Teilweise neu: 2001-10-07 Contents of this issue:
1. Telehealth Grows 2. Virus Cure 3. Ship Call 4. South Seas Recognition 5. Pacific Island holiday ======================================================================== Old contents were: 1. Pacific Island holiday October 7th, 2001 1. Telehealth Grows: Samoa has joined the Northern Marianas, Guam, Palau, Hawaii and American Samoa in a network using telehealth. It came as teleconferencing was opened at the Tupua Tamasese Meaole II Hospital, Apia. Director for Health Lolofie Taulealeausumai Dr Eti Enosa and others were present at the inaugural transmission in the hospital conference room. Teleconferencing is an international connection where picture and speech is transferred instantly around the world. It is a telephone conversation with a picture speaking and seeing the person while you are talking. Lolofie said hooking up to the National University of Samoa's network enabled the link. The Samoan Government funded the link and relations between the two Samoas also made this development possible.(PINA Nius) 2. Virus Cure: If your computer continues to mail bomb everyone in your address book, then your account could be suspended. This is the message several local businesses with virus-infected computers have received from Telecom Cook Islands. "The user, once warned, is given two days to rid themselves of the virus(es). If they don't, then their account will be suspended," said Telecom Cooks Islands Information Systems Manager Robert McFadzien. Complaints from Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in New Zealand and Australia about Cook Islands users mail bombing their services resulted in Telecom Cook Islands looking at ways to stop the proliferation of viruses. "The best solution we could think of was to make people take responsibility for their machine by cleaning up. The suspension of their Oyster account, is to make them take this responsibility seriously," added McFadzien. It is a tough call but infected organisations have been cooperative. The Development Investment Board (DIB) was the recipient of one such letter. After being infected with the W.32 Sircam virus, one of their computers began sending out infected files to other Internet users.(PINA Nius) 1. Ship Call: The German cruise ship MS Bremen called at Niue for five hours Sunday. About 40 of the 70 passengers went on island tours and a bushwalk. The MS Bremen, which has a crew of 99, called at Niue two weeks ago on its way to Fiji. On its return trip the ship is calling at Rarotonga and Tahiti before heading east to the Archipel Des Marquises. 2. South Seas Recognition: A further step towards reconciliation in Australia ... not for indigenous people, but South Sea Islanders. In Brisbane the Queensland Governor has launched the perpetual Australian South Sea Islander Community Foundation. It will fund scholarships for Australian South Sea Islanders at two North Queensland universities. It's a recognition of the special role South Sea Islanders - known at the time by whites as Kanakas - played in the establishment of Queensland's prosperity, to little or no benefit of their own. (Radio Australia) 3. Pacific Island holiday destinations like Fiji, Tonga, Samoa Niue, Vanuatu, Norfolk Island, Tahiti and the Cook Islands are likely to be chosen over long haul vacation venues, say New Zealand travel agents. The agents say fewer people are booking long-haul overseas flights following the terrorist attacks in the US. Air New Zealand reports its long haul bookings are down and the airline is looking at cutting some of its international flights. Budget Travel marketing manager Paul Divers said American and European destinations in particular were now not as popular. "The drop-off is not drastic but is noticeable," he said. "That's transferring into either cancelled bookings, postponed bookings or people looking to re-route and go to destinations closer to home." Harvey World Travel general manager Rob Earles said international bookings had dropped by 10 to 15 per cent but the reduction was not as bad as it could have been. Short-haul destinations such as Australia, Asia and Pacific countries would probably lure more visitors, as would regional New Zealand, he said. Last month, the Tourism Action Group predicted a 10 per cent drop in international visitor numbers for the rest of the year as a result of the terrorist attacks. That means 59,000 fewer people would visit New Zealand __END__