PNG's main political parties gear up for general election
Papua New Guinea's major political parties are gearing up across the nation as the final countdown to the issue of writs ticks over.
The ruling Pangu Pati held its convention in Lae, at its traditional
stronghold of Morobe Province.
At the same time, the National Alliance party held its candidates' induction and commissioning conference in Port Moresby.
Although the two political party heavyweights are partners in the current coalition government, party lines will be drawn once the writs are issued.
Last week, opposition leader Belden Namah held a three-day convention in Port Moresby for his PNG Party.
The National Party convention was also held in Port Moresby.
In Lae, Prime Minister James Marape announced that all of Pangu's 40 sitting MPs would be automatically endorsed
The National Alliance has confirmed that they will be fielding 61 candidates, four of them women.
The People's National Congress is understood to be fielding more than 60 candidates.
Party leader and Ialibu-Pangia MP Peter O'Neill is confident in forming and leading the next government.
United Labour Party leader and Deputy Prime Minister Sam Basil hosted his party convention last weekend, also vowing to form a government.
With the deferral of the issue of writs, it is expected more party events will take place before the election campaign fever kicks.
Former AG suing Samoa's PM
Former Samoa attorney general, Savalenoa Mareva Betham Annandale, is suing Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa over her dismissal last year.
She is claiming according to the Samoa Observer, that her termination was 'unlawful and unconstitutional.'.
She served 14 months of a three-year contract.
In the wake of election-related petitions and back and forth claims and counterclaims between the new FAST Party government and the opposition HRPP, Savalenoa's performance as AG was called into question.
In August last year, Fiame questioned why the attorney general had failed to take action after opposition attacks on the judiciary.
The friction created between the two reached the point where the attorney general was first suspended and then sacked.
Samoa's Deputy PM complains to the speaker about HRPP members
Samoa's Deputy Prime Minister has lodged a complaint with the Speaker of Parliament over public statements made by HRPP members Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi.
Tuala Iosefo Ponifasio believes the pair had committed numerous breaches of the Standing Orders - the written rules of procedure that provide for the conduct of proceedings in the House.
Tuala asked the Speaker to refer the matter to a Privileges and Ethics Committee.
In a press conference last week Tuilaepa rejected the content of the complaint, saying it is foolish, baseless and a waste of time.
The Speaker told the two HRPP members to make written responses by Monday afternoon.
PNG's largest bank closes 30 accounts of logging firms
News that Papua New Guinea's largest bank has closed the accounts of 30 logging companies operating in the country has been welcomed.
The advocacy groups, Act Now! and Jubilee Australia, say Bank South Pacific closed the accounts because of concerns of money laundering.
Act Now's Eddie Tanago said his organisation welcomes moves to restrict financing in the logging sector, which, he said, has been identified by the Bank of PNG as a high-risk sector for money laundering.
A report last year by both advocacy groups, called "The Money Behind the Chainsaws," detailed how PNG's commercial banks provided at least $US83 million dollars in credit to the five largest exporters of tropical logs since 2000.
The report highlighted evidence of illegal activity and human rights abuses in the sector and called on banks in PNG to stop financing companies involved in logging.
Cook Islands PM officially endorses the Vaima'anga project
Cook Islands Prime Minister, Mark Brown. Photo: Sprep/Cook Islands Government
Mark Brown said the project on the site of the old Sheraton complex is expected to create substantial employment and much-needed stimulus to the Cook Islands' economy.
The development includes a sustainable, mixed-use village with residential, short-stay, and tourist accommodation, recreational facilities, shops and markets, and eateries.
Brown said employment was needed to "revitalise" the economy in the wake of the pandemic.
The first stage of the Vaima'anga development is expected to be completed by February 2023 and includes accommodation, swimming pool facilities, tennis courts, and a tennis club for the public.
Nauru reports another case of Covid-19 at the border
Nauru has recorded another Covid-19 case at the border.
President Lionel Aingimea said the recent case was a passenger who arrived on a flight from Brisbane last Thursday.
This was the fifth recorded case and there were only two active cases on Nauru.
All other cases have recovered.
As with the previous cases, the passenger was contained in quarantine and had been transferred to the isolation wing at the local hospital.
CNMI project allow elders to share ocean stories with the young
A project in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas is allowing traditional elders to share their knowledge and stories of the ocean with young people.
The chairwoman of the Friends of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument said the project had been running for two years now.
House Representative Sheila Babauta said the experience and traditional knowledge the elders shared ensure it wouldn't be lost.
"We are working to bridge the gaps so that we can transfer this valuable information to our youth. And at the same time, we invite scholars, scientists, biologists, so that we can make that connection between traditional knowledge and science and see how we can use that and technology to move forward and become creative in ways that we engage with our ocean and our natural resources."
Babauta said the classes take place near the ocean and it was giving young people a sense of responsibility for the ocean.