US to hold military exercise in Palau, and more.
Samoa health confirms more Covid cases
The Samoa Ministry of Health has confirmed 128 more Covid-19 community transmission cases in its latest 48-hour period report.
Ten people are in managed isolation at Tupua Tamasese Meaole hospital.
The cumulative number of positive cases, including those detected at the border, is 13,924. The number of deaths remains at 27.
Of the total reported community cases, 9.7 percent are children between 0-4 years, and about 1.6 percent were reported to have been admitted.
There are no reported Covid-19-related deaths in this age group.
Conviction in Tonga under new cyber law
A controversial cyber law in Tonga, targeting social media abuse, has been enforced for the first time.
Nuku'alofa's Magistrate's court found a forty-year-old man guilty under the Electronic Communciations Abuses Offences Act, for inciting violence against two Indian expatriates on Facebook.
According to the court ruling, the offender published a video where he falsely accused the complainants of selling methamptamine at their business establishment.
The ruling found that an arson attack on the business had been encouraged by the video.
The court sentenced the defendant to a suspended eleven months jail term.
CNMI deputy governor in intensive care in Hawaii
The lieutenant governor of the Northern Marianas, Arnold Palacios, is in intensive care in Honolulu after being medivaced there on Friday.
His office says he continues to undergo tests and butit in high spirits.
Mr Palacios, who is 66, had collapsed last Tuesday while giving testimony in the criminal case against Governor Ralph Torres.
Mr Palacios, a Republican, is running for governor as an independent candidate.
Mr Torres is also standing again, this time with Senator Vinnie Sablan as his running mate.
US govt personnel return home
All of the US government personnel who were in American Samoa to help combat the community spread of Covid have now returned home.
The first group which arrived in the territory on March 4, included doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, and various US government agencies.
The official in charge of the federal team, Allison Pfaendler was conferred with an honorary matai title by Paramount Chief Mauga of Pago Pago.
She said she has no doubts that if a future Covid surge happens in the territory, the Department of Health and LBJ hospital can deal with it on their own.
"I have a lot of confidence in this organisation here to respond to future Covid surges, even without us they would have done an excellent job. They were already set up for success before we came in and we just added additional support."
As of May 30, there were 6,142 Covid cases of which 111 were active while the rest had recovered. The number of deaths has remained at 31.
American Samoa cops arrested for assault
Four police officers, including a police captain, in American Samoa, have been arrested on assault charges.
American Samoa police headquarters Photo: Supplied
Samoa News reports that the four officers are captain Margie Alofaituli, and officers, Faau Levi, Elleryquinn Histake, and Dustin Maiava.
The charges relate to a man charged with the assault of his girlfriend last year. It's alleged the man had sustained injuries at the hands of the police officers.
Our correspondent said there's no explanation in court documents as to why it took prosecutors one year to charge the four police officers.
US to hold military exercise in Palau
The U.S military will hold its first Patriot live-fire exercise in Palau next Wednesday.
The Guam Daily Post reports the Air Defence Artillery Battalion based out of Okinawa will be in the Micronesian nation conducting the exercise.
The Patriot live-fire exercise is the first of its kind to be conducted in Palau and will be followed by another first -the republic's inclusion in Operation Valiant Shield.
The post reports Palau's ambassador to the United States, Hersey Kyota, saying the growing U.S military presence in Palau is a good sign -it's a sign that Palau is important strategically to the U.S.
Kyota, one of the longest-serving ambassadors to the U.S is also the dean of the U.S Diplomatic Corps.
He said it is no secret that China is interested in building up its control of the island and the region and says the US national security council has said Palau is more important now than ever in the security interests of the US and its allies in the Indo-Pacific region.
Samoa govt criticises four different versions of the controversial Lands and Title bills
Samoa's Associate Minister of Works Transport and Infrastructure said four different versions of the controversial Lands and Title bills cannot be put down to typing errors.
Niuava Eti Malolo made this statement to parliament during deliberation on a report on the different copies of the bills that seek to revamp the judiciary.
Niuava blamed the former Minister of the Office of the Legislative Assembly, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, for the oversight that led to the different copies.
He said if the bills had gone through the normal procedures the "changes" would have been flagged.
MP Peseta Vaifou claimed that since the bills were passed near the end of the parliamentary term and there wasn't enough time to bring changes back to parliament.
But Niuava asked why the previous Government had rushed the bills.
He called it reckless, and a lack of accountability to parliament.
