Palau

Hillbroom was arrested and given a five-year sentence in Palau in July after he failed a drugs test imposed as part of a methamphetamine trafficking sentence.

AFP reports prosecutors asked for a 30-year sentence but Hillbroom was allowed to seek treatment overseas because of his wealth.

Associate Justice Lourdes Materne said the 30-year term would stand if he did not complete the rehabilitation programme or failed another drug test after returning to Palau.

Cleared Ground Demining has been removing the discarded or lost explosives from around Palau, particularly Peleliu, for the last eight years.

To date they have removed, diffused and safely detonated more than 50,000 tonnes of material.

A spokesperson for the NGO, Cassandra McKeown, said the work is becoming increasingly urgent as the old military ordnance is now more dangerous than ever.

Andrew Tabelaul was speaking ahead of the 30th Pacific Educational Conference, which takes place this week in Palau.

Over 400 people will attend the bi-ennial event including delegates from the the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa.

Mr Tabelaul, from Palau's Ministry of Education, said the focus of the conference was quality and sustainability in education for student success.

The dengue outbreak began in November last year.

According to the Ministry of Health, there were 290 cases from January to June, with the majority occurring in the capital.

Last month there were 106 cases alone.

Nearly half the dengue victims are people aged between 10 and 29 years, with more males affected than females.

The state government is undertaking an aggressive cleanup of Koror, aiming to remove breeding sites for mosquitoes.

The bank said strong economic growth was masking urgent infrastructure and environmental challenges that threaten the long term sustainability of Palau's economy.

In an ADB assessment it warned the rapid growth of low-end tourism could damage Palau's famed natural environment and World Heritage sites.

The bank's Liliana Warid says figures showing GDP growth of 5.3 percent in 2014 and 8.2 percent in 2015 don't capture the risks that increased tourist numbers bring to popular sites.

It said the infected person has not recently travelled to any Zika-affected areas in the region so is likely to have been infected in Palau.

The Bureau has initiated activities to control and prevent any further spread, including the minimising of mosquito breeding grounds.

It said anyone who thinks they may have been infected with Zika should seek medical attention, especially pregnant women.

Hillbroom is one of the heirs of the DHL.

This is the largest single bust of illegal drugs according to investigators since the anti-drug task force headed by Public Safety Director Ismael Aguon, was created through presidential executive order and began operation last November. This is a result of public outcry over the growing use and trafficking of illegal drugs in the country in recent months.

Known as Intended Nationally Determined Contribution, INDC for short, these plans outline among things carbon emission reduction targets each country is committed to. Two island nations, Tuvalu and Palau submitted their INDCs the last 48 hours, on the eve of the opening of the final rounds of climate change negotiations in Paris.

Over the past three years, Palau’s government agencies, civil society and the private sector have worked proactively to complete this policy which has as its vision “Happy, healthy, sustainable and resilient communities in a changing world”.

In congratulating  Remengesau, Prime Minister Bainimarama said that Fiji and Palau share the potential to “strengthen our bilateral ties across a broad front”.

The Prime Minister also used the occasion to speak broadly about the collective stand that Pacific leaders should take in the lead up to the Climate Change Summit in Paris later this year.