Marianas Variety On-Line Edition

Conman jailed for 6 weeks
Australian conman Peter Foster was sentenced to six weeks jail and fined for illegally entering Vanuatu after fleeing there from Fiji.
Vanuatu police spokesman Superintendent Willie Ben...(Full Story)

Feds freeze A. Samoa homeland security funds
Funds for American Samoa’s Office of Homeland Security have been frozen until further notice. Gov. Togiola Tulafono said the agency is under the threat of being classified a “high risk” operation...(Full Story)

Fiji bans Australian, New Zealand prime ministers
Australian Prime Minister John Howard and his counterpart New Zealand Helen Clark are both banned from entering Fiji.
Their names have been included on a watch-list maintained by the Fiji Immigration Department...(Full Story)

Record Cook Islands tourism figures
Cook Islands had a record year for tourism in 2006 with 92,082 visitor arrivals. The provisional Cook Islands Tourism Corporation figures said this is up 4 percent on 2005 arrivals of 88,405 ..(Full Story)

Aid to rebuild ravaged Tonga
A revised aid package for the ravaged Tongan capital Nuku’alofa will be announced after New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark meets Tongan Prime Minister Dr. Feleti Sevele in Auckland...(Full Story)

Fiji coup costly, but failure may be worse for economy
The latest coup in Fiji will be costly, particularly to the country’s poor, but may be worse for the economy if it fails, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research says...(Full Story)