Thierry Santa. Photo: New Caledonia Congress
Ex-president no longer head of party; plans unveiled for dealing with covid in Tuvalu; and families forced out of area in French Polynesia
Santa quits as head of New Caledonian party
After four years at the head of New Caledonia's Rally party leader Thierry Santa has announced he is quitting the role.
The anti-independence party is now handed over to former vice-president Alcide Ponga until a party vote takes place early next year.
Santa said he is leaving the role for personal reasons.
The 55-year-old succeeded Pierre Frogier in 2018 first as interim party leader.
He became the formal party leader in 2020.
Santa was president of the government of New Caledonia between 2019 and 2021.
Red Cross makes covid plans for Tuvalu
Tuvalu Red Cross has been making plans for the next phase of its Covid-19 response ahead of Christmas.
Spokesperson Milikini Failautusi said disinformation has been an issue and her team is working on a plan to tackle the issue for the new year.
"A lot of misconceptions and fears about the covid because people, via social media, were able to get the wrong information, they were able to get the misleading information from the internet."
She said the spread of the virus has been rapid, all of the 50 actively engaged Red Cross volunteers in Funafuti who are on the frontline - have had Covid-19.
Families kicked out of homes
The last of 31 families have been kicked out of their illegal residence after a 10-year legal process in French Polynesia.
According to a statement from the territory government, the area is earmarked for several agriculture vocational programmes and tourism projects.
The Atimaono area has belonged to the French Polynesian government since 1985.
In 2012 it launched a legal process to gain full access of the area.
An expulsion notice was issued in 2017, but 20 families made an appeal to court in order to delay the expulsion.
Eleven families who stayed until this year made a final appeal to France's highest court to overturn the legal process.
French Polynesian social housing associations have rehoused the families.
Pan-Melanesian agreement signed
Solomon Islands and New Caledonia have signed a parliamentary partnership agreement.
The President of the Congress of New Caledonia, Roch Wamytan and the Speaker of Solomon Islands' Parliament, Patteson Oti, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Inter-Parliamentary Partnership.
Among its objectives the partnership encourages exchanges of Parliamentary delegations to promote closer interaction in the interest of further development of inter-parliamentary cooperation and as a means of fostering links between Parliamentarians and Parliamentary staff.
The partnership will also parties contribute to the emergence of a Melanesian inter-parliamentary network.
Tonga, Australia sign new agreement
Tonga's Government has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Australia.
The MOU was signed between Australia's Minister for Defence, Pat Conroy, and Tonga's Foreign Minister Fekita Utoikamanu on December 9.
It comprised agreements to support Tonga's budget, aviation, and seasonal workers.
Tonga's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the MOU is a testament to strong relations between the two governments.
Underage sex trial delayed until March
The trial of 12 men in French Polynesia accused of paying for sex with a 14-year-old girl has been deferred until March 9.
Among the accused are a medical doctor, an intelligence officer and senior private and public sector administrators.
After an investigation launched in June, the 12 were taken in for questioning last month and committed to stand trial last week.
The trial has been postponed to give the defence more time to prepare.
According to the public prosecutor, the teenager, who was known to the authorities as an at-risk child, offered sex for money via social media from March to October this year.
Cows causing a stink on Marianas tourist roads
A Northern Marianas parks and recreation staffer has been complaining about roaming cows and the manure they leave on the road.
The Marianas Variety reports Marcelino Aguon wanted the owners of the cows roaming freely in Marpi to secure them, as they were messing up roads leading to popular tourist sites.
In 2020, the Marianas Visitor Authority said cow manure in Marpi remained a public health concern and an eyesore.
