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China signs deal with Samoa; Fiji leader meets with Australian minister

By
Kaniva Staff
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China’s foreign minister signed a deal with Samoa on Saturday to strengthen diplomatic relations, while Australia’s new leader said he had a “comprehensive plan” for the Pacific, as Beijing and Canberra continued rival campaigns to woo the region.

Photo:

China is building on a security pact it recently signed with Solomon Islands, which has alarmed the United States and its allies such as Australia as they fear a stepped-up military presence by Beijing. Australia’s new centre-left government has made the Pacific Islands an early diplomatic priority.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, sworn in on Monday, said on Saturday his Labor government’s plan includes a defence training school, support for maritime security, a boost in aid and re-engaging the region on climate change.

“We will be proactive in the region, we want to engage,” he told reporters.

China’s Wang Yi, on a tour of the Pacific seeking a 10-nation deal on security and trade, finished a visit to Samoa, where he met Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa and signed documents including an “economic and technical cooperation agreement”, Samoa said in a statement.

“Samoa and the People’s Republic of China will continue to pursue greater collaboration that will deliver on joint interests and commitments,” it said.

Fiji – ‘Wonderful meeting’ with Australian minister

Also Saturday, Fiji’s prime minister said he had a ‘wonderful meeting’ with Australia’s minister for foreign affairs, who travelled to Fiji just days after being sworn in to show the new government’s attention to the Pacific Islands.

Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama.

Fiji’s Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama. (File photo). Photo: Supplied/ AFP

“Fiji is not anyone’s backyard – we are a part of a Pacific family,” Fiji’s prime minister Frank Bainimarama wrote on Twitter, posting a picture of himself and Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong shaking hands.

He appeared to be taking a veiled swipe at Scott Morrison, the conservative prime minister ousted in an election last weekend, who once referred to the Pacific as Australia’s backyard.

“Our greatest concern isn’t geopolitics – it’s climate change,” Bainimarama wrote. “In that spirit, I had a wonderful meeting with Foreign Minister @SenatorWong to strengthen our Vuvale Partnership with Australia”, he said, using the Fijian word for friendship.

After defeating Morrison’s coalition in an election that had climate change as a major theme, Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese was sworn in on Monday as Australia’s 31st prime minister, and Wong as foreign minister.

Wong and her Chinese counterpart launched competing Pacific visits on Thursday. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed hope that Beijing’s ties with the Solomon Islands could be a regional model, while Wong said Canberra will be a partner that does not come with strings attached.

China is seeking a sweeping 10-nation deal on security and trade that has unsettled the United States and its Pacific allies, including Australia. Wang is expected to push for the deal in a meeting he will host on Monday in Fiji.

Wong, on her visit to Fiji, warned that there were regional consequences to a security pact between Solomon Islands and China, after the Chinese minister said interference in the deal would fail.

–Reuters

Magnitude 5.5 earthquake felt in Tonga

By
Kaniva Staff
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A 5.5 magnitude earthquake has been felt by people in Tongatapu this morning.

Tonga Met Services has confirmed there is currently no threat of a tsunami as a result of the quake.

Residents in Tongatapu reported feeling tremors in their homes.

The news comes after four people were killed and hundreds of homes were destroyed after a tsunami was generated by the massive January eruption.

Meanwhile, small-scale eruptions were expected following the volcanic eruption and tsunami.

Four months on, new scientific evidence was helping to paint a clearer picture of how widespread the damage was and the chances of another eruption, University of Auckland Volcanologist Shane Cronin was reported by RNZ as saying.

While there would not be another large-scale event anytime soon, there would be “follow-ups”.

“After such a fundamental change and an enormous eruption, we wouldn’t expect there to be an ongoing big event but we would expect there to be sort of follow ups or small scale eruptions because there’s always a bit of magma left behind and there’s always a little bit of residual heat.”


Covid-19: Fourth vaccine dose announced for vulnerable groups

By
Kaniva Staff
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A second booster dose will be made available to more at-risk people with legislation adopted next month, the government has announced.

Vials of Corona vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer

File photo. Photo: AFP

In a statement this morning, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed people would be able to get their second booster dose six months after their first.

He said this fourth dose would cover several hundred thousand people in vulnerable groups, including elderly, aged care residents, and those in disability care facilities.

Severely immuno-compromised people who received a third dose as part of their primary course, as well as a first booster, would also be eligible for another, fifth, vaccination.

