Lorenzo Lemalu, who was shot dead in Vietnam last week. (Supplied)
Photo: ABC / Supplied
Samoa
The bank acounts of three more people in Samoa have been frozen as police investigate a gang-related murder in Vietnam.
The Samoa Observer reports that the Central Bank immobilised accounts belonging to a New Zealander, an Australian and an American citizen.
Samoan national Joseph Vaa has confessed to gunning down suspected “Coconut Cartel” leader Lorenzo Lemalu Tovia in Ho Chi Minh City two weeks ago.
Another Samoan, Steve Tofa, has admitted being his accomplice.
Police froze accounts belonging to the accused and four others last week.
Tonga
Tonga’s Deputy Prime Minister Viliame Latu has been acquitted in an electoral bribery case.
Kaniva Tonga reports that a former cabinet minister alleged he paid a town officer a substantial sum during the election campaign last November.
However, the Supreme Court recently cleared him of the allegation.
The court is yet to release its judgement explaining the grounds for the acquittal.
Fiji
The Fijian government is urging workers employed in the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme not to disengage from their approved employment and support arrangements.
This comes amid public criticism of pastoral care and support in the scheme, after a video of a former PALM worker living under a bridge in Sydney went viral.
The country’s Employment Ministry has confirmed the worker was sent to Australia in 2023 to the meat processing sector in New South Wales.
The ministry said it is working through its Country Liaison Officers in Australia to establish contact with the person and assess what assistance may be available.
Vanuatu
Climate change minister Ralph Regenvanu has declared an El Nino watch, and called on communities to prepare.
Scientists have advised that a El Niño weather event is expected over the Pacific, from this month.
An El Niño phase creates more than average rainfall in the central Pacific, but less rainfall – and more drought – in the western Pacific.
The Vanuatu Daily Post reports Minister of Water Resources, Rick Tchamako Mahe, assuring Parliament that a response plan is in place to address any water shortages during El Niño.
Solomon Islands
The new Solomon Islands government has revoked all licenses for buying, selling and exporting gold mined in the country.
Prime Minister Matthew Wale says a new state owned enterprise will become the sole gold dealer in the Solomons.
The International Monetary Fund says gold production is one of the biggest drivers of economic growth for the Solomon Islands.
But Mr Wale says there has been quote “so much theft from our country” when it comes to gold.
His plan is to create a government-owned monopoly over the gold trade, ensuring that profits are public, while the Central Bank becomes the sole exporter internationally.
He says they will also move to have greater transparency and certainty on the price of minerals down the line.
The Solomon Islands has one major gold mine, the Hong-Kong led joint venture Gold Ridge on Guadalcanal.
