PACIFIC NEWS BRIEFS
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Tuvalu's first international underwater communications cable landed in the tiny island nation's capital Funafuti this past week. "It sets the stage for Tuvalu's transformation into a digital nation," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
"This is a significant step forward,...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Krizhna Bayudan’s family lost their home in last August’s Lahaina fire. Their rent assistance from insurance is running out, and she’s not sure what’s next.
Now, Bayudan is in D.C. leading a Maui coalition of disaster-affected communities to demand Community Development...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The New Zealand Defense Force will aid the Science and Research Organization of Samoa (SROS) to commence a further round of seawater sampling and monitoring in the precautionary area created following the grounding and sinking of HMNZS Manawanui.
NZDF said they were...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A rare spade-toothed whale is being dissected in New Zealand in a world-first examination of a complete specimen.
The whale, a five-meter long male, washed ashore in Otago in July, sparking interest among scientists and local Māori.
Spade-toothed whales, named for their...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On Saturday, Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te landed in Hawaii, bowed his head, and was garlanded with flowers.
It was his first stop in what will be an almost week-long sweep through the region, which will also take the president to the handful of Pacific nations that...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Speaker of the Samoa House, Papalii Lio Masipau, and Minister of Justice, Matamua Seumanu Vasati Sili Pulifana, were detained at Auckland International Airport on Thursday, along with two other passengers, after allegedly bypassing security screening in Apia.
The...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A new study on plastic consumption warns that business as usual will result in nearly double the amount of plastic pollution.
World leaders, including the Pacific, are currently meeting in South Korea to try agree on a new international treaty to fight plastic pollution...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The New Zealand-based salvage companies engaged by the New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF) are preparing to remove and dispose of the fuel and pollutants from the sunken HMNZ Manawanui.
The NZDF said work continues at the highest level to ensure biosecurity requirements and...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Samoa's Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa declared additional holiday days for government workers to thank them for their efforts in hosting over 4000 delegates at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) last month.
While essential services remain...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Federal and state agencies teamed up with the Marine Mammal Center to rescue a young Hawaiian monk seal on Maui earlier this month.
Officials say RS52, a juvenile male born on Lanai, was spotted losing significant weight in late September. Over the next few weeks, he...