMA will receive about $20m for major capital works on the island for the next five years. The interim Government made the decision based on its remoteness and strategic location between Fiji and other countries in the northern Pacific. Commissioner Eastern Tomasi Tui said Rotuma could play a vital role in the exchange of commodities to Pacific islands such as Tuvalu and was… Continue

Added by Stacey King on May 14, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

Deadline nears for Pacific maritime claims

ABC Radio Australia - Stephanie March Last Updated: Fri, 8 May 2009 14:56:00 +1000

Countries in the Pacific region have less than a week to submit claims to the United Nations if they think they have legitimate grounds to extend their continental shelf boundaries. Solomon Islands, Paupa New Guinea and Federated States of Micronesia have submitted a joint claim which covers the Ontong Java plateau. Phil… Continue

Added by Stacey King on May 13, 2009 at 2:59pm — No Comments

Disaster looming on rising sea levels: island nations

Space Daily - MANADO, Indonesia, May 12 (AFP) May 12, 2009

Rising sea levels that could wipe whole nations off the map and displace scores of millions of people are being overlooked in global climate change talks, island countries said Tuesday. Major emitters are pushing for greenhouse gas emissions cuts that are too low to prevent devastating sea rises, representatives said at the World Ocean Conference in Indonesia's Manado city.

"Dealing with environmental refugees will have… Continue

Added by Stacey King on May 13, 2009 at 2:51pm — No Comments

Small Island States in Pacific to discuss shipping services

Radio New Zealand International - Posted at 09:55 on 12 May, 2009 UTC

Small island states in the Pacific are expected to demand improved shipping services when they meet in Tonga this week. Pacific ministers for maritime transport in the small island states, or SIS, are meeting to talk about issues such as the need for improved regional shipping services and lower freight costs. The SIS group at the meeting will… Continue

Added by Stacey King on May 13, 2009 at 2:47pm — No Comments

Pacific Regional heads stand up against pirate fishing

Fiji Daily Post 13-May-2009 09:03 AM

A MOVE by the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) that include the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu have come down hard on pirate fishing. They now support the closure of all high seas areas to clamp down on pirate fishing and the move has been applauded by Greenpeace. Greenpeace… Continue

Added by Stacey King on May 13, 2009 at 2:43pm — No Comments

Pacific and Foreign aid survives Budget axe

ABC News - Budget 09 By Linda Mottram posted 13 May 2009

Despite producing a 2009-10 Budget marked by disappearing revenues and a slide into the red, some Government pledges have survived - among them, the aid budget. There is little new in the list of aid programs. But aid spending in the new financial year will rise from $3.7 billion to $3.8 billion, keeping faith with the commitment to grow the… Continue

Added by Stacey King on May 13, 2009 at 2:40pm — No Comments

Fiji Government targets Rotuma - Kiribati also interested

Fiji Broadcasting Corp Ltd - Friday, May 08, 2009

Close to a hundred government officials will be heading towards Rotuma this weekend. The delegation will be on the island to start and finalise development work. Commissioner Eastern Tomasi Tui says the Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama wants development in Rotuma completed within two years. Tui says the team to Rotuma will be part of the Rotuma developement… Continue

Added by Stacey King on May 8, 2009 at 1:30pm — No Comments

Forum's hard line brings ripple effect to Pacific nations - Kiribati concerns

NZ Herald.co.nz - Dev Nadkarni: 4:00AM Friday May 08, 2009

With its suspension from the 16-nation Pacific Islands Forum last week, Fiji has been pushed yet closer to the precipice. The suspension automatically kicked in as the deadline imposed by the Forum nations' leaders on the Fijian military leadership to come up with a schedule for holding elections in 2009 expired on May 1.… Continue

Added by Stacey King on May 8, 2009 at 1:26pm — No Comments

Deployment to South Pacific cancelled

Australia Network News - Wed, 6 May 2009 11:33:00 +1000

A crew member on board a US Navy warship has become ill with swine flu and 50 others are showing symptoms, leading the military to cancel a scheduled deployment to the South Pacific. The outbreak was on the USS Dubuque - a California-based amphibious transport dock ship. It had been scheduled to deploy on a four-month humanitarian mission in the Pacific… Continue

Added by Stacey King on May 8, 2009 at 1:19pm — No Comments

Thrills and skills: All hands on deck and on shore in Fiji -The Banaban story touched her most...

The Independent - Australia and Pacific Saturday, 2 May 2009 Chris McLennan / Alamy

Welcome to the luxury cruise that likes to give something back. Channel 4 News presenter Sue Turton climbs aboard the Tui Tai for an unforgettable journey through the Fijian islands

The big blue: the yacht 'Tui Tai' (above)… Continue

Added by Stacey King on May 8, 2009 at 1:16pm — 1 Comment

U.S. Navy halts aid vessel trip to South Pacific over flu concerns

International News Brief 6 May 2009

The US navy has postponed an aid mission to the South Pacific after a sailor on the vessel developed H1N1 influenza, commonly known as swine flu, and nearly 50 others sailors on the ship also showed symptoms of the new virus.

The U.S.S. Dubuque was put out of commission after… Continue

Added by Stacey King on May 7, 2009 at 9:30am — No Comments

Rabi Teen in police custody after knifing granny

FIJI TIME ONLINE - Wednesday, May 06, 2009

A TEENAGER was arrested after he attacked his grandmother with a cane knife on Friday. The alleged incident happened on Rabi Island within Cakaudrove province and police on the island are holding the 19-year-old in their custody. They have not charged him.

Rabi Island Council executive director Molly Amon said the islanders were shocked over the attack which took place at Nuku… Continue

Added by Stacey King on May 7, 2009 at 9:25am — No Comments