PAC - Pacific Islands Broadcasting Association articles from March 2004

PAC - Pacific Islands Broadcasting Association archives from March 2004

Australia to send assistance to cyclone-battered Vanuatu.
March 1, 2004... 01 MARCH 2004 CANBERRA (Pacnews) --- Australia will send aid to Vanuatu which was hit by a cyclone last week, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said yesterday. Mr Downer said a lot of damage was done and Australia will send tarpaulins,...

Econet favoured for Telikom PNG.
March 1, 2004... 01 MARCH 2004 PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) --- The surprise withdrawal of Korea Telecom has left South Africa's Econet as frontrunner for purchase of 51% of Telikom Papua New Guinea (PNG), says PNG's Minister for Public Enterprise and Communication,...

CNMI renews push for delegate in U.S Congress.
March 1, 2004... 01 MARCH 2004 HAGTNA (Pacnews) ---- The U.S. House Resources Committee has heard requests for the creation of a non-voting delegate's position to represent the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana (CNMI) interests in Congress. Unlike Guam...

Final version of runway study to be completed.
March 1, 2004... 01 MARCH 2004 RAROTONGA (Pacnews) --- The final version of a NZD$150,000 (US$102,000) feasibility study into the extension of the Rarotonga International Airport's runway is expected to be submitted to airport authorities and the Cook Islands...

Solomon Islands Police on a recruitment drive.
March 1, 2004... 01 MARCH 2004 HONIARA (Pacnews) --- The Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP) begins a recruitment drive today to enlist new police officers to join the service. A statement from the police force says the recruitment campaign is part of...

Food shortage looms in Niue.
March 1, 2004... 01 MARCH 2004 ALOFI (Pacnews) --- Agriculture officials in Niue are warning of a shortage of root crops in the coming months. The island has experienced a long dry spell since it was devastated by Cyclone Heta in early January. Most...

PACNEWS DIGEST - The views expressed in PACNEWS DIGEST are those of agencies contributing articles and not necessarily those of PIBA and/or PACNEWS.
March 1, 2004... MARSHALLS TEST VICTIMS SAY U.S. TURNING ITS BACK MAJURO, Marshall Islands --- Fifty years after America tested its most powerful hydrogen bomb at Bikini Atoll, many Marshall Islanders watch in anger as the world's most powerful nation...

Kiribati withdraws national airline.
March 1, 2004... 01 MARCH 2004 SUVA (Pacnews) - Kiribati's national carrier, Air Kiribati, is to withdraw its services to Fiji and Tuvalu by this week. A senior Kiribati government official, who did not wish to be named, confirmed the news to PACNEWS...

Increase in HIV cases in NZ shocks health groups.
March 1, 2004... 01 MARCH 2004 WELLINGTON (Pacnews) - More New Zealanders were diagnosed with HIV last year than ever before, new figures have revealed. In 2003, the number of people diagnosed through the most common testing method rose by more than a...

Young Indo-Fijian women top suicide list.
March 1, 2004... 01 MARCH 2004 SUVA (Pacnews) - A two day national forum on suicide prevention has bee organised in Fiji this week. The National Council for the Prevention of Suicide (NCOPS) has found that over 100 people committed suicide last year with...

Regional demilitarisation organisation remembers Bravo.
March 1, 2004... 01 MARCH 2004 SUVA (Pacnews) - The regional organisation for a nuclear-free Pacific, Pacific Concerns Resource Centre (PCRC), is today organising an open day to remember how the people of Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands struggled to live...

Australia to conduct aerial surveillance of some Pacific Island countries.
March 1, 2004... 01 MARCH 2004 SUVA (Pacnews) - A number of Pacific Island countries will have their territorial borders monitored by a special Royal Australian Air Force aircraft this week. An Australian Government statement today said the Hawker Siddeley...

UN representative becomes paramount chief for his work on Bougainville.
March 1, 2004... 01 MARCH 2004 ARAWA (Pacnews) - Noel Sinclair, the outgoing Director of the United Nations Observer Mission in Bougainville (UNOMB), has been installed paramount chief of Siwai, one of the most difficult areas in the Bougainville crisis. ...

