Fiji

Gerry Brownlee met his Fijian counterpart, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, at a South Pacific defence ministers' meeting in Auckland yesterday to discuss issues including maritime surveillance.

He said an inshore patrol vessel will be deployed to Fiji for six months in May to combat the widespread problem.

According to Mr Brownlee, the increase in illegal fishing vessels from Vietnam, also known as "blue boats", required counter-action.

The 21 year old refugee was taken to the Waigani Police Station on Tuesday afternoon straight from his court trial at the Waigani District Court by police and Immigration officials.

He was then charged for making False Representation under section 16(1)(e) of the Migration act. He was also charged under section 16(1)(k) of the same act for using a passport which was fraudulently obtained.

The European Union-funded project, in collaboration with the Pacific Community, will provide 400 households with solar power by the middle of the year.

The Pacific Community said poor access to power was one of the biggest obstacles to social and economic development in rural and remote communities.

The project's spokesperson, Martin Chong, said this would be the first time some people have ever had access to electricity.

There has long been criticism that countries such as Fiji, Samoa and Tonga do not face enough tier-one opposition outside of World Cups every four years and that this diminishes their chances of performing at their best in the global showpiece, where they have nevertheless made a significant contribution over the years.

This is something officials have tried to address in the new global calendar unveiled by World Rugby last week, but that doesn't kick in until 2020.

In November, Fiji will be the president of the global climate change negotiations known as COP23, which follow on from landmark talks that led to a key climate agreement in Paris in 2015.

Krishneil Narayan, the co-ordinator of the Pacific Islands Climate Network, an umbrella organisation for 58 regional organisations, said this allows Pacific countries a real opportunity to highlight their plight.

This came at a preparatory meeting for Pacific leaders ahead of June's major United Nations Conference on Oceans in New York, which is to be co-hosted by Fiji and Sweden.

One of the central aims of the conference was to identify ways and means to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14.

This goal concerns conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources.

Sweden and Fiji are co-hosting the conference in June at the United Nations' Headquarters in New York.

Fiji just held a regional meeting in Suva to prepare, which was attended by small island states, New Zealand and Australia.

Its Fisheries Minister, Semi Koroilavesau, said the meeting went well and he was feeling hopeful about what the UN's conference can achieve.

He said Fiji and other small Pacific islands would be the first to suffer from ocean pollution and rising sea levels and there needs to be global consensus on what action to take.

Fiji's Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, hosted the meeting on Friday as his country prepares to take the presidency of the conference along with Sweden.

He told the gathering that he hoped the small island developing states of the Pacific could front the conference as one united voice.

The meeting discussed implementing a sustainable development goal which aims to conserve and sustainably use the ocean and marine resources.

In October the government said it planned to seek a seat on the council during the 2018 to 2020 term.

In a speech today however the Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said Fiji was a small country and its foreign policy resources needed to be focused on climate change and its presidency of COP23.

He said Fiji could simply not do them both and do them well.

Fiji is to share the presidency of the next international climate change talks in Bonn in November.

Mr Bainimarama said Fiji would try again for a seat on the Geneva-based human rights body after COP 23.

Sawari and his lawyer appeared in the grade 5 court on Friday before Magistrate Mekeo Gauli.

He was formally arraigned, or had his charges read to him in court, where he pleaded not guilty. A trial will be conducted next Tuesday.

The 21-year-old was arrested and charged for providing false information for the purpose of obtaining a PNG passport from the PNG Immigration and Citizen Services Authority, a charge that falls under section 16 (1) of the Passport Act of 1982.