Samoa

The infants both one year old died suddenly on Savai’i last week after receiving the MMR vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella.

Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Health, Leausa Dr. Take Naseri says the injections have been examined and were found clean as claimed by the nurses in Safotu.

“There was nothing wrong with the vaccines.”

“All these vaccines have series of testing to make sure they are safe and effective for curing diseases,” said Dr Naseri.

He added that he is also concerned about the safety of the nurses involved.

The church's general secretary, Faulalo Leti, said its General Conference had opted to support the law.

Reverend Leti said the church understands the taxes will be used to develop Samoa, something Methodists support.

He said some Methodist ministers had registered to pay tax before their General Conference made this decision.

Meanwhile, the deadline for registering to pay tax has been extended until the end of the month as pastors from the Congregational Christian Church continue to say they will not pay.

Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said the refusal by ministers of the country's largest church to pay tax will not be tolerated.

On the first of July, a new law kicked in which requires church ministers and the head of state to pay income tax.

But pastors for the Congregational Christian Church, the country's largest, are refusing to pay, saying their income comes from donations -- and that paying tax is an affront to their faith.

The church's attempts to get the government to change its mind have failed.

It’s every four years that Catholics around the world congregate to network in the gospel.

The aim is to encourage the younger generations to make a difference in their families and in their communities.

The youth use spiritual performances using dance singing, as an effective way of sharing the gospel to each other.

Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi opened the conference in front the government building to start off the holy week for the Catholics on Monday.

Catalin Razvan faced 30 charges, included 10 counts of theft, 10 counts of accessing an electronic system without authority, and 10 counts of accessing an ATM system for dishonest purposes from 9 machines in Samoa.

The total amount stolen was US$1436, all from overseas accounts.

He was jailed for 7 months which will be reduced by the time he has spent in Police custody.

Bank authorities in Apia had acted after a tip off from branches in Tonga and Vanuatu where similar offences had occurred.

The warning was issued by the Minister for Revenue, Tialavea Tionisio Hunt.

Pastors from the Congregational Christian Church say they would not register to pay income tax, a new requirement of church ministers in Samoa.

Tialavea said church ministers from other denominations have also failed to register with the Revenue Office.

The minister had extended the deadline for registrations to July the 31st from the initial deadline on June 30th.

The Samoa Observer notes that most of the vehicles and property of church ministers belongs to their congregations.

The Director General of Health Leausa Dr Take Naseri says different nurses administered the vaccine to the infants at a hospital in Safotu on Savaii.

He says the infants were the first to get the MMR vaccine and testing is now underway to see if it was responsible for the deaths, "so now immediate action to recall all [of them] - we've ceased and sent out a directive to stop and cease all vaccinations of the children with the MMR."

The families of the two children have asked the police to investigate the deaths.

The vaccine provides protection from measles, mumps and rubella.

The police are investigating the deaths as the Ministry of Health conducts its own inquiry.

The Director General of Health, Leausa Take Naseri, said the vaccination programme had been called off until the completion of the investigations.

"We have requested a forensic autopsy, post-mortem on the two babies because it's a police case. It's now also a very different case in the health field," he said.

The aim of the Vaisigano Catchment Project is to reduce exposure to climate risks in the area.

The project has a total budget of $US65 million and is a partnership with the Green Climate Fund and the United Nations Development Programme.

The project began with a two day workshop which is expected to scale up activities along the banks of the Vaisigano river.

The government has proposed building a flood wall along the riverside.

The team will be representing Samoa in the upcoming OFC U-16 Men’s Championship in Tonga from the 14 – 20 July 2018.

Tamasese shared that his team are well prepared as their team have been training from November 2017. “Our team is well prepared and ready to take on the championship. They boys cannot wait to play. The selected players all play in the premier league division which is the highest level of football in Samoa, he said”