Solomon Islands

The Movement's secretary general Octo Mote last week travelled to Honiara to meet the new Solomons prime minister Rick Hou.

Rick Hou replaced Manasseh Sogavare after a vote of no-confidence, although Mr Sogavare is now deputy prime minister.

Mr Sogavare had championed the push for greater recognition of Papuan self-determination and human rights on the world stage.

After meeting Mr Hou, Mr Mote said the Solomons will continue to allocate the same level of resources to advancing the issue.

A delegation led by Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs Joseph Ma’ahanua submitted Solomon Islands bid host in Brisbane last week.

The delegation included Solomon High Commissioner to New Zealand Joy Kere, Helen Beck, George Tuti and Louise Ellerton from the Australian High Commission in Honiara.

The PLMAM meeting brought together responsible authorities from Australia and New Zealand, including their Departments of Immigration, Employment and Foreign Affairs and Trade. 

Mr Sogavare lost the vote 27 to 23.

Yesterday's vote in Honiara was triggered by a series of defections from Mr Sogavare's coalition government late last month.

The vote followed an arduous debate that stretched over six hours.

Supporters of the motion said MPs had lost confidence in the prime minister because he was not listening to them any more, while development was stalling around the country.

Mr Sogavare's supporters urged MPs to let him finish the final ten months of his four-year term in office.

Police also arrested 14 suspects from around Western Province.

RNZI reports they are alleged to have been operating a ring that illegally trapped the dolphins for export.

The Western province police commander, Mathias Lenialu, said his team released 20 dolphins and confiscated a number of traps.

Dolphin trapping, while illegal, is not uncommon in Western Province, where there have been disputes over it for years.

The government of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare is facing a vote of no confidence in parliament next week, after a series of defections from the government.

Mr Sogavare on Thursday announced moves to consolidate his coalition government, announcing eight new ministers.

But in a statement, the opposition group said that consolidation had included attempts at bribery.

It accuses the forestry minister Bradley Tovosia of trying to bribe MP Alfred Ghiro with cash and the fisheries portfolio, which he rejected.

Fisheries Acting Permanent Secretary Feral Lasi confirmed to the Solomon Star on Wednesday the blue boats are now under government custody.

“….yes the boats are now taken back from Iona Firi after they failed to meet the requirements in the MoU,” Lasi said.

“State will now decide for its destruction site,” he added.

He further revealed that since last week, they consulted Taroniara shipyard group for their possible rate to dispose off the boats.

The Tinakula volcano in the country's easternmost Temotu Province began erupting on Saturday spewing ash over the Reef Islands in the Santa Cruz group.

A volunteer disaster worker in the provincial capital Lata, Jones Harara, said the volcano continued to spew ash and lava.

Mr Harara said people in Lata could hear the eruptions 20 kilometres away.

He said those directly affected by the ashfall were in urgent need of relief support.

The Tinakula volcano in the Santa Cruz islands began erupting on Saturday.

The national broadcaster SIBC reported people in the country's easternmost Temotu province were being told to avoid ashfall from the volcano by closing their doors and windows

The director of the National Disaster Management Office Loti Yates said they should breathe into a mask or handkerchief and wear protective clothing and glasses while they're outside.

Mr Yates said the effects of the ash on nearby communities and flights into the province were the main concerns.

The volcano, Tinakula, which forms an uninhabited island in the northern Temotu province, roared to life at about 2am yesterday.

Villages on nearby islands have reported heavy ashfall.

The director of the National Disaster Management Office in Honiara, Loti Yates, said a police patrol had been deployed from the provincial capital, Lata.

He said information had been slow to trickle out of the remote area, and it could be some time before the full situation was known.

An aviation warning has been issued for the Santa Cruz area.

The Taiwanese ambassador to Solomon Islands, Roger Luo, told the audience that leading Taiwanese solar manufacturer, Speedtech, would set up a solar panel factory in Honiara early next year.

The Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation reported him saying the arrangement followed a request by prime minister Manaseh Sogavare during a state visit to Taiwan last year.

Mr Luo said the factory would make the Solomon Islands the first country in the Pacific to manufacture solar panels.