Regional
Nouméa, NEW CALEDONIA — No-take marine protected areas in the western and central Pacific Ocean appear to offer no benefit to tropical tuna conservation according to a new study published in Frontiers in Marine Science.
The paper's lead author and chief fisheries scientist at the Pacific Community...
Apia, SAMOA — Remittances for the first three months of the current fiscal year (July-September 2022) came close to the $300 million tala neighborhood, according to the Remittances Report furnished by the Central Bank of Samoa.
The surge of funds send by overseas relatives and families is a...
Wellington, NEW ZEALAND — Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown has paid tribute to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's time as leader, saying she led with strength, empathy and manaakitanga.
Brown is among a chorus of Pacific leaders who have sent their good wishes to Ardern after she announced on...
Apia, SAMOA — Former Samoan Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, has requested the Ministry of Police and Prisons to assign police officers as his security detail, following an alleged assault last week.
Police Commissioner Auapa'au Logoitino Filipo told Radio Polynesia that he has...
Apia, SAMOA — Samoa's Ministry of the Prime Minister and Cabinet says Fiame Naomi Mata'afa "is fine" and is expected to return by the end of the month after completing her medical check in New Zealand.
The Samoa Observer reports Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Prime Minister and Cabinet...
Auckland, NEW ZEALAND — Two New Zealand-based marine geologists have been studying the Hunga volcano, to learn more about how underwater volcanos cause tsunami waves. The geologists have identified gaps in our understanding around precisely how these devastating waves are formed, after an eruption...
Apia, SAMOA — Samoa Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa is seeking medical treatment in New Zealand.
The Samoa Observer reports the CEO of the Ministry of Prime Minister and Cabinet made the announcement at the start of Samoa’s annual prayer and fasting week.
Agafili Shem Leo was speaking on behalf...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Miss South Pacific pageant will be held in Apia this month. This was confirmed in a notice posted on the official Miss Pacific Islands Page.
Current Miss Pacific Islands, Fonoifafo Nancy McFarland-Seumanu was crowned in 2019 in Papua, New Guinea but due to the...
Apia, SAMOA — The number of names on Samoa's sex offenders register is increasing.
The Samoa Observer reports Deputy Police Commissioner Papalii Monalisa Tiai-Keti saying the names on the list were increasing as more sex offenders were being convicted.
She said there are cases whose names are...
Honolulu, HAWAII — Hawaii News Now is reporting that a woman has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for fatally striking another woman with her SUV following a bar fight in August of lasst year in Honolulu.
Thirty-year-old Tomanu E. Tauala previously pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter...

![The paper's lead author and chief fisheries scientist at the Pacific Community, John Hampton, said the tuna study found closing off the Phoenix Islands Protected Area had a negligible impact on the conservation of skipjack and bigeye tuna. [courtesy photo] John Hampton](https://samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/john_hampton_jpg.jpg?itok=vk_l7R8w)

!["You were the best Prime Minister we’ve had not because you were one of the youngest or a mum or cool with the dj’ing or even coz of “be kind” but because in the worst time we’ve ever known in our generation of a worldwide pandemic you made sure we didn’t leave anyone behind," Auckland councillor Josephine Bartley tweeted from her twitter account. [photo: twitter] Ardern and Bartley](https://samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/ardern_and_bartley_web.jpg?itok=BWavrCUw)


![Sunday was the one year anniversary of the eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano on 15 January 2022. Photo: Tonga Geological [Services/ EyePress News via AFP & RNZ] Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano](https://samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/hunga_volcano_web.jpg?itok=eITxyYNy)

![The Miss Pacific Islands Pageant is heading home to Beautiful Samoa. After three years as Miss Pacific Islands, Fonoifafo McFarland Seumanu will be passing on her crown in her home country. [Miss Pacific Islands Facebook page] Miss Pacific Islands banner](https://samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/miss_pac_islands_banner_web.jpg?itok=fFJwWlfd)

