Briefs

Samoa Journal has new partners Two businessmen and a journalist have bought 50 per cent of American Samoa’s troubled weekly Samoa Journal and Advertiser in an attempt to review the ter ritory’s second newspaper. Former manag ing director Robert Matthew King, whose family still owns 50 per cent, said that director of telecommunications Aleki Sene, former congressman Fofo Sunia and journalist Ryan Thompson are their new partners.

Compensation paid out

A total of 740,000 tale ($U5430,000) was paid out by Samoa’s Accident Compensation Board last year to those involved in motor vehicle injuries, works accidents.

Statistics recorded by the board showed that 140 motor vehicle accidents were reported to the office in 1997 with 37 fatal ities.

Protesters to be charged Samoa’s police commissioner, Asi Blacklock, says the 2000 anti-government protesters who took part in a protest march last month on government house will be charged. The protester including two Catholic priests will be charged for march ing with a police permit. The march which was planned for was cancelled but the protesters took to the streets in total defi ance of the police warning.

Calls for an independent inquiry Fiji’s Labour Party has written to the Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka demand ing an independent inquiry into allegations of abuse of parliamentary funds highlight ed in a working audit paper. Party Leader Mahendra Chaudhry made the call in a reply to Rabuka’s letter which outlined why an inquiry should not be held.

Rabuka said the auditor general Michael Jacobs had clarified that allega tions about abuse of funds were not from a

completed audit report but a working paper, therefore, no inquiry should be held.

He said an inquiry can only be held in par liament’s public accounts committee finds any impropriety in the final audit report.

But Chaudhry says he disagrees, adding that the accounts committee’s work will be hindered as certain members are also implicated in the report. ■