Page 7 - IB January 2022

Briefs Briefs

tive for COVID. Col. Pugsley says protocols have since been
reviewed.
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has
warned of a rapid spread of COVID-19 infections after the en-
Nauru try of six positive people into the country at Pelau in Ontong
Nauru needs more frontline health care workers, and Java. Personnel have since been sent to the area to try and
their recruitment is being fast-tracked, says President Lionel bring the outbreak under control and movement is banned
Aingimea. He says Nauru’s children also need to be vaccinated into Ontong Java. It is believed the outbreak is the result of
before the country reopens its borders. Nauru has achieved an illegal border crossing.
97% vaccination of the eligible adult population.

Tonga
Before being called on to lead Tonga’s response to its vol-
Niue canic eruption this month, new Prime Minister, Siaosi Sovaleni
Air Rarotonga has suggested a new direct service between and other MPs were told that COVID-19 continued to pose a
Niue and Rarotonga could launch by the middle of this year. risk to the Kingdom, alongside illegal drugs. “The challenge
“We have now just about completed the approval process for the duration of this next election period is clear,” King
to allow operations with our Saab 340Bs, which changes the Tupou VI said during the opening session of parliament. “Fuel
dynamic quite a bit,” says the airline’s managing director, can be offset to a certain extent with renewable energy
Ewan Smith. priorities but Government must support local production of
foods, [and] legislate and protect fledging primary industries
like agriculture and fisheries.”
Palau
Palau has signed up with Cryptic Labs to launch its Digital
Residency program. Cryptic Labs is a blockchain research Tuvalu
institute and commercial accelerator. “This launch marks the Circular Metals Tuvalu has applied to the International
first time global citizens can claim blockchain digital resi- Seabed Authority (ISA) to approve a work plan for exploration
dency backed by a sovereign entity, which acts as a digital for polymetallic nodules (containing nickel, copper, cobalt
identity with the functionality and validity of global sover- and manganese) in the Pacific’s Clarion-Clipperton Zone. The
eignty,” the partners say. A law passed in December charges ISA will consider the application when it meets in March.
US$100 for the digital ID, renewable annually. Circular Metals Tuvalu is sponsored by the Tuvalu government,
in a move which has surprised former prime minister, Enele
Sopoaga.
Papua New Guinea
The National Fisheries Authority plans to rehabilitate its
properties at Voco Point to create a hub for fishing communi- Vanuatu
ties in Morobe and neighbouring provinces. The K105 million The European Commission may suspend its agreement
project will include retail shops, space for catering firms, a with Vanuatu allowing citizens visa-free travel due to what
waterfront facility for landing, unloading and the sale of fresh it perceives as risks posed by Vanuatu’s investor citizenship
fish. (golden passport) scheme. The schemes allow citizens of third
countries to obtain Vanuatu citizenship for a US$130,000 +
investment. The EU is concerned that citizenship has been
granted to persons on Interpol’s databases, that the screening
Samoa time is too short, that the rejection rate is very low, and that
Samoa’s assistant Electoral Commissioner has been arrested it welcomes nationals of some countries excluded from similar
on drug charges. Police have confirmed Faumui Daryl Mapu schemes. Vanuatu’s program has been an important source of
was arrested along with a 29-year-old female employee of revenue for the nation.
the electoral commission office and charged with possession
of narcotics. Acting Police Commissioner Papalii Monalisa Keti Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea have had their voting rights
said four illegal pistols, including a revolver, two rifles, $2900 at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly suspended over
tālā cash, methamphetamine and several laptops were confis- unpaid dues. Vanuatu needs to pay “less than” $US75,000 to
cated during the raid. restore its voting rights while PNG owes over US$700,000 ac-
cording to local media. Both nations have previously had their
voting rights suspended for the same reason.

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