Hipkins said the legislation enabling all this – an amendment to the Medicines Act – was expected to be passed and take effect in mid-June, with eligibility criteria to be finalised over the next fortnight.

However, with the six-month gap, most would become eligible from July. People who had been infected with Covid-19 should also wait three months from the end of their infection before getting another dose.

The government had for months signalled it planned to make a fourth dose available.

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield had previously talked about the possibility of a second booster, and referred to advice that the timing of it may need to be managed to ensure peak immunity during the winter months when the threat of a second wave alongside other winter illnesses would be highest.

However, the government was waiting for advice from the Covid-19 Vaccine Technical Advisory Group. Hipkins said the group had now recommended the second booster dose, having found it could be beneficial for those most at risk of serious illness.

“Based on current advice, for those who are not at risk of severe illness from Covid-19, a two-dose primary course and a booster dose provides very good and lasting protection, which is why we can be more targeted in the rollout of the second booster,” he said.

The advisory group would continue to review new information about Covid-19 and make further recommendations as needed, Hipkins said.

“And if you haven’t had your first booster yet, it is not too late to get it in time for the winter season,” he said.

Royal College of GPs medical director Bryan Betty said introducing a fourth dose was the right thing to do, based on all the evidence locally and internationally.

“We’ll still be in winter. I think Covid will be around and looking at how at the antibody response or the response to the previous vaccine tends to drop a little bit over time [it’s] certainly the right time to do it.”

Betty said the ongoing protection of the country’s most vulnerable was the key to fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mt Albert attack: Police arrest 22-year-old man

By
Kaniva Staff
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By RNZ.co.nz

The 22-year-old man being sought over a fatal knife attack in Mount Albert this week has been arrested by police this afternoon.

Police cordon in Mt Albert where the body of a local man was found.

Police cordon in Mt Albert where the body of a local man was found. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi

Police had been looking for Christian Eteuati after the “brutal” attack.

Thomas Coombes, 25, was found dead in Roy Clements Treeways, Mount Albert, on Tuesday.

In a statement this afternoon, police said the man they were seeking was found on Ti Kouka Lane in Sandringham area and taken into custody “without issue”.

“We want to thank members of the community who have provided us with information,” said Detective Inspector Chris Barry of Auckland City CIB.

“We know that this incident will have caused serious concern in the Mount Albert and surrounding communities and we’re pleased to be able to quickly bring it to a resolution.”

The man has been charged with murder and will appear in Auckland District Court on Monday.

Tom Coombes

Tom Coombes Photo: Supplied / Facebook

Coombes, who was named by police earlier this afternoon, is reportedly from the Bethells Te Henga area, where members of the community were paying tribute to him on social media.

“We lost a lovely young man,” one wrote on Facebook. “Tom Coombes who among many strengths served in our local brigade. We are feeling sad and for the families and whānau. Be gentle and keep safe everyone.”

Bethells Beach Boardriders posted that they were having a memorial paddle for Coombes, “who was one of the best people you could ever be so lucky to know.”

Monkeypox can be contained if we act now, WHO says

By
Kaniva Staff
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Countries should take quick steps to contain the spread of monkeypox and share data about their vaccine stockpiles, a senior World Health Organization official said on Friday.

An illustration of a pox virus, the group includes monkeypox, chickenpox and smallpox. Photo:

“We think that if we put in place the right measures now we probably can contain this easily,” Sylvie Briand, WHO director for Global Infectious Hazard Preparedness, told the UN agency’s annual assembly.

Monkeypox is a usually-mild viral infection that is endemic in parts of west and central Africa.

It spreads chiefly through close contact and, until the recent outbreak, was rarely seen in other parts of the world, which is why the recent emergence of cases in Europe, the United States and other areas has raised alarms.

So far, there are about 300 confirmed or suspected cases in around 20 countries where the virus was not previously circulating.

“For us, we think that the key priority currently is trying to contain this transmission in non-endemic countries,” Briand told a technical briefing for member states.

Needed measures included the early detection and isolation of cases and contact tracing, she added.

Member states should also share information about first generation stockpiles of smallpox vaccines which can also be effective against monkeypox, Briand said.

“We don’t know exactly the number of doses available in the world, and so that’s why we encourage countries to come to WHO and tell us what are their stockpiles,” she said. A slide of her presentation described global supplies as “very constrained”.

Currently, WHO officials are advising against mass vaccination, instead suggesting targeted vaccination where available for close contacts of people infected.

“Case investigation, contact tracing, isolation at home will be your best bets,” said Rosamund Lewis, WHO head of the smallpox secretariat which is part of the WHO Emergencies Programme.

