Articles Search

By Fili Sagapolutele

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa, (Samoa News, Aug. 26) - Two weeks into the start of the public school's new school year, reports of "continued teacher shortages" have surfaced from the Western Fautasi District at one high school and four elementary schools.

Samoa News was unable to confirm at press time what other districts were also facing a shortage of teachers.

The President of the Leone High School PTA, To'alepai Kathryn Tupua, addressed the teacher shortage problems at Leone High School and its feeder schools on August 22 to Department of Education (DOE) Director Dr. Sili K. Sataua.

Tupua, also the Chairperson for the Western Fautasi District Leadership Team, wrote Dr. Sataua that Doe officials had been informed, at the end of the 2002/2003 school year, that Leone High School was without a full time English teacher, an Art teacher, and a Science teacher.

According to Tupua, the faculty, counselors and administrators had to...

MELBOURNE, Australia (Radio Australia, Sept. 3) - Australia's Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer says it is not unreasonable for Australia to make demands on how its aid funding is spent in Papua New Guinea.

Downer was due to travel to Port Moresby next week for talks on Australia's $300 million annual aid budget for PNG.

Australia and Papua New Guinea are at odds over Canberra's call to look at changes to the aid program.

The Somare Government says it doesn't want to talk until it conducts its own review, and has postponed the talks.

Downer says he wants to ensure Australia's money is well spent.

"We want to sit down and talk to Sir Michael Somare about that and if he doesn't want to talk to us next week about that and he wants to put it off for a few weeks, well, fair enough; but in the end what we do with our money is a matter of great importance to the people of Australia."

September 3, 2003

Radio Australia:...

HAGATNA, Guam (Pacific Daily News, Sept. 3) - Laboratory tests have confirmed that three suspected cases of measles that showed up on Guam last month were actual cases of the contagious disease, a Department of Public Health and Social Services official said yesterday.

However, the thee infected people -- two babies and an adult -- are recovering from the disease and are no longer contagious, according to Ron Balajadia, Public Health's immunization program supervisor, who added that there has been no sign of local spread of the disease.

According to Pacific Daily News files, the three infected patients recently visited the Marshall Islands, which experienced a measles outbreak in recent weeks. As of late last week, there were at least 400 suspected cases in the Marshall Islands.

Balajadia said the test results have not made the department change its tactics because officials had been proceeding as if the cases were confirmed anyway.

"At this point in...

HONOLULU (Pacific Islands Report, Sept. 3) - The East-West Center in Honolulu has announced the opening of the 2004 United States - South Pacific Islands Scholarship Program Competition.

The United States – South Pacific Islands Scholarship Program was established in 1994, at the request of the U.S. Congress, by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The program ensures that a select group of academically talented Pacific Islanders, who are one day expected to assume leadership roles in their countries, have an opportunity to pursue higher education in the United States and to obtain first-hand knowledge of American society, institutions, values, and diversity.

Priority fields of study are environmental sciences, public administration, public policy, business administration, and journalism. Individuals seeking bachelors’ and masters’ (limited to individuals who have already completed a three-year baccalaureate program) degrees from...