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Pacific News In Brief For 26 February
Vanuatu - earthquake
Vanuatu authorities have reopened parts of Port Vila's central business district more than two months after it was devastated by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake.
Fourteen people were killed in the 17 December quake, which caused extensive damage and flattened parts of the CBD.
Vanuatu's government says buildings will now have to be demolished due to structural damages, including the city's main market.
The ABC reported that Vanuatu's Minister for Internal Affairs Andrew Napuat said there are works that need to be done on the roads, drainage, and sewage systems before a total reopening of the CBD.
Fiji - HIV
The HIV outbreak in Fiji may be more severe than publicly acknowledged, with estimates suggesting three times as many people are living with the virus compared to official figures.
A new emergency health task force believes the actual figure is as high as 6100, driven by intravenous drug use.
Official government figures show that at least 1000 Fijians were diagnosed with HIV between January and September last year, a 9-fold increase from the 120 new infections recorded in all of 2019.
Benar News reports health experts and community groups saying that years of underfunding for HIV programmes have severely weakened the country's prevention and treatment systems.
Samoa - whooping cough
Samoa's cases of whooping cough in the current epidemic have passed 400.
The country's Ministry of Health said just over half - 205 cases - are under the age of 5.
Samoa declared an outbreak of the disease on 28 November, 2024, after the 'earliest onset of cough' was reported on 16 September.
New Zealand declared an epidemic on the disease around the same time - the fourth since it became a notifiable disease in the country in 1996.
Fiji - contraband
The Fiji Corrections Service has seized contraband, including drugs, at the Suva Remand Centre.
The Fiji Times reported that the forbidden items included marijuana, methamphetamine, gas lighters, mobile phones, smoking apparatus, syringes and screwdrivers.
Commissioner of Corrections Dr Jalesi Nakarawa said they are "rigorously addressing" the smuggling of contraband, but they are also dealing with severe overcrowding.
He said more than 400 inmates are housed in the 200-capacity centre.
Papua New Guinea
Prime Minister James Marape is in Solomon Islands to discuss the sustainable use of marine resources.
The Honiara Summit, with the theme "Iumi Tugeda Delivering on SDG14.4: Achieving Sustainable Fisheries," aims to address the sustainable use of marine resources, including tuna.
Global concerns about tuna supply in the Pacific are mounting due to the impacts of climate change and overfishing.
Rising sea temperatures may cause tuna populations to migrate away from the exclusive economic zones of Pacific island nations and into international waters, threatening the economic stability of these nations.
The summit is hosted by the Solomon Islands Government with support from the Forum Fisheries Agency.
Hawaii - fireworks
A Kapolei man has avoided jail time but was given a US$5,000 fine for the distribution of illegal fireworks in Hawaii.
It comes after a stash of fireworks exploded in Honolulu on New Year's Eve, killing six people and seriously injuring others.
A police report obtained by Civil Beat revealed Daniel Young was arrested in December 2023 for selling US$1500 worth of fireworks to an undercover officer posing as a buyer on Facebook Marketplace.
He pleaded no contest to possession of pyrotechnics without a licence, and the sale of fireworks to someone who did not have a valid permit, which are both felonies.
He was sentenced to four years of supervised release and a $2,500 fine for each charge.
Young's attorney told the court the New Year's Eve tragedy was like a "light bulb" for his client and he was "somewhat relieved that this is happening because he thinks he is now made aware that things could have been much worse".
The attorney said Young turned to selling fireworks for quick money after losing his job during the pandemic and suffering from a stroke.
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