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International aid continues to flow to Fiji

Fiji has received over US$ 72,000 worth of aid from Nauru to help those affected by Cyclone Winston.Fiji's government received the grant from Nauru's Secretary for Foreign Affairs Michael Aroi who presented it in Suva on Friday.Aroi said the people of Nauru were saddened by the loss of lives and the devastation caused by Cyclone Winston.He said Nauru was hopeful the donation would help the people of Fiji recover from the tragic ordeal.Meanwhile, the Australian Navy ship, HMAS Canberra, had been deployed to Fiji with more than 800 personnel onboard to help with the country's recovery from Cyclone Winston.The new ship, on its first disaster relief operation overseas, is loaded with engineering equipment, three helicopters, and about 60 tonnes of relief supplies including water purification equipment and medical supplies.Since the category five cyclone struck Fiji over a week ago, Australia has deployed eight air sorties to deliver personnel and approximately 84 tonnes of aid and equipment.France has deployed another of its CASA planes from New Caledonia to assist with getting aid to the country's remote outer islands.The commander of the French Armed Forces in New Caledonia, General Phillipe Leonard, says the small military planes will be best able to reach the most remote corners of the archipelago.New Zealand's High Commissioner to Fiji Mark Ramdsen said he believed the crew of the Canterbury would be huge assets in the relief efforts in Fiji.He said the scale of the disaster was a challenging one.\It is a very big task. By one estimate about 340