PACNEWS DIGEST - The views expressed in PACNEWS DIGEST are those of agencies contributing articles and not necessarily those of PIBA and/or PACNEWS.
March 1, 2004... Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Day SUVA, FIJI - On this day, 1st March, 50 years ago in 1954, a hydrogen bomb code-named Bravo, was detonated on the surface on Bikini atoll in the Marshall islands- the blinding explosion gouged out a...

Marshall Islands tightens grip on U.S baby adoption market.
March 1, 2004... 01 MARCH 2004 MAJURO (Pacnews) --- As Marshall Islands and United States officials move to shut down the flow of illegal baby adoptions from this central Pacific nation, two U.S.-based adoption agencies are fighting over who has "rights" to the...

Fiji Government responds to U.S Human Rights report.
March 1, 2004... 01 MARCH 2004 SUVA (Pacnews) - Fiji's Minister for Information, Simione Kaitani, says the U.S Human Rights Report on Fiji is a stark reminder of the importance of human rights in all areas and acknowledges the efforts of the Fiji Government to...

PNG and Solomon Islands to finalise accords.
March 1, 2004... 01 MARCH 2004 PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) --- Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands will finalise several treaties and agreements at a two-day meeting of senior officials which is due to start in Port Moresby tomorrow (02 March). Foreign...

Cyclone relief effort underway.
March 1, 2004... 01 MARCH 2004 PORT VILA (Pacnews) - The Vanuatu Red Cross has begun a major relief programme in Vanuatu, as the full impact of Cyclone Ivy becomes clear, the Regional Red Cross office says. Cyclone Ivy battered Vanuatu last week, with winds...

Pacific "Greenspan" hired for US territories' economic development.
March 1, 2004... 01 MARCH 2004 WASHINGTON (Pacnews) - American Samoa, Federated States of America (FSM), Guam, Marshall Islands, Northern Marianas, Palau and Virgin Islands will now have the expert service of one of the United States' top economists to develop...

NZ Prime Minister visits Canberra for annual bilateral meeting.
March 2, 2004... 02 MARCH 2004 WELLINGTON (Pacnews) --- New Zealand's Prime Minister, Helen Clark is in Canberra, Australia for the annual bilateral meeting with her Australian counterpart, John Howard, to be held tomorrow (03 March). "The annual meeting...

Activist still waiting for court appearance in Tonga.
March 2, 2004... 02 MARCH 2004 AUCKLAND (Pacnews) --- Auckland-based Tongan democracy activist, Alan Taione remains detained in Tonga on charges of distributing an unlicensed newspaper after a court fixture clashed with a royal funeral. Mr Taione had...

U.S human Rights report positive for Fiji - U.S envoy says.
March 2, 2004... 02 MARCH 2004 SUVA (Pacnews) --- United States Ambassador to Fiji, David Lyon says he is pleased to note that the U.S Human Rights report 2003 for Fiji presents a much better picture of the country than in previous years. "This reflects...

Australian PM says regional partnership has changed Pacific outlook.
March 2, 2004... 02 MARCH 2004 CANBERRA (Pacnews) --- Australia's Prime Minister, John Howard, says a new sense of regional partnership has changed the outlook of the South Pacific. Mr Howard says the Regional Assistance Mission in Solomon Islands (RAMSI)...

U.S Governors Association support CNMI delegate in Congress.
March 2, 2004... 02 MARCH 2004 HAGTNA (Pacnews) --- In preparation for last week's hearing on the potential for a delegate in Congress for the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas (CNMI), the Governor of Guam, Juan N. Babauta had succeeded in having the...

Virgin announces Vanuatu flights.
March 2, 2004... 02 MARCH 2004 PORT VILA (Pacnews) --- Virgin Blue's international airline, Pacific Blue, has announced it wants to begin direct flights between Australia and Vanuatu in September. Radio Australia reports that the announcement followed a...

U.S to launch new bilateral assistance region to the Pacific.
March 2, 2004... 02 MARCH 2004 SUVA (Pacnews) --- The United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew P. Daley has revealed that the U.S is 'close to launching a new bilateral assistance programme with Pacific Island Countries.' He made the...

PNG to lobby Woonton for support in ACP.
March 2, 2004... 02 MARCH 2004 RAROTONGA (Pacnews) - Papua New Guinea's Sir John Kaputin plans to lobby for the support of Cook Islands' Prime Minister, Dr Robert Woonton, in his bid to for the post of Secretary General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific...

