Articles Search

New Caledonia's Nickel Fund has released almost $US500,000 in a one-off payment to repair flood damage in Houailou. The town on the main island's east coast was hit by unprecedented downpours in November when eight people perished in the floods. The Fund was set up to help the territory's nickel industry through difficult times. Last week, the Congress approved half a million US dollars to help the town's nickel sector.

The number of dengue virus cases has hiked to 359 as of the end of December 2016, the Ministry of Health (MoH) has reported. From this figure, 66 are confirmed cases while the rest are suspected to have the virus. A statement from the MoH informed that results of blood samples that were sent to New Zealand for further tests were received on December 9, 2016, and it revealed that two cases are confirmed to be tested positive with Dengue Serotype 2. There are 4 distinct, but closely related, serotypes of the virus that cause dengue (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4).

Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services Commissioner Clyde Norita says the CNMI has no 911 system. “All it is is 234-0911. That’s the number, and it has five to six lines, with one more line on Rota and another on Tinian,” said Norita during a media conference last week regarding the recent Susupe fire incident. Norita said there are problems when answering 911 calls due to the “rotary system.” Sometimes, he added, if people from Rota call 911 it gets answered on Saipan.

The public prosecutor in New Caledonia has closed the investigation into last October's fatal shooting of a prison escapee William Decoire near Noumea. The probe upheld the initial findings that the 23-year-old man was shot by a police officer acting in legitimate self-defence. William Decoire was at the wheel of a stolen vehicle when he was stopped by police but was shot after trying to evade by running over an officer.