Pacific News Briefs

PACIFIC BEAUTY QUEENS compiled by Samoa News staff Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Beauty pageants remain an important part of cultural and social life in many Pacific Island countries, although their significance vary across the region. Pageants such as Miss Pacific Islands, Miss Samoa, Miss Heilala (Tonga), Miss Hibiscus (Fiji) and Miss Cook Islands, provide young Pacific women with a platform to advocate on issues they are passionate about. Three Pacific women are celebrating major beauty pageant victories – domestically and internationally — after being crowned over the weekend. Tiare Henry-Anguna, who represented the Cook Islands, was crowned Miss World Oceania 2026 after reaching the Top 20 at the 73rd Miss World competition in Vietnam. Henry-Anguna was among 111 contestants who spent a month competing in various categories.

The overall winner was Dominican Republic's Johierry Mola, with the six continental queens announced alongside her. In Samoa, Poumau Astesclanalesusi Ah Lam Tiufea Va'a was crowned the new Miss Samoa. This year's pageant saw eight contestants in the running for the national title under the theme "Ua Tālā Measina", or Opening Samoa's cultural treasures. On the night, Tiufea Va'a also won the Best Sarong and Best Siva Samoa categories. Her family isn’t new to pageantry, with her older sister Philomena Tiufea Va'a finishing as second runner-up in the Miss Samoa 2011 pageant and her other sister Barbara Tiufea Va'a crowned Miss Samoa Fa'afafine in 2018. After being crowned, Tiufea Va'a told local reporters that she is looking forward to serving Samoa. She will be vying for the Miss Pacific Islands title, which will take place in Samoa early next year. In Fiji, Sala Korosaya took out the Miss Hibiscus title. The 23-year-old, who is studying law and…