Flight Centre scraps cheap Fiji holidays.
March 2, 2004... 02 MARCH 2004 WELLINGTON (Pacnews) --- Thousands of people planning a holiday in Fiji have had their bookings wiped by a cut-price operator. Flight Centre, which began a price war with its deals starting at NZ$399 (US$275) for seven nights,...

Rural islanders may receive electricity soon.
March 2, 2004... 02 MARCH 2004 HONIARA (Pacnews) - Rural Solomon Islanders could soon have access to electricity if major plans to pursue funds for the project by government representatives and the World Bank gets the green light. The Department of Mines...

Fiji, PNG and Australia meet in Fiji for the women's soccer playoffs.
March 2, 2004... 02 MARCH 2004 SUVA (Pacnews) --- National women soccer teams from Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Australia are in Fiji this week for the Oceania region play-offs. The winner will represent the region in the Athens Olympics in August this year....

Women plan to act on rapist's release.
March 2, 2004... 02 MARCH 2004 PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) - Women and social groups in Lae, Papua New Guinea are planning to fight "tooth and nail" over a National Court judge's decision to let a convicted rapist go free. The Post Courier newspaper reports...

PM Howard 'sexed-up' case for war.
March 2, 2004... 02 MARCH 2004 CANBERRA (Pacnews) - The Howard Government in Australia exaggerated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programme in the lead-up to the Iraq war, according to a parliamentary inquiry into...

Cook Islands remain on FATF blacklist.
March 2, 2004... 02 MARCH 2004 RAROTONGA (Pacnews) - The Cook Islands remains on an international money-laundering blacklist following the latest meeting of the Financial Action Task Force in Paris. The country has been working hard to be removed from the list...

ADB to conduct communication policy consultation in region.
March 2, 2004... 02 MARCH 2004 MANILA (Pacnews) - Senior Asian Development Bank (ADB) officials will be conducting public consultations in the Asia/Pacific region and other regions in the coming weeks to gauge the interest of stakeholders in the organisation's...

IRB sorry for Pacific snub.
March 2, 2004... 02 MARCH 2004 LONDON (Pacnews) - The International Rugby Board (IRB) has apologised to New Zealand officials for being kept in the dark over the issue of privatising Pacific Island rugby. New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Chris Moller...

PACNEWS DIGEST - CRISTELLE PRATT TAKES CHARGE AT SOPAC - By Vasiti Ritova, PACNEWS.
March 2, 2004... SUVA, FIJI - If the adage "Life begins at 40" is true, then Cristelle Pratt's life, and the huge challenges that would come with it, is just beginning at the Fiji-based South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC). When she was...

840 islanders die from Bikini Atoll nuke testing, Japan aid sought.
March 3, 2004... 03 MARCH 2004 MAJURO (Pacnews) - About 840 islanders from Bikini Atoll have died from health damage caused by the nuclear tests the United States conducted on their island in the Pacific from 1946 to 1958, local government figures have showed....

Deputy Police Commissioner released on bail.
March 3, 2004... 03 MARCH 2004 HONIARA (Pacnews) --- Deputy Police Commissioner John Homelo was been released on principal bail of SBD$10,000 (US$1,313) by the Magistrates Court yesterday (02 Mar) evening, Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation reports. ...

Pacific Express service to be launched today.
March 3, 2004... 03 MARCH 2004 RAROTONGA (Pacnews) --- Cook Islands Prime Minister Dr Robert Woonton will attend the official launch of Air New Zealand's new Pacific Express class today. Dr Woonton, who is also Minister of Tourism, will mark the...

Fiji assists cyclone-damaged Vanuatu.
March 3, 2004... 03 MARCH 2004 PORT VILA (Pacnews) --- The Government of Vanuatu will receive F$20,000 (US$11,718) this week from the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat's Regional Natural Disaster Relief Fund, to assist with relief efforts following recent...

Pacific Basin computer security symposium opens today.
March 3, 2004... 03 MARCH 2004 PAPEETE (Pacnews) --- The 10th International Symposium on Computer Security in the Pacific Basin opens in Tahiti today, the French High Commissioner's office in Tahiti has announced. "The theme of this symposium is computer...

