Samoa

Corporal punishment was abolished many years ago in Samoa but the government has frequently raised the possibility of bringing it back to curb violence involving school students.

During his regular radio on 2AP the Prime Minister Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, said legislation is being prepared but he didn't say when or if it will be introduced.

He called on all Samoans to help overcome the student violence issue but if a solution is not forthcoming, then government would do something about the problem.

Fiaalii Mariner was admitted to hospital in Samoa suffering from the tropical disease within the first six weeks of landing in the country with his wife and his two youngest children.

His condition deteriorated so badly he was not able to be airlifted to New Zealand for further treatment.

A post on Givealittle said the father-of-two, who is believed to also have two other children, died and asked for those who had donated to pray for his wife and the family.

Fiji lost in the semi-finals of the World Series opener in Dubai over the weekend to eventual winners South Africa and then lost the third/fourth playoff to England 28-21 while Samoa finished in sixth place losing in the fifth place final to Australia 22-17.

Canada and Wales complete the Pacific teams' pool.

New Zealand and Australia are also drawn together, alongside Spain and the USA.

Photo source Samoa Sevens Facebook 

The request was made during the two Samoa talks which were held this week in Apia, the first time in three years.

The StarKist Samoa cannery has closed intermittently because of supply shortages.

A communiqué from the meeting issued on Thursday states that the tuna industry represents a significant aspect of American Samoa's economy.

Photo source PINA

Fiji topped their group following wins over Australia, Wales and Russia.

Samoa finished second to New Zealand in their group, going down to the All Blacks Sevens 24-12, in their only loss in pool play.

In the quarter-finals Fiji will play Scotland, Samoa will play South Africa, New Zealand will play Kenya and England will play Australia.

Meanwhile the Fiji women beat Japan 17-15 in their last game to finish 11th overall.

Photo Instagram. Caption: Alatasi Tupou 

The proposal was discussed during Thursday's two Samoa meeting between leaders of American Samoa and Samoa in Apia.

American Samoa has proposed a "Samoa Pass Program" to better facilitate travel between the two Samoas.

The programme proposal has two features.

The first is 'Samoa Pass', a no cost, three-day permit for US Nationals to travel to Samoa.

The second is 'Samoa Premium', a single permit fee which allows multiple entries to Samoa over the course of a year.

Close to 30 officials are attending the two days of talks.

Director of Commerce Keniseli Lafaele who is one of the coordinators for American Samoa says the size of the local delegation and the agenda of the talks have been reduced from what was originally planned.

He says the agenda includes economic integration (trade, commerce and investments), immigration and homeland security, broadband connectivity opportunities (telecommunication), health, climate change, fisheries, tourism, workforce development, election issues.

The ‘app’ is funded by United Nations Development Programme, New Zealand and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

It was initially devised in Samoa by OHCHR and National Human Rights Institution consultant, Ashley Bowe who was the facilitator of a workshop attended by civil servants from government ministries.

Mr Bowe said that there are a couple of databases to track human rights implementation but Sadata automates the data collection process and uses a sophisticated clustering system to reduce the amount of time needed to write reports.

Scott Barlow received a five year sentence for a charge of possession of narcotics and another charge of possession of a utensil.

Fatu Vagana was sentenced to four years and six months imprisonment for possession of narcotics.

Both men appeared before Justice Tafaoimalo Leilani Tuala- Warren at the Supreme Court.

Barlow and Vagana were found guilty of possession of 5.9 grams of methamphetamines in 2017.

The five countries are the Cook Islands, the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu.

The company, which is owned by the Pacific Island countries, was set up after states saw a need for a mechanism to protect their people from increasing climate and seismic risks.

It provides a regional catastrophe insurance platform offering cover that can be paid out within 10 days of a triggered event, so governments have access to immediate liquidity for disaster response.