Regional
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A new poll shows a majority of New Zealanders want the fishing method of bottom trawling banned, as New Zealand is the last country operating a bottom trawling fleet in the high seas of the South Pacific.
But the Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones said it was too...
Apia, SAMOA — (February 15, 2026) Afioga Faaolesa Katopau Ainuʻu, a distinguished lawyer and former Minister of Justice and Courts Administration, passed away suddenly at his home in Leifiifi, Apia on Saturday evening. He was 62.
His youngest sister, Maiava Atalina Ainuʻu-Enari, the current...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Picture-perfect weather set the scene for this year's Wellington Pasifika Festival, drawing large crowds to celebrate the cultures, languages and traditions of the Pacific.
The annual event has become a major gathering for Pasifika communities in New Zealand's capital,...
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...