New Caledonia

Fire destroys traditional building at New Caledonia's Kanak Senate

Firefighters rushed to the site in Nouville outside Noumea but failed to prevent the building's destruction.

The public prosecutor said a 29-year-old man Kanak was arrested and confessed to using a lighter to set the structure ablaze.

The man was reportedly upset with Kanak leaders over a lack of support to get electricity to a nearby shantytown.

He was reportedly also drunk at the time

He is due to be tried on Tuesday and risks to be jailed for up to 10 years.

New Caledonia lifts remaining Covid-19 restrictions

This means that from Monday meetings of any size as well as all sports competitions are again allowed.

The wearing of masks on public transport can be discontinued and bars and restaurants no longer need to register patrons.

The president Thierry Santa said there was no local circulation of the virus and that all 21 cases were imported.

One person is still in hospital care.

The border remains closed except for flights from Wallis and Futuna which is the only French-run territory without any Covid-19 case.

New Caledonia island flight ban extended until Tuesday

The island's chiefs reconfirmed their decision to prevent Air Caledonie from landing because the carrier hiked the return fare for Noumea flights by $US7.

The chiefs on neighbouring Lifou started the action against Air Caledonie by closing the island's airport two weeks ago.

The fare protest has not been extended to Ouvea or the Isle of Pines.

The chiefs argued that islanders should not be charged more but that shareholders should make up for the airline's woes.

Another New Caledonia airport hit by protest

The domestic carrier Air Caledonie raised its return fares from Noumea by almost $US7 dollars when it restarted its service earlier this month.

The airline was grounded since March because of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The chiefs on Lifou already forced the island's airport to close last Friday, saying it would remain shut until the fare hike was rescinded.

They said the shareholders should wear the extra costs, and not the island's population.

The chiefs on Mare said they would block flights until there was a compromise.

New Caledonia extends Covid-19 lockdown

The decision was announced after talks involving medical experts, the French High Commission, the government and the customary Senate.

The extension was the second time that a week had been added to the original lockdown declared on 19 March.

From 20 April the emergency measures will be changed, with details of what will be eased to be announced in the course of next week.

The customary Senate had been in favour of extending the restrictions for longer while some leaders in the mainly Kanak Loyalty Islands province asked for the terms of confinement to be relaxed.

Group without lockdown accommodation concerned for older members

When the Ta'ofi Ke Ma'u performance troupe left their home island of Wallis in the Pacific they had no idea that what was going to be a nine-day trip would become a trip with no definite end date in sight.

The group of 25, who travelled to Auckland to perform at the Pasifika Festival on 13 March, have been stranded here since Covid-19 restrictions on gatherings forced its cancellation.

"We were so excited to come here, and so most of us it was the first trip outside of Noumea," said Niuola Petelo, 64, the group's president.

COVID-19: Ninth case in New Caledonia confirmed

Few details have been released but a government spokesperson said the last three cases related to either people who had arrived in the territory or had been in contact with people confirmed to have carried the virus.

More than 1000 people have been in isolation in hotels, but some of them have been allowed to leave under strict conditions.

Restrictions on movements have been in force in the French territory since Monday midnight.

New Caledonia records fifth Covid-19 case, ban on meetings start tonight

The order was announced by the president Thierry Santa and the French High Commissioner Laurent Prevost after two more infections were confirmed.

One case concerns a local pharmacist in her 60s who has not travelled recently, which means the virus is now considered to be in circulation in the community.

Since the announcement, a fifth Covid-19 has been confirmed.

The new regulations ban public and private meetings and entail the closure of non-essential businesses.

Supermarkets and pharmacies are allowed to remain open.

Sixth Covid-19 case in Tahiti, two in New Caledonia

Earlier in the day, the authorities said there was one case in Moorea and one in Tahiti.

In an updated statement, the government said a third had been confirmed Thursday.

The individual is reported to be a European tourist who arrived two days ago.

Last week, the first tourist was hospitalised with the virus after falling ill on the atoll of Fakarava.

The French High Commissioner Dominique Sorain said access will be tightened and only residents are now allowed to enter French Polynesia.

New Caledonian resident tests positive for coronavirus

The 80-year old man and his wife had been confined to their cabin on the Diamond Princess for 11 days.

His wife told the French radio station RTL that on receiving the test result he was taken to a hospital whose address she didn't know.

She said her husband showed no symptoms of the illness, but further tests were planned to confirm the diagnosis.

She says they both took all the precautions but still her husband caught the virus.

Almost 220 people onboard the cruise ship off Yokohama have tested positive to the coronavirus.