Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Vanuatu Civil Aviation Authority says it is working to ensure domestic flights grounded since May can resume this month.

Acting director Wilfred Makaba told local media they were conscious the crisis at the national airline is affecting the people of Vanuatu.

He said they have been working with Air Vanuatu's liquidators Ernest and Young to obtain official aircraft and flight crew records.

Air Vanuatu domestic operations will only be allowed to resume if the authority can confirm they are in compliance with civil aviation safety standards.

Earlier this week, one person died when a plane operated by Air Taxi Vanuatu crashed in a plantation near the capital Port Vila.

The company's license has been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation into the incident.

(RNZ Pacific)

SAMOA POLICE DRUG TESTS

Samoa police officers will be the first public servants to undergo drug testing which could be as early as September this year.

Police Commissioner Auapaau Logoitino Filipo supports the idea and says they're refining internal policies to enable officers to undertake this crucial check.

The Samoa Observer reports drug testing for law enforcement officers and other government officials has been a hot topic in the House with parliamentarians urging leaders to lead by example and make it mandatory.

One of the issues looked at is the cost of administering the tests which has been touted as costing $100 tālā per test.

Last month, a corrections officer at the Tanumalala prison was charged with possession of methamphetamine after he allegedly tried to give a ziplock bag containing meth to another officer.

Asked who will fund the drug testing, Auapaau said it will come out of their budget and have received confirmation from local medical practitioners that they can do the testing.

(RNZ Pacific)

SNAPCHAT FOUNDER VISITS PNG

Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel has just visited the autonomous Papua New Guinea region of Bougainville.

Spiegel, who was the world's youngest billionaire in 2015, was retracing the steps of his grandfather, who fought with US troops in a major battle at Hill 700 in Torokina during World War Two.

The Post-Courier reported he arrived aboard his superyacht last week and spent two days with the local community.

Spiegel whose net worth this year according to Forbes is US$3.1 billion made a US$1,000 donation to the development of a new Torokina High School.

During the fight for Hill 700, in March of 1944, the Japanese were reported to have suffered heavy losses with the Americans counting more than 300 bodies in the zone.

(RNZ Pacific)

VANUATU LAND DIVING

This week marks the last jump of the season at one of the renowned Nangol land diving sites, on the southern part of Pentecost Island at Ratap village, in Vanuatu.

Men jump off wooden towers around 20 to 30 metres (66 to 98 ft) high, with two tree vines wrapped around the ankles.

Tourists flock to southern Pentecost Island to watch the ritual.

One tour operator said earnings dropped significantly this year because of the Air Vanuatu crisis.

This season, the only tourists they received were those arriving by yachts; there were just over 20 yachts.

(RNZ Pacific)

HUMAN BONES FOUND IN CNMI

The CNMI's Department of Public Safety plans to seek assistance from the FBI following the discovery of human bones.

Two sets of human remains have been found in northern Saipan.

The Historic Preservation Office identified one set as being consistent with the World War II era.

However, an incomplete set of bones appears to be less than 20 years old and officials are unsure if they belong to one or more individuals.

The Department of Public Safety wants help from the FBI to get advanced laboratory analysis to gain more clarity on the findings.

(RNZ Pacific)

NZ MEDICAL TREATMENT

Fourteen children from four Pacific countries will receive life-saving paediatric cardiac surgery in Fiji this month, through an innovative new initiative under the New Zealand Medical Treatment Scheme (NZMTS).

Children from Samoa, Vanuatu, Kiribati and Tuvalu will receive treatment in Suva under the Uto Bulabula – Healthy Hearts initiative this year.

Funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and coordinated by the Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) Group, the Uto Bulabula – Healthy Hearts initiative will bring 35 doctors, nurses, and technicians from New Zealand’s Hearts4Kids Foundation to Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital in Suva to deliver critical cardiac care to children as young as 7-months-old.

It will be the largest mission undertaken in the history of the New Zealand Medical Treatment Scheme, which has been facilitating life-saving care for people in Pacific countries for over 30 years.

PMAG CEO, Debbie Sorensen, says the Uto Bulabula – Healthy Hearts initiative was developed after discussions with partner countries revealed a regional healthcare gap that called for a regional solution.

“When we asked each of our Pacific country partners about their priorities for their funding allocation under the NZMTS, most of them told us that there was a significant need for paediatric cardiology care. But they also recognized that bringing children to New Zealand for cardiac care is incredibly expensive.

Dr Kirsten Finucane, former Head of Paediatric and Congenital Cardiac Surgery at Starship and Auckland Hospitals, will lead the volunteer Hearts4Kids medical team, which has been treating children in Fiji since 2014.

She described how the Uto Bulabula – Healthy Hearts initiative will help to grow Heart4Kids’ reach across the region, in a Pacific-led way.

“It has always been a dream that we could try and get children from other Pacific countries into Fiji for treatment. The project has a huge amount of value.

(TP Plus)

TONGA COASTAL RESILIENCE PROJECT

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board has approved a US$22.66 million grant for Tonga’s Coastal Resilience Project, supplemented by US$1.2 million in co-financing from the Government of Tonga and US$63,000 from the UN Development Program (UNDP).

This initiative aims to build the long-term resilience of vulnerable coastal communities and transformative adaptation to the direct impacts of climate change in Tonga spearheaded by the Government of Tonga's Department of Climate Change under the Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Climate Change and Communications (MEIDECC), with the support of the UNDP.

The project approval marks a significant milestone in addressing climate impacts in Tonga and it builds upon Tonga’s Joint National Adaptation Plan 2 on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management (JNAP2) 2018-2028 and the Tonga Strategic Development Framework (TDSF) II, 2015–2025.

Key components of the project include strengthening knowledge, capacity and engagement for incorporating climate risks into long-term adaptation planning, through a multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder engagement and dialogue platform and the development of participatory climate risk-informed plans at the village and district levels. 

Additionally, the project will reinforce national and local capacities for effective monitoring and assessment of climate risks. The project will also implement coastal protection measures in vulnerable areas like Hahake to mitigate climate hazards.

Indirectly, this coastal resilience project will impact nearly the entire population of Tonga, providing the Government of Tonga with better tools and strategies for climate adaptation. In the long-run, decision-making for land use and development planning will be improved to reduce vulnerability to climate hazards, while strengthening community capacities to manage and adapt to climate risks.

Aligned with Tonga’s national priorities and contributing to global efforts to spur transformative climate solutions in most vulnerable regions, the approval of the Tonga Coastal Resilience Project underscores the commitment of the GCF and UNDP to support small island developing states in their fight against climate change.

The project’s implementation is expected to begin in 2025.

(United Nations)

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Fiji still does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking.

While Fiji is making significant efforts to crack down on trafficking, the US State Department's latest human trafficking report says more work is needed.

The report found children were at risk of being forced into labor in agriculture, retail and other sectors.

Rising levels of poverty is also an issue giving way to Fijian children being exploited in commercial sex.

"Some Fijian men reportedly marry women from Nepal and Pakistan and exploit them in domestic servitude in Fiji," the report states.

fijivillage.com reported Fiji has been downgraded to tier two of the Trafficking in Persons Report Tier which means more work is needed.

(RNZ Pacific)