Parmod Achary. Photo: Supplied
Vanuatu - court
The Supreme Court of Vanuatu has found the general manager of the Vanuatu National Provident Fund guilty of harassment of female staff.
Justice Viran Molisa Trief established the conviction beyond reasonable doubt on Friday.
Parmod Achary had been charged with five counts of Act of Indecency without Consent and five counts of breach of Leadership Code Act.
The Daily Post reports Achary is on bail and is scheduled to appear in court on August 2 for sentencing.
New Caledonia - bomb joke
A New Caledonian man has been given a three-year suspended prison sentence in Australia for joking at the airport about a bomb in his bag.
The man has told La Premiere he was arrested in the departure area of Sydney airport after someone had overheard him jokingly saying to his friends he hoped his shaving cream canister would not explode mid-flight.
He said he was freed on bail of $AU10,000 while awaiting trial.
The court eventually gave him a suspended sentence and fined him $AU5,000.
He said police told him he wasn't banned from re-entering Australia, but was on a global watchlist.
Fiji - drug rehab
A drug rehabilitation centre is to be set up in Fiji to address a surge in drug-related crimes.
The Fiji Times reports Assistant-Commissioner of Police Sakeo Raikaci announced the plans at a workshop in Suva.
Raikaci said drug-related crimes have increased due to trafficking and addiction.
He said the programme would offer rehabilitation services including therapy and support groups.
According to Fiji Police, illicit drug cases have increased 20 percent from January to April this year compared to last year.
Samoa - domestic violence
Samoa's MPs have been dressed in black to highlight violence against women and children.
TV1Samoa reports this was in support of the Malu i Fale initiative promoting the end of domestic violence.
Research done in 2017 found 60 percent of women face some form of violence in the home, an increase from 46 percent in 2000.
Niue - scams
Niue Police are warning about a threat posed by online scammers.
Chief of Police Tim Wilson told Television Niue about $NZ30,000 was scammed from a victim who had been told a package was in Customs and needed to be cleared.
He warned that if people receive such notifications they need to contact Customs directly to confirm and make any payments directly to them.
The broadcaster said it has had reports of scammers on Facebook and Instagram pretending to be members in the community.
Solomon Islands - police
Riot control units of the Royal Solomon Island Police Force have completed a training programme organised by a police team from China.
The Solomon Star reports local officers completed the two-week intensive training course in Honiara on Wednesday.
Deputy Commissioner of National Security, Ian Vaevaso, said the training has improved the capacity and capability of the Police Force.
The exercise is part of the China-Solomon Islands Pact signed last year.
Solomon Islands - China visit
The Malaita Deputy Premier, Joe Heroau, says his recent trip to China was mainly to attend a forum convened under the theme, "building bridges of friendship and finding pathways for win-win cooperation."
Heroau said ways to strengthen the diplomatic friendship between Solomon Islands and China were considered; as well as to expand economic opportunities and pave the way forward for sustainable development and progress in Malaita.
The Solomon Star reports Heroau as saying Malaita is looking to explore more development opportunities with China under the bilateral agreement that Solomon Islands entered with Beijing in 2019.
Palau - underwater features
Palau has named 63 undersea mounts and basins outside its Exclusive Economic Zone.
The Palau archipelago is part of the extended underwater ridge that connects directly with Japan, known as the Palau-Kyushu Ridge.
The Island Times reports naming the underwater features is a necessary part of the application process for extending the country's continental shelf.
This particular area of the ocean has been frequented by China research vessels in the last four years, and China has also named some of the sea mounts.
The Law of the Sea Convention allows a atate to conduct economic activities for a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baseline, or the continental margin where it extends beyond 200 nautical miles.
Sharks - decline
Reef sharks are at a much higher risk of extinction than previously thought.
This is according to a new study published in the journal Science.
The study looked at the numbers across 391 coral reefs in 67 nations and territories around the world.
Five of the most common reef shark species have experienced a decline of between 60 and 73 percent.
It found as reef sharks deplete in numbers, rays begin to dominate ecosystems.
