Kiribati and Samoa entered lockdowns Saturday after overseas arrivals brought Covid to the Pacific island nations that had avoided the worst of the pandemic for two years. Until this month, Kiribati hadn’t reported a single virus case, while Samoa had only recorded two since the pandemic began, according to the World Health Organization. But authorities in both countries have been forced to put in place stay-at-home orders after the virus was detected in international arrivals. […]
Tag: Kiribati
Syrian national nabbed at NAIA for using Kiribati passport instead– BI
(Eagle News)—-A Syrian national was arrested after he allegedly tried to enter the country using a Kiribati passport, the Bureau of Immigration said on Friday, March 1. BI Port Operations Chief Grifton Medina said Al Naasan Ibrahim was arrested upon his arrival from Malaysia at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Feb. 22. This was after he allegedly admitted to being Syrian, and to merely paying US$5,000 to a Jordanian national based in Siem Reap, Cambodia […]
Aerial search for Pacific ferry survivors suspended
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — The aerial search for survivors from a ferry that sank in the remote Pacific was suspended Friday with more than 80 people still missing, many of them children, officials said. “The Kiribati government has suspended aerial searches for survivors of the ferry MV Butiraoi,” Rescue Coordination Center New Zealand said in a statement. The Butiraoi set off January 18 on a two-day voyage with 88 people aboard, including 23 children and teenagers. […]
‘Youngest and brightest’ lost in Pacific ferry disaster
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Many children and teenagers are among those missing after a ferry sank in the remote Pacific, official figures have revealed, with victims described as their region’s “youngest and brightest.” Radio Kiribati reported late Wednesday that a council survey of Nonouti island, where the ferry departed on January 18, showed there were 88 people aboard. It said they included 10 children of primary age and 13 high school students. The youngsters […]





