Nations around the Pacific Ocean are on full alert as a tsunami triggered by a 8.8 magnitude earthquake in central Chile brings higher than normal waves. Tsunami warnings have been sounded in an area affecting about a quarter of the globe. Waves have spread from the epicentre of quake and may strike land bordering the Pacific in the next 24 hours.Warning systems have improved since the 2004 Indonesia quake sparked a tsunami that killed nearly 250,000…

ABC RADIO AUSTRALIA 26 Feb 2010 A study by the New Zealand Parliamentarians' Group on Population and Development has found that five women die each day in Pacific Island countries due to pregnancy or childbirth-related causes. Researchers heard submissions from around 17 organisations and individuals and found that high rates of teenage pregnancy and a shortage of midwives…

Hi we have just done a major upgrade on our old banaban.com website to intergrate all our new Banaban sites together and more importantly cross-link information and historical data etc. If you find errors or missing links please forward the problem through to stacey@banaban.com so I can fix it. The old Banaban site has been going since 1993 so it is a very large site so with loads of historical and archived information. We now have included fundraising…

Fijivillage.com 16 February, 2010 The Police Search and Rescue team are still looking for a 19yr old diver who went missing in the Bua waters yesterday.The diver originally from Rabi went to dive for beach-de-mer with a group of men when he was discovered missing.

ABC Radio Australia Updated February 15, 2010 10:05:00

The extent of damage from Cyclone Pat is filtering through from Aitutaki in the Southern Cook Islands. About 80 per cent of houses on the island have been damaged and many have lost their rooves. The local airline has heavily discounted fares to the island for people to help with the clean up and recovery effort.

Presenter:…

ABC Radio Australia Updated February 15, 2010 18:04:52

Some people on the cyclone-hit island of Aitutaki in Cook islands are so despondent at the damage that they're talking about selling up and leaving for Australia or New Zealand. That's according to the island's Mayor, Tai Herman.

He says the Cook Islands government is providing assistance to clean up in the wake of Cyclone Pat, and the first…

Ken and I would like to wish our family in Aitutaki all the best wishes and prayers. Ken had a lovely phone call conversation from te umane (Bure), wife and daughter just before Christmas. Bure was saying how much he was missing all his family back in Rabi and asked Ken to convey his greetings to all his family in Rabi and Banaba. We hope that they are all OK and are not suffering to much from the devastation caused by Cyclone Pat. If anyone has an update with news on the family please let…

FIJI TIMES ONLINE Sat 13 February 2010

Being a monopoly player for a long while, Vodafone in many ways is leading the telecommunication industry in the provision of services.It has the largest retail chain -- some opening until 9pm -- a fully fledged customer care centre, it offers vehicle tracking, web top up, e-shop, and a "live agent chat" service through which any of their customers can contact Vodafone agents via internet chat.…

ABC RADIO AUSTRALIA Updated February 10, 2010 16:15:32

Residents of an isolated atoll In the Cook Islands are being told to tie themselves to coconut trees if Cyclone Pat hits them. The system is intensifying, and hurricane strength winds are now being reported at its centre. At the moment Pat is located north of the island of Aitutaki, and is headed directly for the tiny atoll of…

James Bhagwan FIJI TIMES ONLINE Wednesday, February 10, 2010

THE word "minority" is often used to describe a "small group of people within a community or country, differing from the main population in race, religion, language or political persuasion, (Oxford Dictionary of English).

We in Fiji are familiar with this particular understanding of the term "minority". I have heard pleas and calls for the support of the…

RADIO NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL Posted at 17:30 on 07 February, 2010 UTC

A report into the loss of more than thirty lives from a boating accident in Kiribati last July is due out soon.

A double-hulled canoe carrying 55 passengers from the capital of Kiribati to the outer island of Maiana-- 60 kilometers to the south -- capsized…