Regional

Former Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Samoa's opposition leader Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi says the country faces suspension by World Rugby today because of "a dirty political move" by the government. Tuilaepa's spoke to RNZ Pacific after the government announced that it was pulling its support of Lakapi...
 Liz McGregor
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — An Emmy award-winning costume designer has described the opportunity to work on Disney's Moana live-action film as a "dream come true". Liz McGregor, who hails from Kolomotu'a in Tonga but is based in Auckland, said she received an email "that came out of the blue" from...
ARTWORK BASED ON FOSSILS
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Fossils found in north-west Queensland have given paleontologists "direct evidence" of the behavior of prehistoric animals in the Eromanga Sea 100 million years ago. This is one of the clearest — and only — examples of "three-tier predator interaction" ever discovered...
LISA FROM TONGA
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Lisa grew up in a small rural village in Tonga. Her family are farmers and the 23-year-old lived a simple life. But she always dreamed of something bigger. So when a Tongan woman living in China contacted her through a family member with an offer of a better life, she...
Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata
Washington, D.C. — Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata is welcoming this week’s House passage of a government funding extension bill that would keep the federal government open after the end of the fiscal year September 30. The extension would fund the government across the board until December 4,...
CNMI FLAG
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Opposition is growing in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to a United States congressional proposal that would end automatic citizenship for many children born in American territories from 2027. CNMI delegate to the US Congres Kimberlyn King-Hinds...
ICE PIPE
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Far North Mayor Moko Tepania has a blunt message for shop owners selling pipes for smoking meth — stop it now. While methamphetamine is a banned class A drug with stiff penalties for dealing and possession, meth pipes are sold openly in vape stores, $2 shops and dairies...
Samoa PM and New Zealand PM
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Prime Minister La'aulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt is in New Zealand this week to meet seasonal workers and their families. He and Labor Minister Fata Ryan Schuster met Samoan Recognized Seasonal Employer workers near Napier on Sunday. While in Napier, La'auli heard from...
DEEP SEA MINING LEASE AREA
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Pacific leaders and environmental advocates have condemned a United States government proposal to advance plans for an offshore mineral lease sale in federal waters off American Samoa. They say the move - despite about 70,000 public comments submitted during the process...
Sabrina Suluai-Mahuk
Washington, D.C — Trump administration has announced a proposed deep sea mining lease sale in federal waters near American Samoa, marking the world’s first attempt to commercially mine the deep sea. The move is a major step toward opening U.S. waters to commercial deep sea mining and comes despite...

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