PINA

Samoa's prime minister-elect was locked out of the Pacific nation's parliament in extraordinary scenes Monday, as her political rival refused to accept electoral defeat prompting claims of a coup. Fiame Naomi Mata'afa arrived at parliament ready to be appointed Samoa's first female prime minister, accompanied by judges in formal robes and horsehair wigs whose job was to witness her swearing...

By Andrew Hunter, Facebook News Partnerships, Australia and New Zealand & David Grant, Accelerator Program Manager Funding and knowledge shared with news organisations participating in the Facebook Journalism Project’s Accelerator program has helped publishers to thrive despite perilous business conditions brought on by COVID-19. Australian and New Zealand publishers participating in the Facebook Journalism Project’s Reader Revenue Accelerator in 2019 and...

Get vaccinated. Protect yourself, your family and all those around you. You know it’s the right thing to do, writes Prime Minister Mark Brown. Monday we welcomed our first planeload of tourists in more than a year. It was a sight I have been looking forward to seeing for quite some time now. That same plane also delivered our first batch...

By Andreas Illmer Samoa is set to get its first female prime minister, marking the end of unprecedented political drama in the small Pacific island nation of 200,000 people. On Monday, the Supreme Court finally validated Fiame Naomi Mata'afa's shock April election win, ending weeks of political stalemate and calling off a re-run. She unseated the world's second-longest serving prime minister...

There were tears, singing and applause as the first travel-bubble flight from New Zealand landed in Rarotonga on Tuesday. Passengers on board Air New Zealand flight NZ940 didn’t let the bad weather in the Cook Islands deter their excitement as they broke into applause when the pilot announced the arrival on the tarmac. It was the first time visitors were allowed...

au has confirmed that Covid-19 has not arrived on land in Kiribati despite the first case being confirmed from an I-Kiribati crew who just arrived from Papua New Guinea. In his address to the nation on Radio Kiribati, President Maamau said the man is being isolated aboard a reefer ship at the Betio port and his condition is being strictly...

Samoa Head of State, Tuimalealiifano Sualauvi Va’aletoa II, has agreed to convene Parliament after meeting with the Fa’atuatua ile Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party today. The Chairman and founder of FAST, La’auli Leuatea Schmidt, confirmed the positive news from the Head of State’s residence late this afternoon. In an interview with the Samoa Observer La’auli confirmed a second meeting with...

The Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) President Ishmael Toroama said Bougainville must have its independence within the next four years, through the election of members to the parliament of the independent state of Bougainville by June 2025. President Toroama made this statement as he outlined the official position of the ABG as Bougainville begins the first Post Referendum Consultations with the...

Fiji has reported four new cases of COVID-19, and all cases are close contacts of existing cases from the Nadali cluster. These cases were confirmed after running more than 2500 lab tests Monday. Ministry of Health and Medical Services permanent secretary Dr James Fong said because of a steadily rising number of cases, they were concerned that Nadali – located just...

Fiame Naomi Mata’afa described Monday as an “incredible day” and she looked forward to leading Samoa through challenging times, in a statement that all but claimed victory following two decisive Supreme Court victories. Mata'afa’s comments came late on Monday after the Faatuatua ile Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party successfully challenged two attempts to interfere with the results of a...