Papua New Guinea's chief justice has sentenced three men to life in prison for a sorcery accusation related killing.
The three had participated in killing two people they accused of having used sorcery in the National Capital District in 2016.
The newspaper The National reports Sir Gibbs Salika saying he contemplated imposing the death penalty on the men, aged between 28 and 30.
Sir Gibbs Salika Photo: Loop PNG
But he said he opted against it because the killers acted on their belief in sorcery in a way they thought was benefitting their community.
Meanwhile, in a separate case a National Court judge sentenced a 31-year old to 25 years in jail for a sorcery accusation-related killing.
Concerns in Fiji at sale of self-testing Covid-19 kits
There's major concern about the sale of Covid-19 test kits and medication to treat the disease in some Fijian pharmacies.
Fiji's Consumer Council is warning people against purchasing and using Antigen Rapid Detection Tests which are self-testing Covid-19 kits.
The council's chief executive, Seema Shandil, said covid tests need to be conducted by qualified medical professionals to ensure they're done properly and safely.
The council also found some pharmacies have been selling prescribed medications to consumers without a doctor's prescription - under the pretence that the medication can treat Covid-19.
Samoa police patrol remains grounded on coral reef
Forty-three thousand litres of fuel was pumped out of the Samoa police patrol boat, now grounded on the coral reef at the channel into Salelologa wharf at Savaii.
Samoa Observer reports the Minister of Police, Faualo Harry Schuster, confirmed the badly damaged Nafanua II had been subject to the remediation work last Thursday as it awaits the salvage company.
Faualo says a meeting had been held with the Australian authorities seeking assistance in terms of security arrangement and salvaging, the boat that was only commissioned in 2019.
The officer that captained the boat has already been placed under suspension pending an internal investigation from the Police Tribunal on the incident.
Cook Islands declares dengue outbreak over
The Cook Islands has confirmed that the dengue outbreak is officially over.
There have been no confirmed cases reported in the last four weeks.
The most recent Dengue Type-2 outbreak was declared in early February.
A total of 219 probable/confirmed cases were recorded and there were 61 hospital admissions due to dengue.
The Ministry of Health is urging the public that while the dengue outbreak has now been declared over, they must still remain vigilant.
Secretary of Health Bob Williams says people must keep their yards and outdoor areas clean and eliminate potential mosquito resting and breeding sites.
American Samoa to tests its preparations before commercial flights start.
The American Samoa Covid-19 task force has scheduled two more medical charters for this month including one that will be used as a "test flight" bringing in up to 100 passengers.
Task force chairman, lieutenant governor Talauega Eleasalo Ale, said the test flight will bring about 50 to 100 passengers to test local preparations before commercial flights resume next month.
He said quarantine would no longer be required in Honolulu when the flights start, although travellers will be required to quarantine locally.
A surge of Covid-19 cases across the U.S from the delta variant delayed the restart of commercial flights this month.