Media reports in Papua New Guinea say hundreds of villagers have been displaced in Hela province after more deadly fighting.
Tari township Photo: RNZ Pacific / Koroi Hawkins
The focal point of fighting is Tari-Pori, the district whose MP is PNG's prime minister James Marape.
The newspaper The National reports that a land dispute last week in the Tagali area lapsed into a violent confrontation.
After it resulted in a man being shot dead, fighting escalated between different branches of one tribe, killing ten people in the space of two days.
EMTV reports that over a thousand people have left their villages to seek shelter in schools or other public facilities in fear of more violence.
Close contacts of Solomons' Covid-19 community case test negative
All 31 close contacts of a student who tested positive for Covid-19 in the community in Solomon Islands have tested negative for the virus.
The student, who was repatriated from Philippines last year, contracted and recovered from Covid-19 in quarantine and was released in November.
Last week during a routine follow-up test the student returned a positive result, causing concerns of community spread.
Speaking during on national radio, local W.H.O technical advisor, Yogesh Choudri, said it is a good sign that the student and all of their close contacts have now tested negative for Covid-19.
"So it means that the person had a little bit of virus but the person was not able to pass on the infection to the other because of the low virus presence in the body.
"So we will be doing more monitoring of the population in Malaita we will be doing more samples just to make sure their is no community spread."
Seasonal workers from Vanuatu set to return to New Zealand
Around 900 ni-Vanuatu seasonal workers are to return soon to New Zealand for more work under the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme.
Last November, the New Zealand government granted a border exception for up to 2,000 experienced Pacific Island RSE workers to address labour shortages.
Local media in Vanuatu reported that of the 2,000 quota for the Pacific, ni-Vanuatu make up 45 per cent of the RSE labour for the February to March intake.
The workers will be travelling to New Zealand on eight chartered flights operated by Air Vanuatu at the expense of their RSE employers.
The first group of over 150 workers will be leaving on Tuesday next week, before undergoing two weeks quarantine once they arrive in New Zealand.
Styrofoam ban to start in Samoa by March
A ban on styrofoam products is to be put in place in Samoa at the end of the month.
The Samoa Observer newspaper reports this has been confirmed by the CEO of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Frances Reupena.
The ban, which was to have been implemented last year but was delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, will cover the importation, sale, distribution or manufacture of styrofoam plates, containers and cups.
Reupena said the ban would come into effect from 28 February.
According to her, while some challenges can be expected in enforcing and monitoring compliance, the government was confident, with the support of the public and the business sector there would be minimal issues.
Samoa celebrates taking another step closer to RWC 2021 Photo: RNZ Pacific / Talei Anderson
Quarantine requirement poses difficult balancing act for Manusina
The Samoa women's rugby team admit quarantine restrictions could force some players to make themselves unavailable for their World Cup campaign.
The Manusina are through to the final qualification tournament, expected to take place in Europe in May, four months before the World Cup kicks off in New Zealand.
All of the players are amateurs, and Coach Ramsey Tomokino said if they had to spend a month in quarantine on top of the World Cup proper it could be a bridge too far.
"It would mean some players might have to leave their jobs or just say no because their employment is their livelihood, and that is the difference between the men's and the women's game, where we're not full-time professional athletes.
"It would hit us pretty hard actually if that was the case."
Tomokino said it was not an easy scenario, and all they can do was wait for the official word, hoping the union was able to compensate players well enough so that they might take the required time off.
Cook Islands appoints new health secretary
The Cook Islands Ministry of Health Te Marae Ora has selected Bob Williams as the new secretary of health for a three-year term.
Bob Williams has served over twenty years in the Public Sector and has held various senior management and administrative positions.
Over the past three years, Te Marae Ora has gone through some major legislative, organisational and Human Resources changes.
Mr Williams told the selection panel that he understands those changes, adding that he planned to build on and strengthen them.
Non-communicable diseases and the government's preparedness for COVID-19 are top priorities for him.
He said he intended to work closely with clinical staff to provide medical briefings that will inform administrative decisions for the health of their people.
Water shortage continues in the Cook Islands
Water shortages persist in the Cook Islands, with many households reporting they're running out of water completely.
The water supplier To Tatou Vai raised the alert level to "just enough" in Rarotonga, which is one level below a critical - potential emergency.
Summer is traditionally rainy season but despite some rain in the first week of December, there has been no sustained heavy falls since last September.
Water flows are steadily dropping at intakes around the island and houses facing water shortages have had tanker loads brought in.
To Tatou Vai is redirecting the water in some locations to areas which are experiencing shortages.
The supplier estimates it will take several days or more of sustained rain, especially in the central high country, to break the drought; and it's called on residents to increase their efforts to conserve water.
