Archive - Nov 20, 2011

American Samoa’s men’s soccer national team is in Samoa preparing for the kickoff of the 2014 FIFA World Cup BrazilTM qualification tournament from Nov. 22-26, 2011.

The tournament is Oceania Football Confederation’s first stage fielding American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga with the winner advancing to the second stage set for June 2012 in Fiji.

FFAS conducted and completed a well organized FIFA Futsal Coaching Course at Samoana High School's gymnasium from Nov. 11-Nov. 16, 2011.

Victor Wai'ia, a Futsal coaching instructor from the Solomon Islands, oversaw the course with the help of local coaching instructor Ruben Luvu.

"I want to thank all of you for taking your time out to participate in this course and remember, this was solely for you to help your club or your team become better in Futsal, or indoor soccer," said FFAS President Iuli Alex Godinet after he closed the course on Nov. 16.

The Independent Appeal Committee hearing the Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu misconduct appeal case in London today has reserved its judgement to give all due consideration to all the evidence and submissions made at the hearing.

The appeal is against decision handed down by the Independent Judicial Officer His Honour Judge Jeff Blackett (England) on October 15 in Auckland having upheld a Rugby World Cup Limited misconduct charge against Fuimaono Sapolu for comments made about referee Nigel Owens via the public social media network Twitter.

Several callers to Congressman Faleomavaega Eni's weekly radio program voiced their disappointment with the $6 million the government owes to the American Samoa Power Authority for utility debts.

Callers claimed this huge ASG debt is the reason the rest of the community is suffering with ASPA's high rates for services such as electric, water, waste water and trash collection.

Iakimo Felise, who was accused by the government of molesting a 10-year old victim in April this year, was sentenced Thursday, by the High Court, to 20 months imprisonment as a condition of his five-year probation.

"Every time I close the door on reality, it comes in through the windows." (Hawkeye Dreaming)

Hawkeye and Sweet Leanor were at the Post Office Saturday last, just sort of killing time, and not expecting anything at all in the mail. Hawkeye was parking the Hawk Mobile, and by the time he had exited the vehicle, Leanor already had a hand-full of yellow slips.

Washington, D.C. —Congressman Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, and Congressman Don Payne, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Africa and Human Rights, announced that they have called upon Indonesia to end systematic abuses in West Papua. The full text of their Op Ed published in the Jakarta Post on Friday, November 18, 2011 is included below.

To Indonesia: Step Up and End Systematic Abuses in West Papua

As 2011 comes to a close, three PNA countries have taken the bold step of closing their waters to foreign fishing vessels in order to maintain sustainable tuna fishing limits, reported the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA).  Closing their fishing waters are: Solomon Islands, Nauru and Tuvalu.

AUCKLAND (Pacific Media Watch): Controversial reports by Campbell Live last year into the tsunami funds donated to Samoa have won the Aotearoa Film and Television Award for Investigation of the Year.

In a move that is sure to irk the Prime Minister of Samoa Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, the AFTA was given to the TV3 crew of John Campbell and producers Pip Keane and Claudine Maclean.

atau master, Su’a Suluape Petelo will not attend New Zealand’s premier tattoo event later this month. Instead, he is sending his son, Peter. The famous family was expected to be a hit at this year’s convention but Su’a has decided that his son can represent the whole family.