Regional
Honolulu, HAWAII — In a major blow to the tourism industry, the governor has announced plans to delay until Sept. 1 a program that would allow trans-Pacific travelers to skip quarantine in Hawaii if they test negative for COVID-19.
Gov. David Ige said he delayed the launch of traveler pre-testing...
Nuku'alofa, TONGA — Tonga is looking at more repatriation flights to bring nationals home from low risk countries, but the cost of quarantine for repatriated passengers over a three-month period is estimated to be around $1 million pa’anga, the Ministry of Health CEO Dr Siale ‘Akau’ola conjected...
Apia, SAMOA — Officers conducting Samoa's national census will be dishing out cash while on the job.
Newsline Samoa reports that every citizen whose personal details are collected by the Samoa Bureau of Statistics officers will receive $50 tala (US$18)
It is part of the government's second stimulus...
Wellington, NEW ZEALAND — The head of the South Pacific Tourism Organization says any prospect of a tourism rebound this year has been written off.
The region's economies are reeling from the loss of tourism - which makes up a majority of their income - because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chris...
Apia, SAMOA — The second lot of Recognised Seasonal Employees or RSE workers arrived into Faleolo Airport yesterday afternoon in an all hands-on-deck operation by the Ministry of Health, Samoa Airport Authority and Ministry of Police, to ensure the safe transportation of repatriated citizens to...
Portland, OREGON — A 24-year old Samoan, along with six other people, have been arrested and face federal charges for their roles in this past weekend’s riots at the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse in Portland, Oregon.
Taimane Jame Te’o, 24, of Eugene, Oregon, is charged with assaulting a federal...
Apia, SAMOA — A Samoan man was kept in prison for nearly five years longer than he should have been because of an administrative error.
Sio Agafili, 45, was meant to have been released in December 2015, but the error was only picked up on by a judge when he appeared in the Supreme Court last week...
Honolulu, HAWAII — A Samoan man is among three former prison guards at the Hawaii Community Correction Center in Hilo, Hawaii that were indictment this past Wednesday at the federal court in Honolulu for the alleged assault of an inmate and attempting to cover up the incident, according to...
Rarotonga, COOK ISLANDS — There are renewed calls in the Cook Islands for an indigenous Māori name to replace the country's colonial era moniker.
Traditional leaders used the recent 30th anniversary of Rarotonga's Tākitimu monarch to push for the name change.
Tākitimu's paramount chief herself...
Hastings, NEW ZEALAND — Samoa's RSE workers who finished their contracts in May and June will be returned home on chartered flights organized by the New Zealand horticulture industry.
The date for the first flight is yet to be finalised but an assistant CEO of Samoa's Ministry of Labour who is the...