–Reuters

TVNZ’s new Breakfast host resigns after one month

By
Kaniva Staff
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The new host of TVNZ’s Breakfast has resigned after only one month on the job.

Breakfast presenter Kamahl Santamaria

Photo: TVNZ

Kamahl Santamaria has quit Breakfast due to “a personal matter,” TVNZ has announced.

“TVNZ has accepted the resignation of Breakfast presenter Kamahl Santamaria,” it said in a statement.

“Kamahl has been on leave the last week, while he dealt with a personal matter which required his full attention, and he has now advised that he wishes to take an extended break with his family.

“Kamahl is focused on his family at this time, and we ask that everyone respects their wish for privacy.”

Santamaria had only started as the host on Breakfast on 27 April, replacing John Campbell, who moved into a correspondent’s role for 1 News.

Santamaria, an Auckland native, began his reporting career with TV3 and later moved abroad to work for Sky News and Al Jazeera English.

He resigned from Al Jazeera after 16 years to take up the TVNZ job.

Appeals Court throws out former PM’s claim against judgement that he had to pay damages

By
Philip Cass
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The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by Lord Tu’ivakano against a judgment of Lord Chief Justice Whitten dismissing a claim for damages by the appellant against the Police Commissioner, the Attorney General and the Kingdom of Tonga for malicious prosecution.

Lord Tu’ivakanō

The appeal was heard  by Judge Blanchard, Judge Hansen and Judge Randerson.

In February 2020 the former Prime Minister was tried in the Supreme Court on five counts of accepting a bribe as a Government servant, as well as single counts of money laundering, perjury, making a false statement for the purpose of obtaining a passport, and possession of a firearm and ammunition without a licence.

The main focus of the Crown case against the appellant related to the bribery and associated money laundering charges. The charges arose from the Crown allegation that the appellant along with others had been involved in a fraudulent scheme to issue Tongan passports for foreign nationals in exchange for money.

During the trial the Crown decided not to prosecute the bribery and money laundering charges. Lord Tu’ivakano pleaded guilty to the charge of possession of a firearm, but was found guilty on the perjury and false statement charges as well as the charge of possession of ammunition.

He successfully appealed against all but one of his convictions. This Court acquitted him on the perjury and false statement charges and dismissed the appeal in respect of the ammunition.

Lord Tu’ivakano then launched proceedings against the Police Commissioner, the Attorney General and the Kingdom of Tonga claiming TP$5.75 million in damages.

Lord Chief Justice Whitten dismissed the claim, arguing that there was no evidence to support the allegations. He found that the Police Commissioner and the Attorney General had acted properly in the conduct of their part of the investigation and prosecution.

He rejected the claim that the trial had been brought with malicious intent, arguing that Lord Tu’ivakano had not proved that  the sole purpose to prosecute was one other than the invocation of the criminal law.

Lord Chief Justice Whitten  firmly rejected allegations that the trial had been politically motivated. He said there was  uncontroverted evidence that Commissioner Caldwell and the Attorney General’s office had cautioned Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva against making public statements or doing anything which could compromise the investigation and the decision to prosecute and had issued media statements to similar effect, to reassure the general public of the propriety and independence of the investigation. 

 In their summing up of the evidence regarding the Lord Chief Justice’s decision, the three judges of the Court of Appeal said he had made no material error in his analysis of the evidence or of the conduct of the investigation.

The appeal was therefore dismissed.

Lod Tu’ivakano was ordered to pay costs to the Police Commissioner, the Attorney General and the Kingdom of Tonga.

Stars lining up to play for Ikale Tahi

By
Kaniva Staff
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By RNZ.co.nz

Israel Folau, Charles Piutau and Malakai Fekitoa will make their return to international rugby this year, to play for Tonga.

The former All Black and Wallaby representatives were named in a team announcement by the Tonga Rugby Union today.

It is a historic moment for Pacific rugby, with eligibility rules now allowing Pacific Islanders players to play for their home countries.

‘Ikale Tahi head coach Toutai Kefu said the selection will make a huge difference to the quality of Tongan rugby.

Malakai Fekitoa at the Rugby World Cup.

Malakai Fekitoa at the Rugby World Cup. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

“It’s definitely going to make a difference and no disrespect to the players who have worn the jersey before, but the calibre of players coming through now is at a very high level so we are all looking forward to what they can do on the field and we have high expectations,” he said

It may be the beginning of more to come with the likes of George Moala, Sekope Kepu, Adam Coleman and Vaea Fifita set to gain eligibility later this year.

