Commercial flights

This was confirmed by Minister of Samoa Airways, Leatinu'u Wayne So'oialo in an interview with Radio Polynesia.

"Basically between Samoa and American Samoa is now open. We are now on a schedule flights between the two Samoas as you know before it's all operating on charter flights but I think we need to put back our schedule flights between here and American Samoa."

Leatinu'u said they are awaiting a report from the Minister of Works, Transport and Infrastructure on the re-open of the Fagalii Airport.

Eighteen aircraft will transfer people to third countries from safe sites outside Afghanistan, the Pentagon said.

Many thousands of Afghans are crowded outside Kabul airport, desperate to flee the country after the Taliban swept to power on 15 August.

President Joe Biden said on Sunday that the US had evacuated nearly 28,000 people in the past week.

"There is no way to evacuate this many people without pain and the heart-breaking images you see," Mr Biden told reporters at the White House, adding: "We have a long way to go and a lot can still go wrong."