Vanuatu Climate Change Minister, Bruno Leingkon Photo: RNZ Pacific / Hilaire Bule
Vanuatu Climate Change Minister appears in court
Vanuatu's Climate Change Minister is set to appear before the magistrate court this afternoon on six charges related to an alleged breach of civil aviation regulations.
Bruno Leingkon is alleged to have been drunk on his way back to Port Vila last year while on a chartered aircraft from Santo in the northern part of Vanuatu.
It's claimed Leingkon continued to consume alcohol inside the aircraft and harassed a female pilot, resulting in her returning to land at Pekoa Airport five minutes after taking off.
Leingkon was on an official visit with Prime Minister Bob Loughman but he missed the official flight and he ordered staff to charter the private aircraft for him to return in Port Vila.
Remittances up in Samoa during pandemic
Remittances from families living in American Samoa, New Zealand and Australia continued to increase as Covid-19 devastated Samoa's economy.
The Samoa Observer newspaper reported that a December Central Bank of Samoa report indicated tourism earnings remained at zero.
However remittances increased by 0.3 percent compared to December 2019, to over $US22.6 million.
There was also an increase of around $US4.2 million over November 2019 remittances.
American Samoa remittances increased the most, followed by New Zealand and then Australia.
Total private remittances in the first six months of 2020/21 increased by 13.3 percent.
The report also said the depreciation of the Samoan tālā against both the New Zealand and Australian dollars was also partially responsible for the increase.
Cooks driver licence rules align with NZ and Australia
The Cook Islands government has announced that drivers over 60 years of age will no longer need to undergo medical and eyesight exams or re-sit their licence annually.
The changes are to bring local licence rules into line with New Zealand and Australia.
In New Zealand, a driver licence is valid for 10 years up to the age of 75 years.
After this, a licence is valid for five years then must be renewed every two years after the age of 80.
A medical certificate is required for driver licence renewal for people aged over 75 years.
Prime Minister Mark Brown said the current regulations were included in a raft of regulations associated with the need for helmets to be worn in 2016.
The changes are expected to be discussed by cabinet and passed by the Executive Council shortly.