Cook Islands, Nauru remain on money laundering black list.
March 3, 2004... 03 MARCH 2003 PARIS (Pacnews) --- Nauru has also failed to convince the International Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering that they should be removed from its black list. The Nauru Parliament passed an anti-money laundering act...

Parliamentary speaker steps aside.
March 3, 2004... 03 MARCH 2004 PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) - Papua New Guinea's Parliamentary Speaker, Bill Skate, is relinquishing the post of acting Governor-General today in view of a court hearing against him beginning tomorrow (04 March). The case involves...

British High Commission hands over archival records.
March 3, 2004... 03 MARCH 2004 SUVA (Pacnews) - Important historical information, contained in archives from the United Kingdom's previous Pacific high commissions, have finally found a home in Fiji's National Archives. Fiji-based British High...

Vanuatu spearheading controls on maritime pollution.
March 3, 2004... 03 MARCH 2004 PORT VILA (Pacnews) ---Vanuatu this week became a signatory to three maritime conventions concerned with pollution of the world's oceans. One deals with operational discharges of sewage, while another is concerned with...

Kiwi kids getting bigger, part of wider trend.
March 3, 2004... 03 MARCH 2004 WELLINGTON (Pacnews) --- New Zealand health experts say children here are getting bigger as a major study published last year showed one third of children were overweight or obese. Figures from the 2002 National Children's...

Palau leaders fail to reach agreement on changes.
March 3, 2004... 03 MARCH 2004 KOROR (Pacnews) --- A debate about whether to propose several constitutional amendments to Palau voters or ask them to consider more changes at a Constitutional Convention ended without an accord. And it appears voters could...

Rugby chiefs meet on Pacific rugby coach post.
March 3, 2004... 03 MARCH 2004 SUVA (Pacnews) - Some of the Pacific's well-known rugby administrators are meeting in Suva, Fiji today to select a coach for the proposed Pacific Islands rugby team. There have been many proposals on how a Pacific Island team...

Positive Pacific response to lowered Air New Zealand fares.
March 3, 2004... 04 MARCH 2004 WELLINGTON (Pacnews) --- Response has been positive within the Pacific airline industry to Air New Zealand's launch of lower fares to some regional destinations, Radio New Zealand International reports. The new Pacific...

Expatriate Niueans help restore important lost national documents.
March 3, 2004... 03 MARCH 2004 ALOFI (Pacnews) --- Expatriate Niueans are helping to collate a huge pile of documents of national importance to their cyclone-ravaged island. The national records, dating back to up to one hundred years, are being compiled...

Sandline hero, Singirok, acquitted.
March 3, 2004... 03 MARCH 2004 PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) - Major-General Jerry Singirok, the man whose actions led to expulsion of the Sandline mercenaries from Papua New Guinea over seven years ago, is now a free man following his acquittal by the National Court...

Satellite tags to save dolphins.
March 3, 2004... 03 MARCH 2004 WELLINGTON (Pacnews) - New Zealand is aiming to use satellite tagging to try to save Maui's dolphins, the world's most endangered marine mammal. New Zealand's public conservation agency, the Department of Conservation, (DOC),...

NZ, Australia keen to advance single economic market.
March 3, 2004... 03 MARCH 2004 CANBERRA (Pacnews) --- The Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, and his New Zealand counterpart, Helen Clark, say they are keen to advance a single economic market between the two countries. The idea has been discussed...

Australians also interested in Pacific rugby.
March 3, 2004... 03 MARCH 2004 SYDNEY (Pacnews) --- The Australian Rugby Union has also shown an interest in running a Pacific Islands team in the Super 12 with West Sydney as a more viable location to base such a team, Fiji's rugby website, Teivovo, reports....

French Polynesia becomes a 'French Overseas Country'.
March 4, 2004... 04 MARCH 2004 PARIS (Pacnews) --- French President Jacques Chirac has promulgated a new text granting larger powers to French Polynesia, declaring itself a 'French Overseas Country.' The new Act, passed on 27 February, was officially...

Air New Zealand offers cheap fares for Pacific destinations.
March 4, 2004... 04 MARCH 2004 RAROTONGA (Pacnews) -- Air New Zealand has cut some airfares in and out of Rarotonga by more than 50 per cent. A new Pacific Express service is to be introduced by the company on 20 May and tickets to travel on the new look...

