Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Tonga - royal funeral
The coffin of Princess Mele Siu'ilikutapu has arrived in Tonga.
A procession of the coffin travelled from Fua'amotu Airport to the Royal Palace in Nuku'alofa.
Roads were closed and school students sat along sidewalks in solemn silence.
On Saturday a state funeral will be held for the late Princess who will be buried in the Royal Tombs of Mala'ekula.
Fiji - aviation issues
Fiji Airways says flights to Tuvalu have been affected by fuel shortage and supply issues at Funafuti International Airport.
Due to the lack of certified fuel supply on the island, Fiji Airways has had to carry extra fuel for the return leg of flights to Tuvalu, resulting in reduced payload.
The airline said it was working closely with its counterparts in Tuvalu to have operational issues on the ground resolved at the earliest.
Samoa - airport
Concerns have been raised about the airstrip at Fagalii Airport in Samoa, despite a government minister saying it met all requirements.
Samoa News reports several issues have been cited in the wake of the opening of the upgraded airport this week.
Samoa Airways landed there the day it opened; it said the trees and the telephone tower should be removed.
The Samoa Government it spent $2.6 million tala re-opening the airport.
Fiji/New Zealand - PM's visit
Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka will next week be in New Zealand for his first official visit there.
Rabuka is currently in Apia as part of the Pacific Leaders' contingent there celebrating Samoa's Independence Day.
His office confirmed to RNZ Pacific he will be in Aotearoa on June the 5 and is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.
While more details of his visit are yet to be announced, Rabuka is confirmed to meet with the Fiji community in Wellington on Tuesday (June 6), hosted by the Wellington Indian Association.
French Polynesia - Temaru to face France's highest court
French Polynesia's pro-independence leader Oscar Temaru will face France's highest court after the appeal court threw out the case against him.
In 2019, Temaru was given a six-month suspended prison sentence and fined $50,000 US dollars after the criminal court had found that, as mayor of Faaa, he had exerted undue influence by funding Radio Tefana to benefit his Tavini Huiraatira party.
However, last month the appeal quashed all convictions and sentences related to the case.
The court also exonerated the chairs of the board of the association which runs Radio Tefana, Heinui Le Caill and Vito Maamaatuaiahutapu, who had also been given suspended jail sentences.
Temaru's defence says the prosecution clearly wants to damage his reputation, previously alleging the case was mounted as retribution for him taking the French presidents to the International Criminal Court over the nuclear weapons tests.
A ruling in Paris is not expected before next year.
Rotary - vaccines
Rotary International is working with grassroots community groups in nine Pacific nations to provide 100,000 jabs.
President Jennifer Jones says children will be inoculated from potentially deadly illnesses including rotavirus, Pneumococcal disease and Human Papillomavirus (HPV).
She said in parts of the Pacific, nearly one in 18 children die from vaccine-preventable diseases, and most of those are expected to die before their first birthday.
New Caledonia - minister
The French interior minister has asked New Caledonian political leaders for patience as Paris seeks to find a way forward for the territory after three referendums on independence.
Gerald Darmanin has returned to Noumea for his second visit in less than four months, amid disagreement over the validity of the last of the referendums held in 2021.
The pro-independence parties refuse to recognise the rejection of full sovereignty because only a small minority of Kanaks voted.
Darmanin said political violence costs more than the few months of negotiations, and he added a time will come when President Emmanuel Macron makes decisions in place of the New Caledonians.
