Tagata o te Moana. 2013-03-16. 17:30-18:00.

News from the Pacific presented by Johnny Blades of Radio New Zealand International.

In this week’s programme:

1. There has been continued pressure on the Fiji government to take meaningful steps to hold to account the perpetrators of torture against detainees.

2. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture says there is no excuse for the brutal treatment of tied-up detainees as seen in the Fiji video.

3. A former Fiji deputy prime minister Dr Tupeni Baba says the Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama has made excuses for delaying the release of the draft constitution.

4. In another twist in the long running case against the former governor of the Northern Marianas, Benigno Fitial has been ordered to appear in court next week to face seven charges.

5. Samoa is set to receive more foreign aid to help it recover from the devastating cyclone last year.

6. Kiribati's Ministry of Education is considering introducing a loan scheme for tertiary students, due to a shortage of scholarships.

7. French Polynesia's probe of illegal espionage begun in the 1990s by a former president, Gaston Flosse, is being abandoned.

8. New Caledonia's Department of Health says one hundred and fifty people a day are being diagnosed with dengue fever.

9. The Bank of Hawaii has changed its mind and will remain in American Samoa for another year while a replacement bank is found.