Regional
Auckland, NEW ZEALAND — The New Zealand Herald is reporting more than 100kg of cocaine has been busted in a smuggler’s bags at Auckland International Airport.
Customs officers were doing routine border enforcement when they checked a number of bags arriving off a Hawaiian Airlines flight on...
Suva, Fiji — A transformative US$107 million grant has been secured by Conservation International and the Pacific Community (SPC) to support 14 Pacific Island countries to safeguard the economic and social benefits they receive from tuna against the impacts of climate change.
The historic Green...
WASHINGTON — The Department of Interior’s Interagency Group on Insular Areas, 2025 Plenary Session, led by newly confirmed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, provided a platform for territorial representatives and governors this week to address their priorities.
Concerns over supplemental security...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — More than a dozen civil society groups are calling on Pacific governments to completely ban deep seabed mining (DSM) as regional leaders meet in Suva for a high-level meeting on deep-sea minerals on Friday.
Seabed mining is one of the most divisive regional issues, with...
Apia, SAMOA — A woman is fighting for her life at Samoa’s Moto’otua hospital from gunshot wounds she sustained earlier this week from a firearm alleged to have been triggered by a two-year-old.
The Samoa Observer is reporting the incident occurred in Aleisa and it has been referred to the Criminal...
Apia, SAMOA — The Samoa Observer is reporting that a woman caught selling methamphetamines and marijuana pleaded guilty to the charges in the Samoa Supreme Court on Monday and will be held in custody awaiting her sentencing next month.
Lee Fiatamalii Leituala sells sandwiches and pancakes around...
Honiara, SOLOMON ISLANDS — The Solomon Islands government has lifted the 'stop notice' that restricted judges of the recent Miss Pacific Islands Pageant (MPIP) from leaving the country.
The Minister of Home Affairs instructed the Immigration Division to impose the 'stop notice' on all judges of the...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Fiji's police chief says investigations are underway into allegations against his officers in the tourist town of Nadi — where they allegedly dumped a man's body after he died in custody.
The victim, Richard Mock, 35, a hotel worker, was found on a vacant lot in Nadi....
Apia, SAMOA — The Government of Samoa issued an advisory detailing the activities of the cyber threat group APT40 and the risks they pose to networks in the Blue Pacific region. The advisory is based on investigations conducted by the Samoa National Computer Emergency Response Team (SamCERT) and...
Honiara, SOLOMON ISLANDS — The governments of Samoa and Solomon Islands have found themselves in an unwanted diplomatic situation after immigration authorities in Honiara issued a stop order against a Samoan citizen, who served as a judge at a beauty pageant, preventing them from returning to Apia...

![Customs believes the 101kg found over the weekend is the largest amount of cocaine found at a New Zealand Airport while doing routine border enforcement when they checked a number of bags arriving off a Hawaiian Airlines flight on Saturday night. [photo / Customs] COCAINE FOUND ON HAWAIIAN AIRLINES FLIGHT](https://samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/cocaine_in_suitcase.jpg?itok=kb5KmtVL)
![Fololina Avia, received an Asian Development Bank funded small business grant to expand her "Lady Edwina" fishing company and stall at the Apia fish market. [photo: Asian Development Bank/ Flickr Creative Commons] Fololina Avia IN HER SHOP](https://samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/lady_edwina_fishing_company.jpg?itok=WTH7Zdux)
![Territorial Members of Congress, Guam Delegate James Moyla, CNMI Del. Kimberlyn King-Hinds and American Samoa Rep. Amata Radewagen, along with Governor Lou Leon Guerrero, CNMI Gov. Arnold Palacios and U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. gathered at the Department of Interior’s Interagency Group on Insular Areas, 2025 Plenary Session. [courtesy photo] 2025 Plenary Session group photo](https://samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/interagency_group_meeting_.png?itok=cc8Untzh)
![Seabed mining is one of the most divisive regional issues, with Pacific Islands Forum member nations, such as the Cook Islands and Nauru, strongly in favor of it, while others, such as Fiji, Samaoa, the Marshall Islands and Palau, advocate against it. [photo: flickr / ISBA HQ] SEABED MINNING FLAG](https://samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/isa_banner.jpeg?itok=HBMwS0OT)





![The Samoan lawyer and hotelier, Leiataualesa Jerry Brunt has denied any wrongdoing, telling Indepth Solomons, "I don't even know where that allegation came from." [photo: Junior S Ami/ Samoa Observer] Leiataualesa Jerry Brunt](https://samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/jerry_brunt.jpeg?itok=KdjxRGkn)