Air Vanuatu Office, Port Vila. Photo: RNZ Pacific / Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor
Vanuatu - flights
The Vanuatu Civil Aviation Authority says it is working to ensure domestic flights grounded since May can resume this month.
Acting director Wilfred Makaba told local media they were conscious the crisis at the national airline is affecting the people of Vanuatu.
He said they have been working with Air Vanuatu's liquidators Ernest and Young to obtain official aircraft and flight crew records.
Air Vanuatu domestic operations will only be allowed to resume if the authority can confirm they are in compliance with civil aviation safety standards.
Earlier this week, one person died when a plane operated by Air Taxi Vanuatu crashed in a plantation near the capital Port Vila.
The company's license has been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation into the incident.
Papua New Guinea - cross-border
Papua New Guinea and Indonesia are set to boost cross-border transport.
Two memorandums of understanding have been signed which enable coaches, cross-border passengers and the transport of goods from Jayapura to Vanimo in PNG.
Prime Minister James Marape said his annual dialogue with Indonesia's outgoing president Joko Widodo also focused on public health issues of people living near the PNG/Indonesia border.
Fiji - trafficking
Fiji still does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking.
While Fiji is making significant efforts to crack down on trafficking, the US State Department's latest human trafficking report says more work is needed.
The report found children were at risk of being forced into labour in agriculture, retail and other sectors.
Rising levels of poverty is also an issue giving way to Fijian children being exploited in commercial sex.
"Some Fijian men reportedly marry women from Nepal and Pakistan and exploit them in domestic servitude in Fiji," the report states.
fijivillage.com reported Fiji has been downgraded to tier two of the Trafficking in Persons Report Tier which means more work is needed.
Samoa - testing
Samoa police officers will be the first public servants to undergo drug testing which could be as early as September this year.
Police Commissioner Auapaau Logoitino Filipo supports the idea and says they're refining internal policies to enable officers to undertake this crucial check.
The Samoa Observer reports drug testing for law enforcement officers and other government officials has been a hot topic in the House with parliamentarians urging leaders to lead by example and make it mandatory.
One of the issues looked at is the cost of administering the tests which has been touted as costing $100 tālā per test.
Last month, a corrections officer at the Tanumalala prison was charged with possession of methamphetamine after he allegedly tried to give a ziplock bag containing meth to another officer.
Asked who will fund the drug testing, Auapaau said it will come out of their budget and have received confirmation from local medical practitioners that they can do the testing.
Bougainville - Snapchat
Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel has just visited the autonomous Papua New Guinea region of Bougainville.
Spiegel, who was the world's youngest billionaire in 2015, was retracing the steps of his grandfather, who fought with US troops in a major battle at Hill 700 in Torokina during World War Two.
The Post-Courier reported he arrived aboard his superyacht last week and spent two days with the local community.
Spiegel whose net worth this year according to Forbes is US$3.1 billion made a US$1,000 donation to the development of a new Torokina High School.
During the fight for Hill 700, in March of 1944, the Japanese were reported to have suffered heavy losses with the Americans counting more than 300 bodies in the zone.
Vanuatu - jump
This week marks the last jump of the season at one of the renowned Nangol land diving sites, on the southern part of Pentecost Island at Ratap village, in Vanuatu.
Men jump off wooden towers around 20 to 30 metres (66 to 98 ft) high, with two tree vines wrapped around the ankles.
Tourists flock to southern Pentecost Island to watch the ritual.
One tour operator said earnings dropped significantly this year because of the Air Vanuatu crisis.
This season, the only tourists they received were those arriving by yachts; there were just over 20 yachts.
Northern Mariana Islands - bones
The CNMI's Department of Public Safety plans to seek assistance from the FBI following the discovery of human bones.
Two sets of human remains have been found in northern Saipan.
The Historic Preservation Office identified one set as being consistent with the World War II era.
However, an incomplete set of bones appears to be less than 20 years old and officials are unsure if they belong to one or more individuals.
The Department of Public Safety wants help from the FBI to get advanced laboratory analysis to gain more clarity on the findings.
