Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — French authorities in New Caledonia are investigating after a sea turtle was found tied to a tree.

The female turtle, about 25-30 years-old, was bound in rope in the Koutio mangrove swamp in Dumbéa and rescued on 14 September.

An Aquarium des Lagons spokesperson said she had deep cuts on her right swim leg from being tied up.

Despite this, she is doing well and is now under the care of the aquarium in Noumea.

If she keeps improving, she could be released in the next few weeks.

Head of the Aquariology and Maintenance Department at the Aquarium des Lagons told local media that the loggerhead turtle is a protected species, along with the green turtle and the hawksbill turtle.

Unlike the green turtle, it is not eaten locally.

Sylvain Govan said there is no doubt that this is "poaching".

"I think the person who grabbed it and tied it up there, had an idea in the back of his head. Either eat it or sell it to make money," she told Nouvelle-Calédonie La Première.

(RNZ Pacific)

DEFENSE AGREEMENT

A newly signed defense agreement between the governments of Fiji and Solomon Islands will allow Fijian troops into Honiara during national emergencies.

This includes general elections, natural disasters and other national emergencies.

The agreement was signed on September 9, and announced by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka at Fiji's parliament last week.

Rabuka has promised to operate on non-political, non-interventionist terms.

(RNZ Pacific)

ONLINE SCAMS

The Consumer Council of Fiji is raising alarm bells that the level of sophistication and complexity of online scams is increasing.

It said the level of awareness is not matching the pace at which it gets more complex.

The Council's Ziyad Parvez told fijivillage.com that fraudsters are not above using the latest technology to execute the scams.

He said in one incident, a person working on a private island transferred about FJ$7000 to an account that seemed to be in Papua New Guinea, but it was actually someone from Fiji using a scrambling technology.

(RNZ Pacific)

MAN JAILED FOR RAPING DAUGHTER

A man in Samoa was sentenced last week to 17 years' imprisonment after he was convicted of seven incidents of sexual violation by way of rape and one representative charge of five incidents of incest. 

The victim is the accused's biological daughter.

The accused, through his counsel, accepted the amended summary of facts dated 21 August 2025. 

The accused's sexual abuse of his daughter began sometime between April 01 and May 31, 2021 following the general elections. The victim was 12 years old.

The accused’s sexual abuse of his daughter came to light when an aunt of the victim went to the home to visit the victim and her siblings and found the accused sleeping with the victim “like a couple”. The victim became pregnant but miscarried after a few months.

During sentencing, Justice Leiataualesa Darryl Clarke told the defendant that he was supposed to protect the victim from harm as her biological father. 

"No words can ever sufficiently condemn what you did to your daughter. You were duty-bound to protect her from harm, yet you were the perpetrator of the greatest betrayal any daughter could suffer: sexual abuse by her own father."

(Samoa Observer)

BAN ON IMPORTED SCHOOL FOODS

Vanuatu's livestock and biosecurity minister says he is working on a policy to ban consumption of imported food in schools.

The Vanuatu Daily Post reports Ian Wilson telling the National Commercial Commodity Forum that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are responsible for over 70 per cent of all deaths every year in the country.

He said the report shows that unhealthy diets at schools are contributing to the growing NCDs, as children are eating a lot of rice, biscuits, bread, tinned fish, and noodles at schools.

Wilson said a policy banning consumption of imported food, and allocating funds to help schools purchase local food, will create greater demand for local crops.

(RNZ Pacific)

GUAM BANS MANGO IMPORTS

Guam has temporarily banned mango imports from the Northern Marianas, after an invasive insect was discovered on Saipan.

Researchers confirmed the mango fruit borer at the CNMI's Division of Agriculture compound in Kagman.

Kuam News reports Division of Agriculture director Jack Ogumoro saying the discovery was made earlier this year when visiting scientists sampled infected mangoes.

Invasive species coordinator Natasha Tomakane says the ban is a precautionary measure to protect regional agriculture.

(RNZ Pacific)

PNG SHORTWAVE

The head of Papua New Guinea's national broadcaster is looking for ways to bolster the station's radio broadcast capability.

Kora Nou has been in Aotearoa inspecting Radio New Zealand Pacific's shortwave service.

It broadcasts right across the Pacific, providing lifeline utility support on request when natural disasters strike.

Nou said with a government mandate to have full coverage across PNG, he's looking for the right solution.

"So the shortwave we want to build won't be analogue shortwave but we are thinking of digital shortwave," he said.

"There is a lot of work to be done still but we are happy to come here to New Zealand to work with our friends here, and whatever we decide to build it will be for the good of the staff at NBC and for the good of the people of Papua New Guinea."

NBC's own shortwave service closed more than 20 years ago.

(RNZ Pacific)