Tongan reformists plan civil disobedience campaign.
March 4, 2004... 04 MARCH 2004 SUVA (Pacnews) --- Pro-democracy groups in Tonga are planning a campaign of civil disobedience to demand political reform and an end to new laws that gag newspapers critical of the island kingdom's semi-feudal monarchy. An...

Nauru and Iceland establish diplomatic relations.
March 4, 2004... 04 MARCH 2004 NEW YORK (Pacnews) --- The republics of Nauru and Iceland have established diplomatic relations. An announcement from Nauru's government says the purpose is to promote mutual understanding. The two states entered the...

Indigenous concern group protest against mining company in New Caledonia.
March 4, 2004... 04 MARCH 2004 NOUMEA (Pacnews) --- An indigenous concern group in New Caledonia's Southern province, where Canadian giant Inco is building a new nickel mine, has started a protest movement, asking for assurances that the project will comply...

Air Tahiti Nui plane grounded in L.A. for repairs.
March 4, 2004... 04 MARCH 2004 PAPEETE (Pacnews) --- Air Tahiti Nui's "Moorea" Airbus A340-300 aircraft is sitting at the Los Angeles International airport awaiting repairs. Repairs to the plane's engine are expected to cause a 20-hour delay in the...

Australian women's soccer team takes on PNG in Fiji.
March 4, 2004... 04 MARCH 2004 SUVA (Pacnews) --- The Australian women's soccer team faces a must win match today at the Oceania Olympic qualifying tournament against Papua New Guinea in Fiji. The Matildas opponents won the first match of the tournament...

Tahiti's legal battle over imported rice.
March 4, 2004... 04 MARCH 2004 PAPEETE (Pacnews) --- A legal battle looms in French Polynesia over which brand of imported rice should be sold on the local market. This has resulted in the government canceling the import of rice sold under the brand name...

Amphibian aircraft raised from the depths after 67 years.
March 4, 2004... 04 MARCH 2004 PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) --- A plane that sank 67 years ago in the deep and murky waters of the Port Moresby harbour has finally been discovered, the Post Courier reports. Brian Bells power generation manager Michael Roberts and...

Pro-independence parties to contest provincial elections on separate tickets.
March 4, 2004... 04 MARCH 2004 NOUMEA (Pacnews) --- New Caledonia's pro-independence Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) will not contest the French territory's upcoming provincial elections under a common banner. Instead, three of its four...

Pacific faces environmental disaster from hundreds of sunken warships.
March 4, 2004... 04 MARCH 2004 SYDNEY (Pacnews) ---The wounds of World War II may have healed, but the Pacific is facing an environmental disaster from hundreds of sunken and rusting oil-laden warships, and island nations want Japan to clean up the mess. ...

Civil society aims to have controversial arms act reviewed.
March 4, 2004... 04 MARCH 2004 SUVA (Pacnews) --- The Suva-based Pacific Concerns Resource Centre (PCRC) is aiming to muster enough public support to have Fiji's controversial Arms and Ammunitions Act reviewed before implementation takes place later this year....

Lopeti Senituli reveals reasons behind resignation from Tonga Democracy Movement.
March 4, 2004... 04 MARCH 2004 NUKUA'LOFA (Pacnews) - One of the Pacific Islands' most outspoken pro-democracy activitists, Lopeti Senituli, has left his job as Director of the Human Rights and Democracy Movement Tonga (HRDMT) after differences of opinion with...

New plans to manage fish resources.
March 4, 2004... 04 MARCH 2004 APIA (Pacnews) --- Tokelauans will, in the next few weeks, learn how to manage their fishing resources by following a simple plan put together by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). The plan will be community-based...

Fiji TV improves information access to people with vision impairment.
March 4, 2004... 04 MARCH 2004 SUVA (Pacnews) --- Over 600 people who are blind or have vision impairment in Fiji will soon have the same access to information presented visually on television as everyone else. Fiji TV has agreed to ensure all printed...

New minister wants discipline back in police.
March 4, 2004... 04 MARCH 2004 PORT VILA (Pacnews) - Vanuatu's new Minister for Internal Affairs, George Wells wants to see discipline restored to the police force, and in particular, to see law and order restored. "I will work closely with the heads of the...

