Ask to use material, get more information or tell us about an item
The final news bulletin read by Radio New Zealand International journalist Sara Vui-Talitu.
Simon Mercep transitions to the Pacific news bulletin before the bulletin begins. The content includes:
One of the two men claiming to be prime minister of Papua New Guinea, Sir Michael Somare, says his rival is blatantly using public servants to execute his political agenda.
Sir Michael says he is angry and disappointed at the way the O'Neill administration's Political Sweep Team acted in his native East Sepik Province on Wednesday.
The team has been set up to combat corruption.
Sir Michael says a heavily armed police squad swept unannounced into the East Sepik government's offices to carry out an investigation.
Sir Michael says if there are concerns about the actions of the provincial government the normal process would be to first suspend it or send in officials to provide assistance.
==========================
He says it is inappropriate for Peter O'Neill to send in police and a vigilante squad to arrest and confiscate documents to make a case against the East Sepik government.
New Zealand has allocated up to 1.2 million US dollars to help Fiji's disaster management authorities get better prepared.
Last month's flooding in the Western Division caused millions of dollars' worth of damage to businesses, homes and infrastructure as well as destroying the crops of thousands of farmers.
The acting head of mission in Fiji, Philip Taula, says exactly how the money will be spent and the funding period haven't been decided but it's expected it may be a multi-year programme.
FIJI TUALA TP
"The two main areas are working with the National Disaster Management Office to make sure they have the training and equipment that they need and second to consider evacuation centre upgrades. They're the two main areas of focus for the time being."
Philip Taula says up to 400,000 US dollars will be provided for the upgrading work.
He says at the peak of the January floods about 4,500 people were in evacuation centres.
==============
Tonga's met office has now cancelled the tropical cyclone warning for Tonga's main island of Tongatapu.
Tropical cyclone Jasmine passed over Tonga on Tuesday night, the second cyclone to hit the kingdom in over a week.
The Ministry of Agriculture is now assessing the extent of the damage caused by Jasmine on crops and plantations in the Kingdom.
Tonga Radio also reports all government schools in the kingdom will resume next Monday.
==============
French Polynesia's medical system is in crisis as the cost of running the government's health insurance scheme outstrips the cost of care.
Doctors are in a protracted dispute with the health ministry and insurance administrators over payments.
The publisher of the Tahiti Pacifique monthly, Alex Du Prel, says the cost running the medical insurance bureaucracy is greater than the salaries of the scheme's doctors to provide care.
He says clinics and hospitals on some islands are now left without doctors.
FPOLY COLLAPSE TP
"And it's not only the case in Moorea it's the case in the Marquesas Islands. So actually what we are seeing and everybody agrees we are seeing a collapsing of the medical system that has been established in the past fifty years in Tahiti."
Alex Du Prel says meetings between the doctors, insurers and the government are expected to reach a resolution by the end of this month.
=====================
A plan to export fresh produce from Aitutaki in the Cook Islands to New Zealand appears to have failed.
While three container loads of produce have recently been exported, the producers have only been paid a fraction of what they expected.
They have got just over 7,000 US dollars, but were anticipating ten times that amount.
The Aitutaki mayor John Baxter says it's disappointing it has ended this way.
New Zealand based Aitutakian, John Kiria, who distributed the products across New Zealand, says he was unaware that there had been a problem
==========================
A 52 year-old man in Samoa is facing several charges of causing bodily harm after he illegally circumcisized 28 boys.
The man is now in police custody and will appear in court next week.
The police say investigations found the man had no medical qualifications.
Seven of the boys were rushed to Poutasi district hospital for medical treatment by their parents.
And that is Pacific News from Radio NZ International.