PNG - missing fishermen
There's still no sign of the four fishermen who have been missing since leaving Port Moresby over two weeks ago.
The weather deteriorated after the fishermen, who are aged between 18 to 35, left on February 7.
Co-ordinator for the search team and relative of two of the fishermen, Motu Morea Lohia, said the Papua New Guinea Defence Force and their Australian counterparts conducted a search.
"They also went as far as the eastern side of Port Moresby, Papua region side, and they did an arial search, they are still in the analysis process but they did their part, the outcome was that they did not find any debris or any wreckage yet," he said.
Lohia said he still has faith that the fishermen are alive somewhere in the South Pacific.
New Caledonia - shark
The shark believed to have killed an Australian man in New Caledonia has been captured and euthanised.
Two hands and a piece of swimsuit were found in the bull shark's abdomen.
However, medical analysis is still to confirm that it is the shark from the attack.
Photo: Facebook
Two tiger sharks have also been euthanised but post-mortems revealed nothing in their abdomens.
Meanwhile, Noumea's Mayor Sonia Lagarde said the shark problem would result in regular culls while an anti-shark barrier is being considered.
Solomon Islands - crocodile attack
Police in Solomon Islands are hunting for a crocodile that attacked a man in Central Province.
Police said the victim was attacked while diving along the seafront of the provincial capital Tulagi.
He escaped but sustained serious head injuries and scratches to his chest and back.
Assistant commissioner Patricia Leta said there have been multiple sightings of the saltwater crocodile since the incident.
New Caledonia - beached whales
Seven Pilot Whales have died after washing up on a beach in Bourail in New Caledonia.
According to La Premiere the rest of the pod had been trying to join them.
The local mayor said local fisherman had been trying to push the whales out of the bay but the animals kept coming back.
Samoa - advertising
Vodafone in Samoa has removed an advertisement from television and social media after the regulator considered it portrayed Samoan culture as violent.
The advertisement had a Samoan chief instructing untitled village men to grab a palagi and bury him with his head sticking out of the sand but his Vodafone cellphone rings before they finish.
He was spared when he told the village he uses Vodafone which is also the villages' preferred mobile phone provider.
The regulator accepted that the advertisement painted a negative image of Samoan culture.
The acting chief executive of Vodafone Samoa, Rana Bose, said the company has removed the advertisement so changes can be made.
He said the commercial is imaginary humour and the concept was taken from Hollywood adventure movies.
Marianas - flights
Asiana Airlines will suspend all Northern Mariana Islands flights from March 4.
Marianas Variety reports the Commonwealth Ports Authority chair, Kimberlyn King-Hinds, saying the South Korean airline pulling out means less revenue for the authority.
She said a worst case scenario will mean employees will have to be laid off.
Low cost carriers from South Korea, T'Way Air and Jeju Air will continue flying to the Northern Mariana Islands.
PNG - football
Papua New Guinea ended their Women's World Cup 2023 Qualifying tournament with a 5-0 defeat to Chinese Taipei in Auckland yesterday.
Coach Spencer Prior made only one change to his side that lost 2-0 to Panama in their opening match, with Michaelyne Butubu coming in to the starting lineup as part of a 5-4-1 formation.
Chinese Taipei had also lost its first-up match - to Paraguay - so both teams were essentially playing for pride.
Meanwhile, Rewa FC salvaged a 1-all draw with Suva FC with a late strike in the first leg of their men's Oceania Champions League national play-off.
Samoa - football
The Chief Executive Officer of the Football Federation Samoa has been suspended for six weeks.
The Samoa Observer reports Autū Andy Ripley was advised of his suspension by the federation's board two weeks ago.
The decision for the suspension is not clear and Ripley told the newspaper he too was unclear why.
The President of the Federation's Board, Papalii Samuel Leslie Petaia, could not be reached for comment.
