US Government

According to an overnight statement from the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Fijian police seized the 106m vessel yesterday at the request of American authorities.

“The U.S. is committed to providing 1.2 billion doses of safe, effective vaccines to meet global needs. That extraordinary number of doses is protecting individuals, families, and villages here in the South Pacific and around the world,” says U.S. Ambassador to Samoa, Ambassador Tom Udall.

This latest delivery was made through the COVAX Facility. The United States is the largest donor to COVAX, having donated $4 billion to help protect the most vulnerable and at-risk populations in 92 low- and middle-income countries.

The so-called "phantom braking" problem is being looked at by US regulator the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

It received 354 complaints in the past nine months and its investigation will cover approximately 416,000 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles from 2021-22.

Drivers say the issue occurs using the Autopilot driver assistance system.

The feature gives the vehicle control over some elements of braking and steering when driving, although it is not a substitute for a human driver.

The ministry’s Legal Division Assistant Chief Executive Officer, Lydia Lemalu Jahnke and Corporate and Support Service Kuno Falanisisi were among the 37 graduates.

The certificates of completion were presented by US Political/Economic Officer, Mark Hitchcock.

Lemalu Jahnke completed the programme over a year ago while working at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology before becoming the current ACEO Legal, while Falanisisi has been the Principle Officer for Facilities Management at the Ministry for years.

Montgomery's execution marked the first time the US government has implemented the death sentence for a female prisoner since 1953.

Challenges were fought across multiple federal courts on whether to allow execution of Montgomery, 52, who had initially been scheduled to be killed by lethal injections of pentobarbital, a powerful barbiturate on Tuesday in the Justice Department's execution chamber at its prison in Terre Haute, Indiana.

A 6-person team of U.S. Navy medical personnel will be working alongside Samoa’s nurses and doctors at the National Hospital the first two weeks of July to augment local capacity.

This medical exchange involves the donation of over $130,000 tala worth of medical equipment.

The equipment include hospital beds with mattresses, defibrillators, dressing trolleys, patient trolleys, patient monitors, A&D nebulizers, suction pumps, ultrasound therapy devices, infrared lamp, TENS machines, portable oxygen machines and paramedic emergency response kits.

The training is part of the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Ready project, which is strengthening the environmental and disaster resilience of Pacific Island Countries.

Around 30 participants — drawing from small- and medium-sized local businesses — participated in the one-day training which informed participants about the importance of business continuity planning, the role of first responders, and recovery after disasters.

They also learned about government services and disaster management plans.

Armstrong was stripped of his record seven Tour de France victories after admitting he used performance-enhancing drugs throughout much of his career.

The deal came as the two sides prepared for a trial that was scheduled to start May 7 in Washington. Armstrong's former US Postal Service teammate Floyd Landis filed the original lawsuit in 2010 and is eligible for up to 25 per cent of the settlement.

The move will affect the approximately 2000 commercial flights arriving daily in the United States from 280 airports in 105 countries.

Officials are requiring enhanced screening of personal electronic devices and passengers, and increased explosive screening.

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said airlines that failed to satisfy new security requirements could still face future in-cabin electronics restrictions.

Officials said the measures were to prevent an expansion of the in-cabin ban on laptops and other large electronic devices affecting eight countries.

The tools are said to have been created by the US National Security Agency (NSA), and accompanying documents appear to indicate a possible breach of the Swift global banking system.

Such a hack could have enabled the US to covertly monitor financial transactions, researchers said.

The files were released by Shadow Brokers, a hacking group that has previously leaked malware.

If genuine, it represents perhaps the most significant exposure of NSA files since the Edward Snowden leaks in 2013.