Kefu said it is watershed moment.

“I’ve already had conversations with them and they’ve shown a lot of interest. They qualify at the end of the year so will revisit those conversations. But you know, moving forward into the Rugby World Cup next year, it looks like it could quite possibly be the best Tongan team ever.”

China seeks Pacific islands deal on policing, security cooperation, document reveals

By
Kaniva Staff
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China will seek a region-wide deal with almost a dozen Pacific islands covering policing, security and data communications cooperation when Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosts a meeting in Fiji next week, newly revealed documents show.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Photo: AFP

A draft communiqué and five-year action plan sent by Beijing to 10 Pacific islands ahead of a foreign ministers meeting on 30 May has prompted pushback from at least one of the invited nations, which says it showed China’s intent to control the region and “threatens regional stability”.

In a letter to 21 Pacific leaders seen by Reuters, Federated States of Micronesia president David Panuelo said his nation would argue the “pre-determined joint communiqué” should be rejected, because he fears it could spark a new “Cold War” between China and the West.

Wang will visit eight Pacific island nations that China holds diplomatic ties with between 26 May and 4 June.

He arrives on Thursday in the Solomon Islands, which recently signed a security pact with China despite objections from Australia, the United States, Japan and New Zealand, which fear it could upset regional security arrangements and give China a military foothold in the Pacific.

Beijing rejects this, saying the pact is focused on domestic policing and criticism by western countries was interfering in the Solomon Island’s sovereign decision-making.

China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the document.

The FSM government, which has a defence agreement with the United States as well as an economic cooperation agreement with China, declined to comment on the letter to Reuters.

Solomon Islands prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Mannaseh Sogavare confirmed his government had finalised a security treaty with China on 31 March, 2022. Photo: Solomon Islands Government Communications Unit

New vision

A region-wide agreement covering security and trade between China and Pacific islands would represent a shift in Beijing’s focus from bilateral relationships to dealing with the Pacific on a multilateral basis, and would likely increase concerns by Washington and its allies.

The China-Pacific Island Countries Common Development Vision draft document, as well as a five-year action plan, has been circulated by Beijing ahead of the meeting in Fiji.

It states China and the Pacific islands will “strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the fields of traditional and non traditional security”.

“China will hold intermediate and high-level police training for Pacific Island Countries through bilateral and multilateral means,” the document seen by Reuters says.

The action plan outlines a ministerial dialogue on law enforcement capacity and police cooperation to be held in 2022, and China providing forensic police laboratories.

The draft communiqué also pledges cooperation on data networks, cyber security, smart customs systems, and for Pacific islands to “take a balanced approach to technological progress, economic development and protection of national security”.

Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei, which is barred from 5G networks run by several US allies, has been repeatedly thwarted in attempts to build submarine cables or run mobile networks in the Pacific islands by Australia and United States offering rival bids for the sensitive infrastructure, citing national security concerns.

The communiqué also proposes a China-Pacific Islands Free Trade Area, and support for action on climate change and health.

President of the Federated States of Micronesia, David Panuelo.

Federated States of Micronesia president David Panuelo Photo: RNZ / Jamie Tahana

In his letter to other leaders, Panuelo said the communiqué would shift Pacific islands who hold diplomatic relations with China “very close into Beijing’s orbit, intrinsically tying the whole of our economies and societies to them”.

Panuelo highlighted the risk of Pacific islands being caught in geopolitical conflict as tensions rise between the United States and China over Taiwan.

“The practical impacts, however, of Chinese control over our communications infrastructure, our ocean territory and the resources within them, and our security space, aside from impacts on our sovereignty, is that it increases the chances of China getting into conflict with Australia, Japan, the United States and New Zealand,” he said.

China’s provision of customs systems would lead to “biodata collection and mass surveillance of those residing in, entering and leaving our islands”, he added.

The letter was also critical of Australia’s lack of action on climate change, which Panuelo said was the greatest security threat to the region.

New Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged this week to increase climate financing to Pacific islands, saying climate change was the main economic and security challenge for low-lying island countries.

– Reuters

Deadly Tongan volcano unlikely to erupt in near future – Niwa scientists

By
Kaniva Staff
-

By RNZ.co.nz and is republished with permission.

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano that devastated Tonga after a massive eruption on 15 January is unlikely to erupt again, say scientists from New Zealand’s National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa).NIWA research vessel RV Tangaroa is heading to Tonga to assess the undersea impacts of the Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha'apai volcano eruption in early 2022.

