The British High Commissioner, (front centre), the Police Commissioner, (front left in white) and UNDP Representatives alongside officers at the training Photo: RNZ Pacific / Autagavaia Tipi Autagavaia
Samoa ministry reconsidering marriage ban
A shortage of officers within the Samoa Ministry of Police, Prisons and Corrections Services may see the lifting of a ban on married couples working there.
The Public Service Commission regulation applies to all government ministries, and when enforced in 2017, it affected 23 married couples who had to decide who would leave the service.
The Samoa Observer reports the Ministry has put out an advertisement for the recruitment of an additional 40 constables and 15 corrections officers.
Deputy Police Commissioner Papali'i Monalisa Tia'i-Keti said they only have 800 police officers across the country, and ideally need more than 1000 officers.
Kiribati struggling with sanitation issues
A Red Cross survey shows people in Kiribati are battling with a serious sanitation problem.
Kiribati Red Cross Society's Ruka Tearo siad the Gilbert Islands are using kerosene drums as septic tanks for waste disposal.
Tearo said these drums rot within months of usage and never get replaced afterwards.
He said the sea, or burial in the ground, is largely being used as a direct place to dispose of the waste material.
He said the lack of understanding of consequences will no doubt have an impact on the environment and health of the people.
Tearo added that building toilets, and improvement of toilet cleanliness with sanitation systems, can be a way to adapt and cope with extreme weather events so that services always function, and underground water is protected.
The Red Cross believes everyone should have access to safe sanitation by 2030.
Election petition hearing to be held on December 5
The Vanuatu Supreme Court will hear an election petition against the National United Party MP for Malekula, Sanick Assang, on December 5.
The Vanuatu Daily Post reports this follow the court's dismissal of an application by Assang to strike out the petition lodged by Vanua'aku Pati's two unsuccessful candidates in the Malekula Constituency, Gregoire Nimbtik and Fabian Gary Hanhabat Vinbel.
Assang, who was an MP in the previous government, was convicted last year on two counts of domestic violence and other offences, and given a two-year suspended sentence.
The petitioning candidates contend he should not have been allowed to stand.
The case is the first election petition to reach the Supreme Court after the country's snap election on October 13, which saw Assang winning by a margin of 112 votes from Nimbtik.
Grant will help Samoa's post-covid recovery
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Samoa Government have signed a $US7.5 million grant agreement to accelerate the country's Covid-19 recovery.
It covers fiscal management, private sector recovery, and finance sector development.
The grant will go towards developing Samoa's finance sector including the development of a central credit bureau.
"As Samoa transitions from covid-19 response to covid-19 recovery, the development of the finance sector is critical to economic recovery and we thank ADB for its support through this programme which will also support the finance sector development," said Finance Minister Mulipola Molio'o.
PNG province tackling violence and sorcery
The Enga Provincial Government in Papua New Guinea is aiming to tackle gender-based violence and sorcery.
Some of the worst violence during the recent election occurred in Enga.
The Post Courier reports deputy governor Jerry Philip has announced a new project to tackle violence at the launch of a 20-day long human rights activism programme at a local primary school.
Call to give serious consideration to fight against diabetes, obesity etc
The World Bank Director for the Pacific Islands has called on Pacific nations to apply the same efforts undertaken to battle the Covid-19 pandemic, to that of non-communicable diseases.
Speaking in Tonga, Stephen Ndegwa called the high prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and obesity in Pacific Countries, a pandemic.
He commended health authorities in Tonga and other Pacific Islands for their success in achieving relatively lower rates of covid-19 infections compared to most countries around the world.
Nuclear weapons conference opens
The Nuclear Connections Across Oceania conference has begun in Dunedin, New Zealand.
Speakers from the across the Pacific and Japan are set to critically discuss the Japanese government's plans to dump wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, beginning in early 2023.