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The 16,000 Catholics throughout Tonga began nine days of mourning on the death of Pope John Paul II in Rome on April 3, and they have invited King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV to join them for the funeral mass later this week.

The local weeklies were back to normal this week after the general election,and were featuring a range of front page news stories. The Taimi ‘o Tonga featured ‘Etuate Lavulavu, Talaki reported a possible challenge of the outcome of the Ha'apai election because of alleged dual registration by some voters and the Kele'a captured the attention of the reading public with the second and the final part of an interview of Shoreline whistle-blower Piveni Piukala, by Tavake Fusimalohi.

An assessment of Hardship and Poverty in Tonga, which was carried out jointly by the Government of Tonga and the Asian Development Bank in 2003, stated that 23% of the 16 communities surveyed in Tongatapu, Ha'apai, Vava'u, 'Eua, Niuatoputapu and Niuafo'ou, were living below the poverty line of $28.18 per person per week.

The Tongan By-Election to elect four new members of Parliament, will be held on May 3 for the Nobles, and May 5 for the people.

Tongan surfer Michael Burling has won the Open Men's Final in very difficult conditions at the Mt Maunganui Longboard Classic event over Easter.

As the latest Tongan Government political reform initiative begins to unfold, following the appointment of Cabinet ministers from elected members of Parliament on March 21, we are witnessing a number of interesting political happenings. At the same the Temo's position as an opposition to government has been weakened - they have lost their fighting edge with their acceptance of the government proposal for a piece-meal political reform program. Editor’s Comment

The front pages of the Taimi, and the Kele'a this week featured the results of the election, but the Kele'a also ran a story from a whistleblower who used to work for Shoreline.

A by-election to elect the four new Members of Parliament to replace the four who were appointed as Cabinet Ministers on March 21 may take place as early as May, said the Supervisor of Election Pita Vuki.