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Pacific News In Brief For 23 April
Samoa - murder
Police in Samoa have charged a man with murder following the fatal stabbing of a disabled teenager in Upolu over Easter.
The Samoa Observer reported the mutilated body of a 14-year-old girl was found behind a house in Saleimoa on Saturday morning.
Police Commissioner Auapaau Logotino Filipo told the newspaper that a 29-year-old man had been remanded in custody to appear in court in two weeks.
Samoa - dengue
Samoa's Ministry of Health declared another dengue outbreak on Thursday.
The Ministry of Health reported 15 confirmed cases, with nine of those being in the previous two weeks.
The ABC reported the most-affected areas are north-west of Upolu.
Dengue outbreaks are also in place in Tonga and parts of Fiji.
Samoa's Ministry of Health had deemed its last outbreak over in August 2024.
Tonga
A political storm is brewing in Tonga over the repayment of a US$190 million loan from China, originally borrowed to build back after the deadly 2006 pro-democracy riots.
The money has also been spent on major projects like the renovation of the royal palace, an upgrade of Nukualofa wharf, and loans to local businesses to help them rebuild.
With the loan repayments now due, debate is intensifying over how previous governments handled the funds.
ABC reported the Lowy Institute calling it a millstone around Tonga's neck, with the kingdom's debt levels ranked among the highest in the world.
Guam - indictments
Five employees of the Guam Homeland Security Office's Civil Defence office, including its head, have been indicted over payroll anomalies and summoned to answer the charges in court.
The Pacific Islands Times reported the five will appear in court on 1 May.
They were indicted on misdemeanor charges of "certifying officer malfeasance," official misconduct, and crime against the community.
One person is facing an additional charge of tampering with public records as a third-degree felony for allegedly falsifying government documents.
Pacific - health
A UN Committee has called for further steps to decriminalize abortion in Solomon Islands.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women held a session in Fiji this month.
The committee commended Solomon Islands on legislative and policy reform to promote gender equality.
But it also acknowledged the need for meaningful reparations for the gender-based violence and discrimination experienced by women during the ethnic tensions of 1998-2003.
It also called for further steps to decriminalize abortion, as part of a broader commitment to ensuring women's sexual and reproductive health and rights.
For Tuvalu, the committee noted the intersection of gender and climate justice, but also the cultural and gender stereotypes that have led to a lack of women's participation in political decision-making bodies.
The committee welcomed Fiji's efforts to increase social protection and combat violence against women and girls, but also expressed concern about the deeply entrenched gender stereotypes.
Pacific - seabirds
The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has organised the first-ever Oceania Seabird Symposium, held at the University of Auckland.
SPREP's deputy Director General Easter Chu Shing said not much is known about the great threats to seabirds and the idea was to give it more focus and attention.
She said a key focus of the symposium was highlighting traditional knowledge and the cultural aspects of seabirds.
Chu Shing said her organisation would be looking at the outcomes of the discussion to see how it would inform the work underway by SPREP, and also the work of its partners.
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