Regional
KEALAKEKUA, Hawaii — A defense attorney representing one of three individuals charged in the attempted murder of a hotel security guard placed the blame on the victim, calling him the aggressor and responsible for the brutal beating he endured.
The jury trial for Wesley Samoa, Natisha Tautalatasi...
Auckland, NEW ZEALAND — A Samoan couple say Oranga Tamariki gave them less than 48 hours' notice their foster daughter of almost a year would be taken away.
They had repeatedly tried to apply to be the permanent foster parents for their 6-year-old foster daughter, Sarah*, who is Pākehā and has...
Rarotonga, COOK ISLANDS — Young males in the Cook Islands are twice as likely to be sexually abused as those in New Zealand.
That's according to a study conducted by the campus director at the University of the South Pacific in the Cook Islands.
The recently published results from 2017 follow on...
Apia, SAMOA — The Censorship Board’s aim of upholding Samoa’s morality by banning Rocketman is “laudable,” according to filmmaker, artists and manager of Tiapapata Art Centre, Galumalemana Steven Percival.
Rocketman, the story of Elton John’s life, was banned by the Samoa Censorship Board on...
Honolulu, HAWAII — A Texas lawyer is arranging adoptions that involve birth mothers flown from the Marshall Islands to the U.S. in defiance of a treaty between the two nations, and has told U.S. clients she has done it repeatedly.
“Yes, it’s legal to pay for tickets,” Jody Hall, who runs a Dallas...
Honolulu, HAWAII — In part 1 of their investigation of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, Civil Beat Hawaii looked at the history of the Western Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund and how the money spent is rarely discussed openly at full meetings of the 16-member council.
In...
Apia, SAMOA — Have to hand it to NZ Deputy PM Winston Peters for standing up to a manipulating media over plans by Samoa to build a new wharf at Vaiusu Bay.
'We don't tell them what to do', Winston Peters told off the NZ media who were obviously trying to stir up reaction to the “ multi-million...
Suva, FIJI —The initial results of a survey by ECPAT International to gather the perceptions of frontline welfare workers on the sexual exploitation of children (SEC) in the Pacific was launched in Suva over the week. The survey was carried for welfare workers in seven Pacific countries including...
Apia, SAMOA — At least 40 students at a Samoa college were injured when a bus they were travelling on rolled at Auala village while allegedly trying to overtake a car on the road.
According to Newsline Samoa, the bus was travelling east from the villages of Falelima, Tufutafoe and Neiafu to take...
Apia, SAMOA — LGBTI rights advocates in Samoa are protesting against the censoring of the Elton John biopic Rocketman.
Samoa's only cinema revealed the ban on Friday on its Facebook page and employees told local media it was due to the portrayal of gay sex in the film.
In conservative Samoa - where...