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This article is the shortened version of a paper presented by Trevor Cullen at the 1999 PINA conference in Suva, Fiji. The author is currently working on a Ph.D. research degree at Queensland University, Brisbane, Australia on "Press coverage of HIV/AIDS in the Pacific."

December 1, 1999

Problem

Heart disease, tuberculosis, STDs and HIV/AIDS have one common feature: they are, with the correct information and application, all preventable diseases. Yet, throughout the Pacific, such diseases are on the increase. What can the media (press, radio and television) do to help stem the rising tide of ill-health that creates continuing social and economic hardship?

Role of the Media

The media have a threefold aim: to provide information, education and entertainment. While some in the media have opted purely for the latter component, most editors and journalists are committed to informing their audiences about events that affect them. Generally, however,...

PALIKIR, Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (November 29, 1999 - FSM Information Service)---President Leo A. Falcam administered the oath of office to four more of his Cabinet members this morning during a brief ceremony held in the President's Cabinet Room.

Those who were administered the oath of office were:

Captain Lambert N. Lokopwe of Chuuk, Secretary of the Department of Transportation, Communication and Infrastructures;

Ieske K. Iehsi of Pohnpei, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs;

Patrick Mackenzie of Chuuk, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, and

Samson E. Pretrick of Pohnpei, Consul General, FSM Consulate Office in Guam, Department of Foreign Affairs.

During the short ceremony this morning, Reverend Bethwel Henry, who also is the FSM Post Master General, gave the invocation and Tanya Harris from the Department of Foreign Affairs was the Master of Ceremonies.

After the oath of...

SUVA, Fiji Islands (November 30, 1999 – Radio Australia)---Fiji's Co-Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Tupeni Baba, says a number of "hot spots" in the region could have a potentially serious effect on security in the Pacific.

(West Papua militants on the Island of New Guinea are demanding independence, the decade-long Bougainville crisis still requires peacekeepers and ethnic unrest continues to appear in the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.)

Dr. Baba told the Fiji Parliament that the region is vulnerable to external pressures and therefore the matter of regional security is of utmost importance.

He said the region also had its share of non-military problems, including maritime passage and seabed boundaries, climate change, sea-level rise, refugees and population flows, and exploitation of children.

He said other threats to security were the spread of contagious diseases and smuggling of illicit drugs by illegal...

By Lindablue F. Romero

SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands (Nov. 30, 1999 – Saipan Tribune)---Former Tinian Mayor James Masga Mendiola and three others have been indicted by a grand jury for four counts of federal criminal violations in connection with cattle rustling on Tinian.

Mr. Mendiola, 50, surrendered to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Nov. 19, 1999 and was arraigned in the U.S. District Court. He pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to conceal and dispose stolen property.

The former mayor and congressman of the island municipality, who is eyeing a political comeback in the Tinian special elections to be held next year following the resignation of Sen. Herman Manglona, was released on bail. Mr. Manglona, also a former mayor, quit the Senate post after pleading guilty to charges of bribe taking, mail fraud and jury tampering.

Also named defendants were Herman Palacios Aldan, 31; Alexander San Nicolas Borja, 30; and Franklin Borja Mundo, 32...