News

THE United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) have signed a NZ$7 million agreement to support the prevention and reduction of newborn mortality in Kiribati, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. The ceremony today was attended by Nikenike Vurobaravu, High Commissioner of the Republic of Vanuatu, and John Patteson Oti, High Commissioner of the Solomon Islands in Fiji, and Acting H ...

EFFORTS to support private sector development should be stepped up to boost Vanuatu’s economy, with growth expected to moderate to 3.2 per cent in 2018 and 3 per cent in 2019, says a new Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) report.

VANUATU beach volleyballers Linline Matauatu and Miller Pata created sporting history for Vanuatu tonight, winning a Bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia. Ranked fourth, the Ni Vanuatu pair again showed their class in defeating the 10th-ranked Cypriot pair of Mariota Angelopoulou and Manolina Konstantinou in a convincing 21-14, 21-10, in a little over half an hour. It was Vanuatu’s second Bronze medal ...

PRIME Minister Charlot Salwai has put out a statement to ‘utterly refute’ claims by Fairfax Media that the Vanuatu government has been approached by the Chinese government to set up a military base in Vanuatu. He also refuted that preliminary discussions had been held between the two governments to that end.

MALEKULA MP Sato Kilman says Vanuatu’s Prime Minister should seriously consider what the Political Bloc is asking, not trying to find out about the Solidarity Agreement. Speaking to the Independent Online, Mr Kilman said ‘the Prime Minister should seriously consider what we have asked’. “Because we are not asking for a change of government, we asked him to deal with the issues and these issues matters significantly to our count ...

VANUATU’S Prime Minister says he has not received any petition from the new political bloc that was made last Wednesday and he believes it is not a petition but a manipulation for MPs to sign another motion against him. Mr Salwai said ‘with the Solidarity Agreement (SA) that the political bloc made, to say that they have made a petition to me, I have never received a petition.’

CHINA has approached Vanuatu about building a permanent military presence in the South Pacific in a globally significant move that could see the rising superpower sail warships on Australia’s doorstep. Fairfax Media can reveal there have been preliminary discussions between the Chinese and Vanuatu governments about a military build-up in the island nation. While no formal proposals have been put to Vanuatu’s government, senior secu ...

VANUATU para-athlete Friana Kwevira has won the country’s first medal at a Commonwealth Games event, taking bronze in the Women’s F46 Javelin final. The event, for women missing a section of one arm, was won by Welsh thrower Hollie Arnold with a word record throw of 44.43 metres.

A ‘GIFT’ of 60 Apple Mac Book computers worth about VT10 million to all MPs was a form of bribery and was not acceptable, says a Pentecost MP. Speaking from Pentecost, Francois Chani told The Independent Online news that he had put the computer back in its box and would return it to the Speaker when he returned to Port Vila.

AID totalling VT 142 million for Malampa and Penama provinces has been approved at the Council of Ministers (COM) meeting yesterday. They have also declared disaster zones in both islands which have been ravaged by Cyclone Hola and Ambae’s Manaro volcano. Disaster Zones have been declared over five priority areas identified in the assessment reports – North, NW and NE Malekula; West Malo; Central Pentecost; SE & SW Ambae; North Amb ...