The RV Tangaroa mapped 22,000 square kilometres of the surrounding seafloor, which showed changes covering an area of 8000 square kilometres. Photo: NIWA / Dave Allen

Niwa research vessel RV Tangaroa arrived back from a maritime expedition to Tonga last week.

Three people were killed and hundreds of homes destroyed from tsunamis generated from the massive eruption, estimated to be 500 times more powerful than the atom bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.

“The likelihood of another violent eruption happening anytime soon is quite low,” said Kevin Mckay, who led Niwa’s expedition to Tonga on board the RV Tangaroa.

“Just looking at the general cycle of these volcanos, they seem to have a two-and-a-half to three-year eruptive cycle. In my estimation, I think the chances of another violent eruption from this particular volcano in the near future are not very high at all.”

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption generated the second largest sound ever recorded since Indonesia’s Krakatoa eruption in 1883. It also produced the largest atmospheric explosion ever recorded.

Given the magnitude of the record-breaking explosive eruption, Mckay said his team were shocked to find the volcano was still intact.An undersea volcano eruption in Tonga on Saturday 15 January, 2022. The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano came just a few hours after Friday's tsunami warning was lifted.

An undersea volcano eruption in Tonga on 15 January, 2022. The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano came just a few hours after Friday’s tsunami warning was lifted. Photo: Tonga Meteorological Services / EyePress via AFP

“With an explosion that violent – the biggest ever recorded – you would expect that the whole volcano would have been obliterated, but it wasn’t.

“While the volcano appeared intact, the seafloor showed some dramatic effects from the eruption. There is fine sandy mud and deep ash ripples as far as 50 kilometres away from the volcano, with gouged valleys and huge piles of sediment.”

The RV Tangaroa mapped 22,000 square kilometres of the surrounding seafloor, which showed changes covering an area of 8000 square kilometres.

Its study was supported by The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project that aims to map the world’s entire ocean floor by 2030.

Niwa scientists recorded up to 7cubic kilometres of displaced material – the equivalent of five Wellington Harbours. Underneath this is Tonga’s domestic internet cable, which was cut-off, causing a communications blackout in Tonga for three days.

It was not just the geological impacts that surprised the RV Tangaroa, much of the ecosystem and marine life had miraculously survived.

The expedition’s marine biologist Dr Malcolm Clark said: “Although the seafloor on the volcano is largely barren, surrounding seamounts have pockets of normal biodiversity, such as corals, sponges, starfish, and mussels, indicating the resilience of such marine ecosystems and giving some hope for recovery.”NIWA scientist Malcolm Clark.

Expedition marine biologist Dr Malcolm Clark Photo: NIWA

“More work needs to be done before we can be confident of how the ecosystem will respond, but these surviving animal communities indicate what kind of life may repopulate HT-HH. The sites sampled during the voyage give us a baseline for monitoring recovery in the future.”

The most noticeable change was in the physical and chemical composition of the ocean and seafloor around the volcano.

Hundreds of samples were collected during the mission including 250kg of rock. Data from the samples showed that there was still ashfall in the ocean that had not yet settled on the seafloor.

“In the immediate aftermath of an eruption, volcanic ash fertilises microscopic ocean algae thanks to the ash’s concentration of nutrients and trace metals – in this case, there was a bloom of life so big that we could see it from space,” Niwa biogeochemist Dr Sarah Seabrook said.

“The unexpected persistence of the ash in the water column is creating prolonged impacts. For example, spikes in volcanic ash were coupled to the appearance of oxygen minimum zones – where oxygen levels in the water are at their lowest – which could have implications for important services provided by the ocean, such as food production and carbon sequestration.”The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai underwater volcano on Friday, January 15, 2022.

The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai underwater volcano on Friday, January 15, 2022. Photo: Tonga Geological Services

Tonga’s Recovery

A key part of the research was to help assist the development of Tonga’s disaster response program. Tonga’s Deputy Secretary for Lands and Natural Resources Taaniela Kula said the work was vital for country’s recovery.

“The eruption sent shockwaves around the world, but the effects were felt most keenly in Tonga. It was a miracle to lose so few lives, but our streets, crops, air, and waters were devastated.

“We, along with other nations on the Pacific Ring of Fire, know only too well how at mercy we are to nature. By studying an unprecedented event like this in such detail, we will gain invaluable knowledge and experience so we can recover quickly and be prepared for the next time something like this happens.”

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