Recent News Updates

Google Translate has added support for French Polynesia’s Reo Tahiti, among 110 other languages globally. This update includes several Pacific languages such as French Polynesia’s Reo Maohi (Tahitian), Chamorro, Marshallese, Fijian, Tongan, and Tok Pisin. The upgrade is made possible by Google’s Artificial Intelligence tool PaLM 2, covering an estimated half a billion speakers of the newly introduced languages.

In other news, a “dream team” of surfers has been announced for the upcoming Olympics Paris 2024 event at Teahupoo in Tahiti. The team includes Vahine Fierro and Johanne Defay for the women’s competition, and Kauli Vaast and Joan Duru for the men’s competition. The competition is set to take place from July 27 to August 5, with Vaast and Fierro considered as top contenders.

Additionally, a court in Papeete has ordered Tahiti’s main prison, Nuutania, to provide hot water for all inmates within the next two years. The decision came after the French Polynesia Bar Association raised concerns about the living conditions in the prison, including overcrowding and lack of basic amenities.

Furthermore, a French Polynesian specialist has been selected to join a team of volunteers to restore historic aircraft, including a disused Air Force One Presidential plane. Taianui Goubrey will be working on various aircraft at the Museum of Flight’s Restoration Center in Seattle, USA.

Lastly, New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will lead a high-level political delegation to tour the Pacific, with a focus on addressing the current unrest in New Caledonia. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Nauru, and Niue from July 1 to 6, discussing major regional issues, including the events in New Caledonia. Peters has expressed strong concern and called for peace and dialogue in the French Pacific archipelago amidst ongoing unrest.