Neu: 2002-03-28 Contents of this issue:
1. Jail Term Sliced 2. Saving Water 3. Easter Holidays ======================================================================== March 28th, 2002 1. Jail Term Sliced: Epefania Suluape, who killed her abusive and philandering husband with an axe, has had her 7 1/2-year jail term cut to five by the Court of Appeal. Paulo Suluape, a noted Samoan tattooist, died under a flurry of blows from his wife as he played the electric organ in a sleepout at their South Auckland home in November 1999. Mr Suluape had just told his 53-year-old wife he was leaving her for another woman. At Suluape's appeal, Kevin Ryan, QC, said the sentence did not reflect the effect of a long process of abuse and degradation to which she was especially vulnerable because of her ethnic and cultural background and to which her offending was the ultimate response. Battered women's syndrome had been raised as a defence, but the Court of Appeal said this deflected attention from a much more pertinent consideration of the nature of chronic domestic abuse and humiliation. In cutting the term, the court said that the sentencing judge had looked too narrowly at the events of the night. The couple's past history and its effects on the woman were highly relevant.(NZ Herald). 2. Saving Water: All 14 Pacific Islands countries invited to join watershed management pilot projects have confirmed their involvement, the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) said. The Solomon Islands and Tuvalu were the latest to sign a Memorandum of Understanding, a SPREP news release said today. Funded by the Global Environment Facility and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme, the programme provides about US$400,000 to each of the participating countries projects over three years. SPREP Director Tamari'i Tutangata said:"The International Waters Programme will see the establishment of community based pilot projects to address a priority environment concern involving marine and freshwater quality, community and habitat modification, and degradation, or unsustainable use of living marine resources." Also taking part are the Cook Islands, Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu. - PINA Nius Online. 3. Easter Holidays: Niue is preparing for Easter celebrations this weekend.. Churches will hold services on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Telecom Niue has entered the spirit of Easter and lowered its calling rates to NZ, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and Tuvalu by 50 cents a minute. Calls to NZ from Friday through to Tuesday are now 90 cents a minute.All government departments close from Thursday afternoon to Tuesday morning. __END__
