Regional

The secretary of Samoan Affairs died last week while on his way to a dialysis treatment centre in Honolulu. Tufele was the first locally elected lt. governor of American Samoa. He also held the posts of commissioner of police, senator and Manua district governor. He is survived by his wife and chil…

The theme for this year’s World Food Day was “Food Prices-From Crisis to Stability.” The local theme in Yap was “Let Local Food Be Your Medicine and Medicine Be Your Local Food”. The World Food Day opening ceremony began at the community center following the FSM National Anthem which was sung by th…

Opening the 21st SPTO Council of Tourism Ministers and the board of directors meeting at the Warwick Le Lagon Hotel in Port Vila last Thursday, Kalosil emphasized the importance of promoting and facilitating sustainable tourism development in member countries. He applauded SPTO for its role in help…

The U.S. Congress’ plan to eliminate funding for the Area Health Education Center or AHEC program has sparked concern at the College of the Marshall Islands and among regional health officials. “This is a cause for great concern for the Marshall Islands, the College of the Marshall Islands and the …

While 53 out of 220 Majuro businesses were given citations for illegally selling cigarettes to youth under the age of 18, local officials said this actually confirms a significant improvement for Majuro. “We had 75 percent compliance (with the law),” said Maybelline Ipil, the project manager at Mar…

The objective of the observance was to raise awareness about how people were taking action to reduce their risk to disasters. This year, the observance took place with the framework of the “Step Up for Disaster Risk Reduction” campaign, and its theme was “Making Children and Young People Partners f…

Adding to these academic woes, a Ministry of Education official said “inconsistencies in administration of the test” resulted in unreliably high scores for eighth graders in some schools. The third, sixth and eighth grade results are disappointing for the Marshall Islands, which since 2004 has inve…

The Voyager had been servicing Yap and the outer islands since its arrival from Pohnpei earlier in September with multiple trips to provide the outer islands with supplies and medical services. The voyages had all been supplemented by Yap due to budgetary restraints within the national government. …

Mori initially sent a communication to Yap two months before, informing the state government that the 4th National Prayer Day is planned to be celebrated in Yap. That same month, Anefal replied to Mori, informing him that the state will take time to consider the matter and react accordingly. A rece…

Kim’s comments were based on a study published in the British medical journal in January this year. “Worldwide obesity rates have increased significantly over the past three decades and, to my surprise, the greatest increase was in the Pacific islands,”  Kim said. “This is a result of a combination…