Dateline Pacific for Tuesday 10 March 2020

The government of a Papua New Guinea province has defended its move to ban a cruise ship entering due to the COVID-19 threat. The move was criticised by the tourism secor, but has sparked what its leader calls improved protective measures by the health department; the owner of Norfolk's Foodland Supermarket, Geoff Bennett, says the island's shipping woes go back at least 25 years; a Japanese researcher says solidarity among Pacific nations is key to protecting their maritime, fisheries and mineral resources in their exclusive economic zones; a Bougainville Summer is typically very hot and not the best time to head off on long walks on dusty roads; Niue has become the world's first Dark Sky Place following the International Dark-Sky Association's approval of the island's application for the protection of its sky, land and sea.