In brief: News from around the Pacific

American Samoa looking to reopen commercial air services with Hawaii

American Samoa is planning two flights each month until December as the territory moves to reopen commercial air service between Honolulu and Pago Pago.

The territory's acting governor, Talauega Eleasalo Ale says Hawaiian Airlines will now operate flights on a limited basis, with two flights every two months, starting with those on Monday and September 27th.

Talauega says the flights will operate every second Monday.

He also says by the end of the year if there's confidence in the vaccination rate in American Samoa and the condition of the virus in the US, the flights could become weekly.

All incoming passengers will not be quarantined in Honolulu but are all subject to quarantine in Pago Pago for up to 12 days.

The government has secured the Sadies by the Sea hotel as the second facility - to the Tradewinds Hotel - for quarantine.

Appeal to be lodged in case against Vanuatu PM and government MPs

An appeal will likely be lodged in the case against Vanuatu's prime minister and 18 other MPs in his government.

On Monday, the Vanuatu Supreme Court ruled that Bob Loughman and his colleagues would be allowed to retain their seats ending months of political uncertainty.

Their seats were declared vacant earlier this year by the former speaker of parliament after government MPs staged walk-outs over three consecutive sitting days of parliament.

The Supreme Court ruling on Monday overturning the speaker's declaration centred on vagueness in the use of the term 'absence' in the parliamentary standing orders.

The national broadcaster V-B-T-C says it's received confirmation from the former speaker's lawyer, Nigel Morisson, of instructions to appeal the ruling.

Mr Morisson says an appeal will be submitted within 30 days.

Samoa delays travel plans for RSE workers

The Samoan government has delayed travel plans for the latest group of seasonal workers to New Zealand following the delta variant outbreak there.

The Ministry of Commerce Industry and Labour Chief Executive Pulotu Lyndon Chiu Ling confirmed the delay.

Pulotu told local media that the positions to work in New Zealand are still secure.

700 hundred RSE employees from Samoa have been working in New Zealand since the beginning of the year.

He also added that the workers on a similar scheme with the Australian government are still working and are reported to be safe and well.

Samoan police investigating LynnMall terrorist's visit to the country

Samoan police are investigating a visit to the country by the LynnMall terrorist while he was a national security threat.

Last Friday, Ahmed Aathill Mohamed Samsudeen was shot dead by police in New Lynn after he stabbed six people at the Auckland shopping mall.

Samsudeen visited Samoa briefly in November 2016, when he was on a New Zealand terror watch list.

Talamua Online reports Samoa's Deputy Commissioner of Police, Au'apa'au Logoitino Filipo, saying he's surprised at Samsudeen's visit while under surveillance by New Zealand intelligence services.

It says Samoa's Transnational Crime Unit is part of cross-agency efforts to find out how Samsudeen managed to by-pass the Samoa immigration system and enter undetected.

Solomons PM reassures public after Covid-19 scare in Honiara

The Solomon Islands prime minister is reassuring the public that rumours of a new case of Covid-19 in the community are untrue.

Manasseh Sogavare says an infant with flu-like symptoms had tested positive for a type of coronavirus called 229E but it was not Covid-19.

The only cases of Covid-19 which have been identified in the country in the past few months have been aboard foreign logging vessels.

The Covid-19 oversight committee has highlighted illegal activities aboard foreign vessels in the country's waters as an area of concern for the transmission of Covid-19 into the community.

This includes local sex-workers illegally accessing foreign vessels.

The committee reiterated that it is a serious offence to board any foreign vessel anchored in the country's ports.

Guam's 154th covid death

Guam's covid-19 death toll has risen to 154 after a man died before arriving at Guam Memorial Hospital.

The fatality was an unidentified male who tested positive upon arrival without any verifiable record of COVID-19 vaccination.

Seventy-five people in Guam are in hospital with covid.

The Department of Public Health reports 325 new cases out of 1,647 tests performed on Tuesday.

Of that total, 149 cases were identified through contact tracing.

One case reported recent travel history and was identified in quarantine.

Internet gaming a future economic boost for CNMI

The Northern Marianas Governor says internet gaming will boost the Commonwealth's economy in the long term.

Ralph Torres said he supports the establishment of the new industry if a bill currently pending at the House of Representatives passes.

It is estimated that internet gaming can rake in more than US$28 million in gross gaming revenue for 2022 alone and much more thereafter.

Mr Torres said federal programmes propping up the local economy will eventually expire and the territory must find other sources of revenue for the long run.

Commonwealth Casino Commission executive director Andrew Yeom says a territory-based online gambling site could have the potential to attract up to 2.1 million online users annually.

He says the growth in online casinos is primarily due to user demand for a digital experience, Covid-19 complications around brick and mortar casinos, and more states legalising online gambling products.

Marianas receiving more covid doses

The Northern Marianas has received an order for 3,500 covid-19 vaccine doses.

The Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation said the new shipment ensures that the U.S. territory has enough doses to take it beyond the target of 80 percent inoculations.

Vaccines are ordered by the corporation directly through an online mechanism managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The corporation says the vaccines are transported from the United States to the Marianas in thermal shipper boxes containing dry ice to keep them at ultra-cold temperatures.

Meanwhile five incoming travellers were confirmed positive for Covid-19 last Friday, bringing the Mariana's total number of cases to 248.

Nauru president praises University of the South Pacific for world ranking

The President of Nauru, Lionel Aingimea, has praised the University of the South Pacific for its ranking among the world's top ten percent of universities.

The prestigious rating, by Britain's Times Higher Education, covers 16-hundred universities around the world.

Mr Aingimea has, until recently, been the USP Chancellor, and a strong supporter of the Vice-Chancellor, Pal Ahluwalia, who has been embroiled in a battle with the Fiji Government.

Mr Aingimea told the Nauru Parliament the rating is a huge achievement, given it comes amid the struggle against the pandemic and the pressure from the Fiji administration.

He says it reflects the resilience, and ethical and visionary leadership of the Vice Chancellor and his team.

The Association of USP Staff also says the recognition is enormous.

Samoa PM calls for urgent global action on climate change

Samoa's Prime Minister says the world must take urgent action on climate change or low-lying Pacific nations will face a "dire" future.

AFP reports Fiame Naomi Mata'afa gave a stark assessment of the Pacific's prospects if there's not greater effort to tackle global warming at the COP 26 meeting in Glasgow in November.

Fiame says the participants must honour the goal set in Paris in 2015 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels.

She says carbon-emitting countries needed to prioritise saving the planet over economic growth.