Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Vanuatu has allocated US$160,000 to response efforts for the ongoing minor eruption on Ambae Island.

Local media reported Prime Minister Jothan Napat saying there is a contingency plan in place should the Ambae community need to be evacuated.

A level-three alert remains in place.

Residents have reported ashfall and acid rain throughout the island due to the plumage from the volcano.

Ashfall has also been reported on the neighboring Espiritu Santo, Pentecost and Maewo islands.

FIJI MUTINY CASE

Fiji's former Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama and ex-police chief Sitiveni Qiliho have had their plea for inciting mutiny deferred in court.

Bainimarama and Qiliho appeared in the Suva Magistrates Court on Thursday, but prosecutors were not ready to service disclosures.

Prosecutors allege that in 2023 the two encouraged senior military officers to arrest and overthrown their commander.

Bainimarama also faces a second change relating to text messages he allegedly sent to a high-ranking officer urging him to take command.

The two were remanded on bail until March 19.

SOLOMON ISLANDS CABINET

Solomon Islands' prime minister has rejected reports of another cabinet reshuffle which emerged after a purported list of a new cabinet lineup was reported by local media.

Over halfway through the four-year parliament term, Jeremiah Manele has already faced two motions of no confidence filed against his leadership.

He has also reshuffled his cabinet multiple times with the last change, involving three portfolios, last month.

But speaking to reporters on Sunday, Manele said he had no plans to make further changes to his cabinet.

FIJI KAVA

Fiji is consuming so much kava locally that it cannot meet growing demand from overseas markets.

The Fiji Sun reported Finance Minister Esrom Immanuel saying Tonga and Vanuatu had already overtaken Fiji in kava exports, largely because Fiji drinks most of what it grows.

But while Tonga and Vanuatu have moved to commercialize their kava farming, Fiji is still largely relying on traditional methods that limit how much can be produced and exported.

Immanuel said the upcoming budget would include increased funding and support for kava agriculture.

He said consultation on a new kava bill, to set quality standards and regulate exports, is underway nationwide.

The Sun reported negotiations with the US, Australia and the EU to relax restrictions on kava imports are also continuing.

SAMOA/ MARSHALL ISLANDS

Samoa and the Marshall Islands are about to be reviewed at the UN for their record on adhering to rights of people with disabilities.

Their regular reviews, before the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Geneva, both begin in the next few days.

All 193 state parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities are required to undergo regular reviews by the committee.

Eighteen independent international experts will discuss how well Samoa and the Marshalls are implementing the Convention and the committee's previous recommendations.

The committee has received country reports as well as other submissions from non-government organizations.

Samoa's review begins on Thursday, and the Marshalls begins next Monday.

GUAM WARFARE EXERCISE

A Royal New Zealand Air Force P8-A Poseidon aircraft and its crew have deployed in Guam to participate in a multi-national anti-submarine warfare exercise.

A statement from the Defense force stated crew from America, Australia, Japan and India are also attending the training at the United States' Anderson Air Force Base on Guam.

The exercise is designed to help aircrews develop their anti-submarine warefare skills and to refine how they collaborate in a range of settings.

It is also a chance for crew to develop tactical skills by working with and testing themselves against partner nations.

PACIFIC SEA LEVELS

New research suggests global sea levels are much higher than previously understood.

Research published in the scientific journal Nature said rising seas may threaten tens of millions more people than scientists and government planners thought.

This is reportedly due to mistaken research assumptions on how high coastal waters already are.

Researchers studied hundreds of scientific studies and hazard assessments, calculating that about 90 of them underestimated baseline coastal water heights by an average of 1 foot.

Study co-author Philip Minderhoud said the cause is a mismatch between the way sea and land altitudes are measured due to a "methodological blind spot".