Pacific News Briefs

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Episode 28 of the of the ongoing Halemaumau eruption began at around 4:10 a.m. Wednesday.

Lava fountains started by spewing upward of 150 feet into the air, but the fountaining height increased by dawn, with USGS scientists saying the fountain nearly reached 1,200 feet by mid-morning.

Winds are blowing volcanic gases, along with ash, tephra and Pele’s hair, to the west and southwest of the summit area.

Last week’s episode served as the perfect backdrop for a marriage proposal.

With fountains higher than 1,000 feet, Mark Steward dropped to one knee and proposed to his girlfriend of six years, Olivia Post, last week Sunday.

The active eruption can be watched from the USGS livestream on YouTube here.

(Hawaii News Now)

AKARI REMOVED FROM CONCERT FOR ALLEGEDLY ASSAULTING TEEN

A police investigation is underway following an alleged assault involving local artist Robyn Akari and an 18-year-old girl from New Zealand. The incident is believed to have occurred on Friday night, a day before the Samoa Vibes concert held on Saturday.

Sammy Atoa, the father of the young woman, confirmed the matter is being handled by police and said “evidence is substantial,” with claims that charges were expected to be laid as early as Wednesday.

He shared that his daughter had moved from Auckland to Samoa to connect with her roots, last year.

“She got her traditional tattoo (malu) as my soa, so without knowing that much of the Samoan language and culture, she took it upon herself to live in Samoa for a year to learn,” said Atoa.

According to him, the alleged assault took place while his daughter was out with her aunt, who had just arrived from Melbourne.

“She never goes out. She’s a quiet, respectful girl.”

Atoa said the artist accused his daughter of being at her table and stealing drinks, which he strongly denies.

He added that the conflict may have been triggered by a question about his daughter touching Akari’s husband during a traditional Samoan dance.

“Apparently, she is known to be a bully, and other artists have confirmed this,” he said.

“This is the reason why we are pressing charges. It’s not only because it’s my daughter, but so it doesn’t happen to anyone else in the future,” 

Atoa also confirmed that Robyn Akari was removed from the Samoa Vibes concert line-up because of the incident.

“That is the reason Samoa Vibes organizers pulled her off the show.”

(Samoa Observer)

HAWAII MEDICAL TEAM VISITS SAMOA

A wave of help and healing swept through Samatau this week as a free medical clinic brought relief to hundreds of people. So far, the Hawaiian medical team has treated 226 patients and performed 25 minor surgeries.

The clinic, set up by a team from South Seas Christian Ministries (SSCM), has been running since Saturday at the Amazing Love Christian Church compound.

They hope to reach up to 400 people by the end of the week. Patients lined up from nearby villages and even a few from prison, for free check-ups, medicines, and minor surgeries.

Dr. Cecily, a board-certified surgeon with the team, performed the operations. One patient, an elderly man, had a cyst removed from his neck and kept saying, “Faafetai lava, faafetai lava,” as he thanked the doctors during the procedure.

Dr. Brad Hall, who leads the mission, said many people simply want to know if they are healthy.

“A lot of people come in with, they just want to check up, and so we have some lab tests we can do, we can listen to their chest and look around,” said Dr. Hall.

“A lot of people are actually very healthy, and they just need a little help for their medicine cabinet, like some toothbrushes or paracetamol, and we're happy to do that.”

Others, he said, needed more help.

 “Some people have chronic medical problems, they have wounds that are infected, their vision is blurry for different reasons, so we can help a lot of that,” he added.

For more serious cases, the team works closely with local doctors.

(Samoa Observer)

PACIFIC ISLANDERS STRANDED IN ISRAEL RETURN HOME

A group of five students from the Solomon Islands is stranded in southern Israel, with no indication of when they will be able to return home.

One of the students, Leeroy Enoch Wate, says he is safe but wants to go home amid ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran.

Wate told Pacific Waves the group has been waiting to hear when they will be able to get on an evacuation flight, as news broke of an Iran-Israel ceasefire.

The 28-year-old from Malaita province told Pacific Waves that he has spoken with the Solomon Islands Embassy, but is still waiting for flights out.

"The [Solomon Islands Embassy] is going to arrange some flights. But they did not confirm the date," Wate said.

Christina Eddie, 23, said they were supposed to fly out on 17 June, but more than a week later. they have heard nothing.

"We just wait and pray for the positive feedback from our school director for our flight to be returned home."

The students are in southern Israel, in an area that has not been hit so far, Wate explained.

"We did not hear sirens and stuff like that. Some of us even go to the farm, like it is normal."

Though there are pockets of "normal", Wate said the situation is far from normal to him.

"For us Islanders, it is our first time experiencing this. You can hear, from a distance, explosions and bombs. In Israel, they have the thing like intercept so it is kind of scary," Wate said.

(RNZ Pacific)