“NO KINGS” PROTEST IN GUAM
compiled by Samoa News staffPago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Chanting under the midday sun and holding signs that read 'No Kings in America' and 'In Solidarity with Los Angeles,' more than a dozen residents and visitors gathered in northern Guam on Saturday to join a national day of protest opposing what organizers describe as authoritarian overreach by President Donald Trump's administration.
The rally is part of a broader grassroots mobilization across the United States, marking the first 'No Kings' protest held in a US territory.
"We've seen hundreds of new events on the No Kings Day map since the weekend," said Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, one of the groups behind the "day of defiance" to the Guardian.
"We've seen hundreds of thousands of people register for those events."
A website for the protest cites Trump's defying of the courts, mass deportations, attacks on civil rights, and slashing of services as reasons for protest.
Demonstrators in Guam, where American citizens lack federal voting rights, used the opportunity to call attention to both local concerns and nationwide threats to democratic institutions.
"We're on the front lines trying to save our democracy," said Diane Thurber, an assistant professor at University of Maryland Global Campus, Guam. "And everything that happens in America, happens to Guam first."
'FOREVER CHEMICALS' IN CNMI, GUAM
Tests on drinking water in Saipan, in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and Guam have revealed high levels of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, commonly referred to as 'forever chemicals').
The information, shared in a conference in Saipan, said that wells on the CNMI island are among the most contaminated in the US.
Travis Spaeth, chief engineer and safe drinking water program manager at the CNMI Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality, said Saipan has four drinking water entry points ranked among the 15 most PFAS-contaminated systems in the entire United States.
One well near the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport, previously used for firefighting training, had concentrations exceeding more than 1,700 times above the new federal maximum contaminant level.
The CNMI has its own maximum level - which is higher - but authorities are racing to comply with the stricter US standard, which requires full compliance by 2031.
To meet that, the Commonwealth Utlities Corporation has installed granular activated carbon filters at multiple sites, bringing PFAS levels down to undetectable levels in some areas.
However, Spaeth warned that maintaining the filters and managing the spent material off-island is expensive and logistically difficult.
Spaeth said long-term options such as aquifer remediation, expanded rainwater catchment systems, and even energy-intensive desalination must be considered.
The CNMI is also exploring partnerships with the US military and the Federal Aviation Administration — both historically linked to PFAS use — for support in cleanup funding and possible future blood testing for exposed residents and first responders.
THREE PACIFIC NATIONS IN TRUMP'S EXPANDED TRAVEL BAN LIST
Three Pacific Island nations are caught in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump's crackdown on foreign nationals from countries that fail to meet "established benchmarks and requirements" for remaining in the United States.
Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu have reportedly been included in an expanded list of 36 additional countries that the Trump administration is considering for travel restrictions on entering the US, according to an internal State Department cable seen by Reuters.
Earlier this month, President Trump signed a proclamation that banned the entry of citizens from 12 countries, citing threats from "foreign terrorists" and other national security concerns.
Reuters reports that the directive is part of an immigration crackdown Trump launched this year at the start of his second term.
The news agency said that, in an internal diplomatic cable signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the State Department outlined a dozen concerns about the countries in question and called for corrective action.
"The Department has identified 36 countries of concern that might be recommended for full or partial suspension of entry if they do not meet established benchmarks and requirements within 60 days," the cable sent out over the weekend said.
The cable was first reported by the Washington Post.
The governments of Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu have yet to respond to the issue.
Kaniva Tonga reported that traveling to America had been a major concern for Tongans due to the high cost of obtaining a visa, which required having to travel to the US Embassy in Fiji.
"It was one of the key issues Tonga used to negotiate the establishment of a US Embassy in Nukuʻalofa last year," the news outlet reported.
"In 2020, the US Census reported that 78,871 people in the US have Tongan ancestry."
In February, Tongan Prime Minister Dr 'Aisake Eke had expressed concerns about Trump's immigration policies, saying that deported migrants would worsen existing challenges in the kingdom.
PNG POLICE OFFICERS ARRESTED AFTER METH RAID
The arrest of a senior police inspector and a constable in Port Moresby over the weekend has again drawn the spotlight on the integrity of Papua New Guinea's police force and the nation's methamphetamine crisis.
The two officers were taken into custody along with three other individuals after a raid on a Port Moresby hotel room on Saturday, where they were allegedly found possessing and consuming methamphetamine.
In a statement, the National Capital District (NCD) Metropolitan Superintendent Warrick Simatab said a police forensic team had verified the substance found was methamphetamine.
"This operation is a direct result of excellent intelligence work by my police team," Superintendent Simatab said, acknowledging that a tip-off from the public was crucial.
He issued a stern warning to other officers, saying those who "act as criminals in disguise in police uniform...will be treat[ed] like other criminals".
Superintendent Simatab has flagged the "summary termination" of the two officers from the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC). They are expected to be prosecuted as civilians.
He added that one of the officers was already facing unrelated disciplinary and criminal allegations.
COOK ISLANDS OPPOSITION CALLS FOR PAUSE ON SEABED MINING
Cook Islands opposition leader Tina Browne is calling for a "national pause" on the Cook Islands' deep sea mining ambitions, warning that the country is risking its oceanic heritage and identity by charging ahead with a decision that could have irreversible consequences.
Browne made the comment following the meeting of Pacific leaders in Nice, France, a gathering also attended by Prime Minister Mark Brown, who led a Cook Islands delegation to the third United Nations Ocean Conference.
The Opposition leader questioned the government's commitment to responsible development, contrasting it with the passionate pleas from neighbouring Pacific countries calling for moratoriums and marine protection.
"Like many across our country and Te Moana Nui o Kiva, I was deeply moved listening to our Pacific leaders speak in France this week," Browne said.
"Tuvalu's President pleaded for help in the face of rising seas swallowing his nation. The Solomon Islands called for a moratorium on seabed mining. Tahiti invoked its cultural heritage to place a rā'ui-a traditional protection-over a vast section of its ocean territory.
"They spoke with heart and with courage. They reminded us that while we may be small islands, we are vast ocean nations-and that with that vastness comes a duty to protect it."
While leaders across the region are urging caution and conservation, Browne says the Cook Islands government is "forging ahead with plans to mine the deep seabed beneath our waters," describing the approach as one that is "moving quickly and quietly on something that could change our ocean forever."
The Prime Minister and his delegation had earlier joined world leaders in Monaco for the Blue Economy and Finance Forum before heading to Nice, where they reaffirmed the Cook Islands' push to become a global leader in seabed mining.
(RNZ Pacific)
Section: RegionalTags: PACIFIC NEWS BRIEFS
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