protest

The midwives said they are overworked, stressed and underpaid.

Just over two percent of the country's midwives are of Pacific descent but the workload is often heavier because Pacific mothers tend to experience more complicated births.

One of two Pasifika representatives on the national College of Midwives, Trish Taihia, said they end up working many more hours to offer appropriate cultural care, but their pay doesn't adequately recompense them.

President Vladimir Putin arrived in Kemerovo earlier and blamed "criminal negligence" for Sunday's blaze.

Relatives say dozens of people - including children - are still missing.

Investigators say the fire alarm was switched off and exits blocked. Four people have been charged.

Another detained suspect - a guard from a private security firm - will be charged shortly, Russia's Investigative Committee says.

A national day of mourning will be observed on Wednesday.

On Saturday about 200 people marched through Apia protesting against the Lands Title Registration Act 2008, which they claim violates customary land rights by breaking communal land into individual titles.

The government denies the law infringes on customary rights, saying it only applies to freehold land.

RNZI reports the march was well attended by both the public and a high police presence.

The march ended at Mulinu'u where speeches were made expressing public concern about the possibility of land falling into the hands of foreign investors.

Pacific Islanders are increasingly speaking out over their concern about reports of human rights abuses in Indonesia's Papua region, and the cause of West Papuan self-determination aspirations.

A protest supporting West Papua's independence was staged during the summit outside the Forum's venue in Samoa's capital Apia, which upset Jakarta.

Sapolu joined a vocal group of supporters of the Free West Papua Movement in a peaceful protest this morning outside Sheraton Aggie Greys Hotel in Apia, which is the venue of the 48th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Summit.

“We have to stand up because if we don’t, no one will. Let us talk about the freedom for the indigenous people of West Papua, of all Pacific islands, Unasa told journalists.

Sapolu joined a vocal group of supporters of the Free West Papua Movement in a peaceful protest this morning outside Sheraton Aggie Greys Hotel in Apia, which is the venue of the 48th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Summit.

“We have to stand up because if we don’t, no one will. Let us talk about the freedom for the indigenous people of West Papua, of all Pacific islands, Unasa told journalists.

More than 2,000 people marched Saturday in Bobigny, a suburban town nearly six miles (9.2 kilometers) northeast of the French capital. They chanted and carried signs demanding justice for a 22-year-old man who says he was sodomized by a police officer's baton.

The demonstrations turned violent when a few hundred protesters broke away from the march and began rioting, police said. They smashed windows, set cars and trash cans on fire and attacked law enforcement personnel, who responded by firing tear gas into the crowd.

Demonstrators gathered in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane to express shock at footage showing indigenous boys being tear-gassed.

The video also shows a boy wearing a "split hood" while cuffed to a chair.

Australia's Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has called for an investigation.

However, he rejected calls for a broader national inquiry.

Around 700 people rallied in Melbourne and 300 in Sydney, according to Reuters.

Footage of the abuse first emerged on national broadcaster ABC's Four Corners programme.

The sculpture was a small landmark in St. Petersburg, a city noted for its striking architecture. It is not clear who removed it last week, although a group which identified itself as Cossacks claimed responsibility. City authorities said they have found fragments of it amid construction refuse.