Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Pacific trade ministers have welcomed the draft Kava Declaration, marking a significant step toward safeguarding kava's cultural and economic importance across the region.

At a gathering in Suva, Fiji's Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica, and his counterparts supported enhanced legal protections and the development of geographical indications for kava.

Ministers tasked a technical working group with concrete next steps for a national and international geographical indication registration.

This aims to bolster kava's brand value and protecting its traditional roots.

CNMI FEDERAL TAX REVENUES

The delegate for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to the United States Congress, Kimberlyn King-Hinds, has formally asked the US Treasury to clarify how federal taxes generated in the territory are being utilized.

Delegate Kimberlyn King-Hinds sent a formal request to US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent seeking clarification.

According to Section 703(b) of the CNMI's Covenant with the US, federal income taxes and other federal revenues derived from sources in the CNMI needs to be returned to the local government.

In her letter, King-Hinds raised concerns that significant tax revenues linked to federal activity in the CNMI are not being returned to the local government as the Covenant provides.

She pointed specifically to recent Department of Defense construction projects on Tinian totaling more than $153 million. Despite the scale of federal spending, the CNMI government received only $87,000 in reported tax revenue.

"This provision was included in the Covenant to ensure that when activity happens in the CNMI, the returns from that activity are shared with the CNMI," she said.

"The people of the Northern Marianas and our government should see the benefit of economic activity occurring in their islands, especially when it is federally funded."

Section 703(b) outlines a range of federal taxes that are to be paid into the CNMI Treasury, including income taxes derived from the CNMI and taxes on goods produced or consumed in the Commonwealth.

King-Hinds noted that the provision applies regardless of where a contractor is headquartered, so long as the income is derived from work in the CNMI.

"Nearly five decades after this language was adopted, we still do not have clear implementation of this section," she said.

METH PANDEMIC

Samoa's Police Commissioner Auapa'au Logoitino Filipo is describing the widespread use and trafficking of methamphetamine as a national pandemic.

The Police, Prisons and Corrections Services has stepped up its campaign against methamphetamine.

Over recent months, police have carried out a series of targeted raids across the country, arresting people linked to the possession of methamphetamine, drug utensils, and illegal firearms.

Auapa'au said the scale of the problem now requires sustained, long-term enforcement as well as broader community support.

He said the use and distribution of meth is no longer isolated to a few cases, adding that it's spreading throughout the country and destroying lives and families.

PNG  INVESTIGATION

Seven Papua New Guinea Defence Force soldiers have fled a police investigation in Aitape in West Sepik Province.

The Post-Courier reported that the police suspect the soldiers had been hired to provide security for a candidate in the Aitape-Lumi by-election.

A search was conducted in the early hours of Tuesday to find the soldiers but they are understood to have caught a flight from Wewak to Port Moresby.

Assistant Police Commissioner Steven Francis said the soldiers were "illegally on the ground on an unauthorised mission and allegedly providing security and other activities for a candidate."

Polling is underway for the by-election and is expected to continue until 1 August.

PNG SAINT CANONIZATION

Family members of Papua New Guinea's first ever saint are preparing to travel from Australia to Rome for his canonization in October.

A catechist during the second world war, Blessed Peter To Rot, was executed by Japanese forces, for refusing to compromise on Catholic teachings regarding marriage.

A PNG Catholic community elder in Sydney, David Luke, told ABC Tok Pisin that travel preparations have begun for several of their own congregation including members of Blessed Peter To Rot's family.

Blessed Peter To Rot was beatified by Pope John Paul the second in 1995, and then cleared for canonization by the late Pope Francis, who visited PNG in September last year.

CNMI SCHOOL CUTS

Schools in the Northern Marianas are bracing for a possible fiscal cliff, according to the Board of Education.

Governor Arnold Palacios is planning substantial cuts to the education budget allocation.

The government is proposing a US$40 million dollar grant but the Public School System has requested just over 49 million dollars.

The Board of Education has testified that if the government's proposal is implemented they could be forced to declare a state of emergency in education.

(RNZ Pacific)