カテゴリー: Samoa
After months of political turmoil, following the country’s most contentious election, Fiama Naomi Mata’afa is ready to get to workThe prime minister’s office in Apia, the capital of Samoa, which overlooks the harbour, has just been vacated by the man w…
Fiame Naomi Mata’afa was confirmed by Samoa’s court of appeal to be the country’s first female prime minister, ending the 22-year reign of the former leaderSamoa’s months-long political crisis has been brought to a close and the Pacific nation has its …
Samoa is experiencing a bloodless coup. The Pacific’s most stable democracy is in trouble | Fiona Ey
The government’s actions after last month’s elections call democracy into question and set a dangerous precedent for developing nationsSamoa has long been touted as a beacon of democracy and political stability in the Pacific, a region troubled by mili…
The second-longest serving prime minister in the world is being challenged by his former deputySamoa’s ruling party will face its strongest challenge in 40 years as the small South Pacific country goes to the polls on Friday.After 22 years in the top j…
A new documentary shows that while the health impacts of the pandemic have – so far – been largely avoided, the effects of isolation on families, communities, and livelihoods has been profound Faith, family, and a little bit of farming.The Pacific’s re…
Exclusive: expelled from Fiji, Professor Pal Ahluwalia says he remains committed to University of the South Pacific’s ‘current and future leaders’The corruption-busting university vice-chancellor Pal Ahluwalia, deported from Fiji over his efforts to ex…
The New Zealand foreign minister’s moko has become international news, but beyond an identifier, our tatau are a link to ancestors, a vessel for our cultures’ stories, and a tribute to those who have gone beforeShortly before my interview with six Euro…
A repatriation flight has brought the first case to the Pacific archipelago, which has successfully kept the virus from its shores for 11 monthsSamoa has confirmed its first case of coronavirus – a case imported from Australia – after nearly 11 months …
The most stable democracy in the Pacific is undergoing a seismic political shift as the country approaches elections next year Samoa’s former deputy prime minister will run against her former party of 35 years, and the prime minister she served under, …
Prime minister Tuilaepa Sailele Lupesoliai Malielegaoi has ruled for 22 years, but a former ally leads a new coalition of challengersThe 22-year rule of one of the world’s longest-serving prime ministers, Samoa’s Tuilaepa Sailele Lupesoliai Malielegaoi…
Fa’afafine athlete and advocate Jaiyah Saelua, and Kaimana, the fa’afafine actor who will play her in Taika Waititi’s latest film, find shared celebration in a uniquely Polynesian storyJaiyah Saelua is a footballer first.The first openly transgender wo…
New Zealand-based Joseph Auga Matamata used 13 of his countrymen as slaves over a quarter of centuryA New Zealand-based Samoan chief has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for human trafficking and using 13 of his countrymen as slaves over a 25-year …
In the shadow of the epidemic that claimed the lives of 83 children, families live with constant reminders of loss. Words by Jacqui Thornton. Photographs by Tom Maguire Early on the morning of 6 July 2018, two mothers living in neighbouring villages on…
Covid-19-related developments throughout the Pacific IslandsThe total number of cases of Covid-19 infection listed by the World Health Organization for the region stands at 382, an increase of 22 since last week.With increasing evidence that many of th…