Samoa

Petronilla Molio'o Mataeliga, who's from the village of Faleapuna, is Samoa's 2018 winner of the Queen's Young Leaders award.

She took over from her grandmother to lead the Fala Masi Revival Project.

National statistics show nine per cent of women in Samoa are out of work and Ms Mataeliga says learning new skills such as handicraft can give them more financial independence.

Yasaki, which operated in Samoa for 25 years, closed its doors earlier this year, putting hundreds of people out of work.

Two companies with links to New Zealand, Sleepwell and Fero, will initially employ just a few dozen people but both plan to quickly develop, with a total of 900 jobs promised by 2022.

The prime minister says the government is hoping there will be other companies coming in.

The Samoa Solidarity International Group will present a notice of opposition to Parliament on Tuesday, claiming that local law strips people of their customary land rights.

A march to mark the day one of the leaders of the Mau movement died will also take place on Saturday.

The Mau movement was an independence group which became prominent in the early 20th century.
 
The SSIG's Faleauto Taua told RNZI the death of Lauaki Namulauulu Mamoe needs to be marked.

As the second hotel investment by Digicel Samoa, the ground breaking ceremony was well attended  and led by Reverend Utufua Naseri, Hon Prime Minister of Samoa – Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and Cabinet, business and community leaders and Digicel management including Regional Hub CEO Colin Stone.

Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said this was among topics discussed at recent talks held in the South Korean capital Seoul.

He told reporters at his weekly media briefing on Friday it was hoped there'd be a plan on the issue soon.

Tuilaepa, who is chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, referred to the leadership of North Korea as "a bit off in the head".

He said the issue was of major concern particularly as another test was launched by Pyongyang during the Seoul visit.

Photo: AFP / KCNA via KNS

Tuilaepa described same sex marriage as an abomination and a "Sodom and Gomorrah practice" at his weekly media conference on Friday.

He said there is no true Christian country in the world which would allow it and it would not be allowed in Samoa as long as it remained a Christian country.

Tuilaepa and his Human Rights Protection Party changed the country's constitution earlier this year to formally make Samoa a Christian state.

Iuniarra Sipaia won a bronze medal in the women's over 90kg category at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Turkmenistan in September but was subsequently suspended for using triamcinolone acetonide.

The President of the Samoa Weightlifting Federation, Jerry Wallwork, said they've been using cortisone injections to treat knee or joint injuries for years and were not made aware the rules had changed.

"I didn't know - my doctor didn't know. He should have done his research that it's now on the banned list starting from 2016," he said.

At present, Wilex, uses cocoa supplied by farmers in Upolu and Savaii, but company representative Nathan Wilson says it is also looking at supplies from American Samoa.

A cocoa tree planting programme was spearheaded by American Samoa's Department of Agriculture between 2008 and 2012 and cocoa plantations sprung up in Fagasa, Malaeloa and even in Manua.

Wilex exports chocolates and cocoa powder to New Zealand and Australia and is now promoting its products in the territory.

The official declaration was made on December 10, 2017 in Port Vila, during the Pacific Mini Games, where PGC usually convened on Sunday, which was the Athletes’ rest day of the Games.

PGC Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Minogue said that the PGC general assembly has formally declared that Samoa will be the next host of the Pacific Games in 2019, after the decision made by the PGC executive board in September 2017.

“The 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa will take place from July 6 to 20, and there will be 26 Sports disciplines all together, for nations to compete in”.

A total of 141 students graduated from the university and a total of eight graduated with Master’s Degree.

A statement said students from eleven countries which included countries from as far as Nigeria, Belize, Jamaica and New Zealand were part of the graduation ceremony.