Former residents visit Bikini Atoll.
March 5, 2004... 05 MARCH 2004 BIKINI ATOLL (Pacnews) --- About 40 elder Bikinians made a rare visit to their home atoll on Tuesday (02 March) to mark the 50th anniversary of the infamous hydrogen bomb test, codenamed Bravo. Mariana Variety reports that for...

Impact of armed conflict in Fiji had profound effects on women and children.
March 5, 2004... 05 MARCH 2004 SUVA (Pacnews) --- The impact of armed conflict during Fiji's coups of 2000 had profound emotional, physical and financial effects on women and children, a report has showed. Speaking at a women's workshop targeting Fiji's Gun...

Skate cleared.
March 5, 2004... 05 MARCH 2004 PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) --- Papua New Guinea's Speaker of Parliament, Bill Skate has been found not guilty of misappropriating about K345, 500 (US$107,000) when he was governor of the National Capital District in 1996-97. ...

Vanuatu reiterates support for one-China policy.
March 5, 2004... 05 MARCH 2004 BEIJING (Pacnews) --- Senior government officials of China and Vanuatu have reiterated the common stance of the two countries that there is only one China. Visiting Vanuatu Deputy Prime Minister Ham Lini said the Vanuatu...

Film successes draw Indians to New Zealand.
March 5, 2004... 05 MARCH 2004 WELLINGTON (Pacnews) --- Tourism New Zealand has mounted a promotional push in India, partly based on the cinematic success of the Oscar clean-sweeper Lord of The Rings and a locally filmed Bollywood blockbuster. "New...

New loan fund for Tongan squash growers.
March 5, 2004... 05 MARCH 2004 NUKU'ALOFA (Pacnews) --- The Tonga Development Bank (TDB) will allocate a TOP$2.5 million (US$1.27 million) fund to be made available for loans to squash growers this year, according to the bank's Commercial Loans Manager, Simi...

Pacific Forum plans to send fact finding mission to French Polynesia.
March 5, 2004... 05 MARCH 2004 SUVA (Pacnews) --- The recent move by France to grant more powers to French Polynesia has prompted the Pacific Islands Forum to renew plans for a fact-finding mission to the French territory," said Forum Secretary General Greg...

Assistance to Solomon Islands a unique experience: Sir Rabbie.
March 5, 2004... 05 MARCH 2004 PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) --- Papua New Guinea's Foreign Affairs Minister, Sir Rabbie Namaliu, says the country's assistance in restoring law and order in the Solomon Islands has been a unique experience, despite the risks involved....

Women to march against sexual violence.
March 5, 2004... 05 MARCH 2004 SUVA (Pacnews) --- Women and supporters of women's rights in Fiji will take to the streets of Suva on the night of International Women's Day (Mon 08 March) to make a statement that sexual violence should not be tolerated. The...

Trial begins for missionary murder.
March 5, 2004... 05 MARCH 2004 HONIARA (Pacnews) --- The trial of two defendants suspected of beheading Australian missionary, Lance Gersbach in Solomon Islands last year, is scheduled to start today in Auki, the capital of Malaita province. The d body of...

CNMI veterans call for financial support for memorial events.
March 5, 2004... 05 MARCH 2004 SAIPAN (Pacnews) --- World War II veterans on Saipan, Northern Marianas have called on businesses and other sectors to support events for the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Saipan and Tinian in June. They say the memorial...

New Zealand's Lord of the Rings party on hold.
March 5, 2004... 05 MARCH 2004 WELLINGTON (Pacnews) --- New Zealand's plan to celebrate the multi-Oscar success of Lord of the Rings have been put on hold until the movie's director, Peter Jackson returns home. The last instalment of the New Zealand made...

Pacific team to stay together in Athens.
March 5, 2004... 05 MARCH 2004 SUVA (Pacnews) --- Pacific Island teams will be billeted together in the 2004 Olympic Games Village alongside Australia, Greece, South Africa and Spain. The Fiji Times reports that the decision was made at the recent General...

Tongan publisher alleges media ownership laws are contradictory.
March 5, 2004... 05 MARCH 2004 NUKU'ALOFA (Pacnews) --- Tonga's only national news magazine, Matangi Tonga, is required to undergo restructuring to ensure it abides by new foreign ownership media laws passed last year - a move editor/publisher Pesi Fonua...