Security firms clash at PNG's airport, France sends more police to New Caledonia, Samoan rehabilitation services are inundated, and more.
The Tradewinds Hotel Photo: Tradewinds
Security firms clash at PNG's airport
Papua New Guinea police are investigating violent clashes between members of rival security firms at the country's main airport.
The area around the domestic terminal of Port Moresby's Jackson's Airport became a fighting zone on Monday morning when armed guards fought each other.
About 100 guards have been arrested for the violence, which left three people injured and thousands of kina worth of damage to property.
The Prime Minister James Marape condemned the fighting and ordered for an immediate investigation to determine what happened at the airport.
Police say preliminary investigations reveal that the fighting was sparked by a change in a security contract awarded by the National Airport Corporation.
The contract has been suspended by the Corporation as a result.
Several aircraft that were ready to depart the airport were grounded as passengers in the jet watched the guards chase staff.
Flights were delayed for several hours.
France sends more police to New Caledonia
France has heeded a call by New Caledonia's Southern Province to send more police.
The overseas minister Sebastien Lecornu confirmed the deployment of another 30 special police and investigators in a letter released by the president of the Southern Province Sonia Backes.
The boost follows tension in December when riot squads fought battles with violent protestors attacking the Vale nickel plant.
The minister noted that almost 1500 French police are in New Caledonia.
He says per capita there are five times more police in New Caledonia than in rural parts of mainland France.
Second repatriated group released in American Samoa
The second repatriated group that travelled to American Samoa this month are going home today after 12 days in quarantine at the Tradewinds Hotel.
This is two days earlier than the first repatriation group which was in quarantine for 14 days.
The Department of Health announced the negative results of the second and final tests for all 188 people who arrived on 10 March.
One of the travelers left the quarantine site early when he was admitted to the LBJ Hospital last week after experiencing difficulties breathing.
A third repatriation flight is scheduled for 15 April.
Samoan rehab services under pressure
The alcohol and drug rehabilitation services in Samoa are being inundated with referrals from the courts, sometimes getting as many as 20 in one week.
But a Salvation Army spokesperson told TV1Samoa that this was normal for this time of the year.
He said many had been charged during the festive season and were now only just going through the courts.
He said the problem was getting bigger for all concerned and urged families and friends to ensure they recognised the warning signs and referred the cases to them early.
According to the Salvation Army they have had more than 800 alcohol and drugs related cases referred to them since they started work in Samoa in 2018.
CNMI cancels work reduction plan
The Northern Marianas has cancelled plans to reduce public service workforce numbers.
A half-billion-US-dollar allocation to the CNMI government coffers from Washington's American Rescue Plan meant 180 furloughed public servants could return to full-time employment.
Their employment had been hit by an ever-decreasing local government revenue collection brought about by the Covid-19 related economic crisis.
Governor Ralph Torres thanked local government employees for their sacrifice and understanding over the course of a very difficult year while working to see the community safely through the pandemic.
The Northern Marianas House of Representatives has introduced a bill to provide legislative oversight of over $US515-million for government operations under the American Rescue Plan.
Fiji has another case of Covid at the border
Fiji has recorded another border quarantine case of Covid-19.
The Health Ministry said a 55-year-old man who travelled from Papua New Guinea arrived in Fiji on a repatriation flight from Brisbane on 12 March.
The ministry said the man returned a positive test result during routine testing while undergoing a mandatory 14-day isolation at a government-supervised border quarantine facility in Nadi on the weekend.
He had been transferred to the isolation unit at the Lautoka hospital in accordance with Fiji's standard protocols for positive cases.
Fiji has had 67 Covid cases with one active case, 64 recovered and two deaths reported.