POLICE BRIEFS

Vanuatu no confidence vote confusion

PORT VILA, Vanuatu (PIR) –There’s confusion over whether Tuesday’s scheduled vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Barak Sope and the current government will take place.

Sope has announced that he has started legal proceedings against the majority 27 Members of Parliament who signed the no confidence motion for defamation of character.

The wording of the motion alleges that the prime minister has connections with international criminals.

As a result, the no confidence vote in Parliament that could bring down the present government may be delayed.

$5M BOH credit line for A. Samoa gov’t

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa (PIR) — Lawmakers have passed legislation that would allow the territorial government to negotiate a $5 million credit line with the Bank of Hawai’i.

Governor Tauese Sunia is expected to sign the measure into law next week.

“This credit line is necessary to protect against fluctuating and inconsistent revenue streams,” the governor said.

“While over the course of the fiscal year, the total of projected revenues may be received, the funds do not come in at consistent levels, but are subject to ‘peaks’ and ‘valleys’.”

The credit line is essential, he said, because the government is having trouble coming up with the cash necessary to cover its payroll every two weeks.

Exodus of Fijian doctors due to political instability

SUVA, Fiji (PIR) — At least fifteen doctors have left the country recently because of the nation’s political upheaval, and the Fiji General Practitioners’ Association fears that another five are about to leave.

Association secretary Dr. Abdul Wahid Khan said most of the doctors have migrated to Australia or New Zealand, putting immense pressure on Fiji’s health services.

New Zealand to raise whaling dispute with Japan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (PIR) — Prime Minister Helen Clark said her country’s opposition to continued Japanese whaling will be raised during her five-day visit to Japan, later this month.

Relations between Japan and New Zealand have been strained by the whaling issue, with Japan taking up to 500 whales a year as part of what it considers a scientific whaling research program.

Clark’s government strongly opposes the Japanese project, and is pursuing proposals for a Southern Pacific Ocean Whale Sanctuary through the International Whaling Commission.

Nauru to regain full power supply

YAREN, Nauru (PIR) — The government has announced that the nation soon will have a reliable electrical supply again with the installation of three new generators.

The generators, at a cost of more than $3 million, are being shipped from the United States and will be installed in June.

Nauru has suffered from intermittent power supply problems for several years.