Tidbits from the Pacific

Hon. Talagi's feet. pn323

Niue news Independence? https://www.talaniue.com/  Brief National Assembly session:  smoking a taoga? Niue-NZ meeting, PM to NZ for medical treatment "It's my foot that is giving me problems; nothing wrong with my brain."

The latest Tongan news https://kanivatonga.nz/ Petitions, King in NZ

Discussions on Vanuatu-New Caledonia border
http://dailypost.vu/news/french-gov-t-ready-to-host-vanuatu/article_28397281-8348-5ccc-935b-848ec8d059c0.html

Solomon Islands election
http://www.solomonstarnews.com/index.php/news/national/item/21465-international-election-observers-arriving

Cyclones cost Cook Islands
http://www.cookislandsnews.com/national/weather/item/72226-cyclones-cost-cooks-30m-plus

Lowy Institute's The Interpreter: PNG, Taiwan, Pacific Islands Forum, Indonesia, Indian aid, Niue, Vanuatu economy  https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/pacific-links-tsai-s-island-travels-new-niue-more

Cook Islands Name Change? The 15 Islands

The Pacific nation of Cook Islands is considering changing its name to something that reflects its Polynesian culture

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rather than honouring the British explorer James Cook who named them the Hervey Islands in 1773. Strangely, the only island he set foot on was tiny, uninhabited Palmerston atoll. He never saw Rarotonga, the largest island in the group. A German navigator on a Russian ship named it the Cook Islands.  Spanish and Portuguese explorers visited the islands in the 16th century, well before Cook.