Regional
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A 43-year-old Samoa national holding a New Zealand passport has been detained in Apia after allegedly being found with 90 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, local authorities said on Thursday.
The man, who resides in Australia, arrived on a Fiji Airways flight on...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Bosco the French bulldog, known for ripping it up on his surfboard, returned to the moana in Paihia this Waitangi Day, flying the He Whakaputanga flag before the annual waka celebrations.
Now five years old, Bosco the French bulldog was joined by younger companion...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A group representing the mining sector insists the decision declining plans to mine the Taranaki seabed is not final.
While the fast-track approvals panel turned down Trans-Tasman Resources' (TTR) bid to mine 50 million tonnes a year, for 30 years, in the South Taranaki...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Samoa Observer is reporting the newspaper’s employees are being barred from Samoa government events. The incident which occurred at the residence of the Head of State, Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, in Vailele comes shortly after a recent incident where the...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Efforts to maintain longstanding protections for Muliava (Nu’u o Manu, Le Oneone Sa o Tuimanu’a, Rose Atoll) have advanced considerably, with widespread support emerging from across Amerika Samoa for the preservation of one of the territory’s most ecologically and...
Apia, SAMOA (February 08, 2026) — The Coroner, Judge Papalii Rosela Viane Papalii, has issued a formal order prohibiting the publication or broadcast of any information relating to the autopsy results of the late Papalii Sia Figiel, whose body was discovered in her prison cell two weeks ago.
The...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) says their new report shows that global tuna markets are changing.
The FFA said the report finds that global tuna markets are becoming more competitive and volatile.
It said this is due to shifting consumer demand, rising...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Over two days of questioning during his Senate confirmation hearings last year, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeated the same answer.
He said the closely scrutinized 2019 trip he took to Samoa, which came before a devastating measles outbreak, had “nothing to do with vaccines.”...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The vessel, which was intercepted with tonnes of cocaine before arriving in Rarotonga under a distress call for engine repairs, departed Avatiu Port on Tuesday (Wednesday NZT).
Responding to questions from Cook Islands News, Cook Islands Customs confirmed that the MV...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — As Waitangi Day commemorations continue drawing people from across Aotearoa and around the world to the Bay of Islands, Te Tii Marae has become a gathering point for Indigenous ocean leadership from across the Pacific.
Taiātea: Gathering of the Oceans held its public...

![Samoa Customs and police found the 43-year-old man in possession of six bottles containing marijuana and other drug paraphernalia. [Photo: Samoa Government] MARIJUANA AND PARAPHERNALIA](https://samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/marijuana_paraphernaia_.jpeg?itok=jxPyAL4x)
![Surfer dogs Bosco and Treasure, and owner Dylan are famous on social media, with more than 930k likes and counting on TikTok. [Photo: Layla Bailey-McDowell / RNZ] Surfer dogs Bosco and Treasure](https://samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/waitangi_surfing_dogs.jpg?itok=PenQGeNw)
![Taranaki seabed mining protest in 2025. [Photo: RNZ / Emma Andrews] Taranaki seabed mining protest](https://samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/4950.jpg?itok=sXdOlzm1)
![Junior Ami was approached by police officers and security personnel on Monday and was told he is banned from all government events. [photo: Sulamanaia Manaui Faulalo/ Samoa Observer] Junior Ami approached by police officers](https://samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/ami_approached_by_police.jpeg?itok=qn4sGwCK)




![Taiātea Symposium at Waitangi 2026 where ‘Gathering of the Oceans’ held its public forum on February 4, uniting more than 20 Indigenous leaders. [Photo: WAI 262 - Kia Whakapūmau / wai262.nz / projects@wai262.nz] Taiātea Symposium](https://samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/symposium_at_waitangi_2026.jpeg?itok=MsBmshIM)