Vanuatu

Vanuatu is one of the 14 States to be reviewed by the UPR Working Group during its upcoming session taking place from 21 January to 1 February.

According to a UN advisory, Vanuatu’s’ first and second UPR reviews took place in May 2009 and January 2014, respectively.

The documents on which the reviews are based are the national report which is information provided by the State under review as well as information contained in the reports of independent human rights experts and groups, known as the Special Procedures, human rights treaty bodies, and other UN entities.

“This date is not for students to start getting to schools. Instead it should be time for orientation, induction, awareness and to get students into classrooms and to begin to have the first lessons,” Obed said.

He has also encouraged parents and guardians to prepare their children and get them to travel to schools.

Obed added that schools must prepare for disasters which may occur this year.

It is the first whooping cough case of this year.

The victim was hospitalized at Vila Central Hospital (VCH) where the infection was confirmed by laboratory testing.

Whooping cough is a bacterial infection caused by Bordetella pertussis.

The bacteria lives in the mouth, nose and throat.

The first symptoms generally appear 7-10 days after contact with an infected person and symptoms include mild fever, runny nose and cough.

This can make it hard for the infected person to breathe.

Bong received a bronze medal for his support and assistance to the ADF during Operation Render Safe conducted in Port Vila in December 2018.

The medal was presented by the Chief of the defence force of the Australian Army, General Angus J. Campbell in a ceremony at the Cooks Barrack in Port Vila.

 “I commend you for exemplary assistance to the Australian defence force explosive ordnance team who conducted the unplanned Operation Render Safe activity in and around Port Vila, Vanuatu in December 2018.

The scholarship is open to all Ni-Vanuatu students, who are residents of Port Vila and are enrolled in Foundation courses at USP Emalus Campus in the first semester.

The scholarships will only cover tuition fees for 1 Foundation course per student per semester.

“Scholarships will be awarded based on academic performance; on Secondary School results or students beginning Foundation-level studies and on GPA for continuing Foundation-level students.”

Ralph Regenvanu said the visit was a "great start" to reaffirming the strong friendship between the two nations and provided a more intimate setting where the two sides could be frank in their discussions.

It also allowed Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai to broach the subject of West Papuan self-determination with his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison, Mr Regenvanu said.

Australia's commitments included new climate change adaptation initiatives.

“Congratulations to those of you here today who have been awarded either a New Zealand Scholarship in New Zealand or Fiji,” Mr Schwass told the recipients at a reception.

He said this year New Zealand awarded 35 scholarships and 15 recipients are women who will be undertaking Postgraduate studies.

17 people will be studying in New Zealand and 18 will be studying at the University of the South Pacific - Laucala Campus and Fiji National University.

“This relationship is based on common values, shared aspirations respect and friendship and our shared interest in the peace and prosperity of our Home Pacific”

The Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison’s historic and first official visit to Vanuatu reinforces the importance of this relationship for both countries, following on from the Prime Minister of Vanuatu’s official visit to Australia in June last year.

The bitter drink, which has mild sedative and euphoric properties, is culturally important in Pacific communities but has had import restrictions in Australia for many years.

Mr Morrison agreed to the proposal after a meeting with Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai in Port Vila on Wednesday.

"We have agreed that we will be working to put a pilot program together to ease some of the limitations on importation of kava into Australia," Mr Morrison said after the meeting.

"That is for personal use, I should stress."

Beans from the two Melanesian countries are a central part of the blend in Nestlé Japan's new Sublime Volcanic KitKat launched this week in Tokyo.

It comes in a series of three flavours from volcanic islands of the Pacific.

The Vanuatu flavour is sourced Malakula Island, the Papua New Guinea flavour is from Karkar Island, and the Philippines bar from Mindanao Island.

One of the world's biggest food and health companies, Nestlé has also been sourcing palm oil for some of its products from a supplier destroying rain forests in Indonesia's Papua region.