New Zealand and Tongan military personnel work on buildings in Tonga that provide emergency accommodation. Photo: SGT Maria Eves/NZDF
Tonga/New Zealand - military
Over the past month New Zealand Army personnel have been helping their Tongan counterparts restore community buildings and other structures affected by last year's volcanic eruption and tsunami.
The Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief involved engineers and support personnel, along with soldiers undertaking construction and maintenance tasks around Tongatapu, where ash still clogs some guttering, roofs and pipes.
Captain Dan Blake said they undertook plumbing, refitted doors, provided wooden covers for windows to protect glass during storms, replaced roofing and spouting, and installed water tanks, among other tasks.
Tonga - parade
Thousands of students from schools from around Tonga have marched through Nuku'alofa to mark the closing of parliament.
Tonga's crown prince Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala officiated the closing with a short prayer in the house.
As part of the ceremony, school brass bands led the students in formation past Tongan MPs.
It's a renewal of the annual parade since the Kindom enforced covid restrictions in 2020.
Micronesia - Compact signed
The Federated States of Micronesia has extended its free association agreement with the United States for another 20 years.
US official Alissa Bibb signed the agreement with Micronesian negotiator Leo Falcam in Pohnpei.
The agreement implements more funding to the north Pacific country.
RNZ Pacific's Marshall Island correspondent Giff Johnson said there would be significant funding.
"The FSM has confirmed a very large new injection of funding into their trust fund which has already hit one billion dollars, and which now as a result of the new provision will get an additional 500 million dollars."
The signing follows a similar agreement signed between the US and Palau over the weekend.
Timor-Leste - elections
The party of Timor-Leste independence hero Xanana Gusmao has won the parliamentary election but has fallen short of an outright majority.
The opposition National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) led with 41.6 percent of the votes, while its main rival Fretilin gained 25.7 percent.
The result of Sunday's election paves the way for a return to power for the 76-year-old Gusmao - Timor-Leste's first president - if he can form a coalition.
CNRT secured 31 seats - just shy of the 33 needed for an outright majority - meaning it would have to work with one or more of the other 16 parties.
It was expected to enter into a coalition with the Democratic Party, which has gained six seats.
CNRT won the presidential election last year, with Gusmao's ally and Nobel Peace laureate Jose Ramos-Horta taking the post.
Vanuatu - cyclone relief
The Vanuatu Government is sending cash donations to people affected by the twin cyclones earlier this year, in lieu of delivering food rations directly to them.
The Daily Post reports that so far over 1000 households and nearly 90 vendors have been registered on Ambrym for a digital cash transfer.
The newspaper says this figure is expected to increase.
The Minister of Finance, John Salong, said a mass registration will be conducted on Tanna and Efate following the exercise on Ambrym.
The government is planning to use Starlink Internet to cope with connectivity challenges in distributing the cash to 66,000 households altogether.
Cook Islands - Arctic adventure
Two Cook Island students are on a voyage to the Arctic Circle.
The Cook Islands News reports Siana Whatarau and Winton Herman will be sailing on the Peace Boat US through the region for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science's Youth Sustainable Development programme.
They are sailing from London to Norway and on to Iceland.
They are part of the 11-youth team selected from the US, New Zealand, Panama, Argentina, Japan, Palau, Poland and St Lucia.
In London Whatarau and Herman will study marine life and learn how to document wildlife with the whale alert app as part of their citizen science programmes on board.
Fiji - United Kingdom
The United Kingdom's top diplomat in Fiji wants to build a more equal partnership with Fiji.
British High Commissioner to Fiji, Brian Jones, was among the hundreds of guests who attended the Great Council of Chiefs reinstallation on Wednesday.
Jones was on the same grounds where Queen Elizabeth II was chief guest when Bau Island hosted its first GCC meeting in 1982.
He said his job is to build a "brighter future partnership of equals".
Jones said reconciling the past is a process and will take time, but to start the process the UK "must listen, learn and acknowledge it".
Samoas - flights
Inter-island flights between the two Samoas will now be routed between Pago Pago International Airport and Fagalii Airport, when it opens for operation next Monday (May 29).
Construction workers have completed upgrading the landing strip and work is underway on the parking lot.
The American Samoa Government has been very keen for Fagalii to re-open because of its proximity to Apia.
This will be the third time Fagalii has re-opened after shutdowns - the most recent in 2020 on safety grounds.
Its re-opening was promised by Samoa's FAST Party when it was campaigning ahead of the last election.
Solomon Islands - covid
A government spokesperson says covid-19 related requirements have been lifted in Solomon Islands.
The spokesperson said people travelling to Solomon Islands will no longer need to provide proof of their covid-19 vaccination or test unless requested.
This follows the statement by the World Health Organisation that covid-19 is no longer a global public health emergency of international concern.
Travellers going to Solomon Islands are still encouraged to be fully vaccinated against covid-19.
