Samoa

England front-rower James Graham was a then 22-year-old forward in England's 2008 World Cup squad and now finds himself 135 games into an NRL career after a move to Australia four years later. 

English hooker James Roby also used the tournament less than a decade ago to kick-start a big career in the English Super League, repeatedly turning down offers from NRL clubs throughout that period. 

We saw Fijian winger Akuila Uate burst onto the international scene at the same time and immediately grab the attention of the rugby league world with five tries in four games. 

Several of the players who will take the field in the Group B match are dual New Zealand-Samoa internationals, showcasing the close bond the two nations share.

New Zealand will have Brad Takairangi, Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Isaac Liu and Danny Levi making their Kiwis debut, while Kodi Nikorima and Shaun Johnson will play in the halves together for the first time. 

The victim was living with the defendant and his wife and attended a church college in Apia where the first offence took place.

The police said other offences took place in a village on Savaii Island where the defendant and his wife had been serving.

The victim became pregnant and gave birth to two children as a result.

The defendant has been stripped of all his church positions and duties.

"Culture of silence must end"

The prime minister met with his ruling HRPP caucus on Tuesday and afterwards he dismissed reports of a rift within the party.

RNZI reports Tui'laepa vehemently denied reports of a move to topple his leadership while he was away.

Tuila'epa says he doubted the caucus would make such a move.

He told local reporters on Wednesday that members had laughed when the matter was discussed.

He accused the media of creating stories to sell.

Supreme Court judge Justice Mata Keli Tuatagaloa said alcohol-related cases had dropped from 61 percent of all cases in 2015 to 55 percent last year.

She said the concept of needing a "village to raise a child" was effective in helping offenders and the court process involved engaging the community.

The District Court has denied an application by the man to leave Samoa in order to carry out business in Vanuatu while awaiting trial.

Catalin Razvan is facing 30 charges including several counts of theft and accessing ATM electronics with the intention to commit a crime.

RNZI reports Razvan was arrested in June after a bank notified the police of the alleged offences.

He has been released on bail but has also surrendered his travel documents.

The trial is set for 15 November.

In his letter to the PM-elect, Tuilaepa said Samoa and New Zealand have enjoyed warm relations in various areas of mutual interest and he looks forward to working with Ardern to further strengthen the ties between the two countries and her people.

‘Similarly I look forward to our close collaboration on issues of importance to our Pacific region and the cooperation arrangements between the Pacific Forum countries.

Ardern was appointed New Zealand Prime Minister last week.

A district court found Aiolupotea Laauli Talata'ina guilty of presenting a firearm to a woman serving a jail sentence.

He was also found guilty on one count of being armed with a dangerous weapon, in this case a 12-gauge pump action rifle.

Aiolupotea was the driver for the Police Commissioner, Fuiavailili Egon Keil, before being suspended when police filed criminal charges against him last year.

He will be sentenced next Monday.

The weapon involved in the case has reportedly gone missing after being exhibited during the trial.

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) is holding its 12th Conference of the Parties in Manila, Philippines which Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, New Zealand, Palau and Samoa will be attending.

The CMS had 124 Parties as of July this year, uniting to protect migratory species placed under two different lists.

Appendix 1 lists migratory species that are endangered and Appendix 2 lists migratory species which have an unfavorable conservation status requiring international agreements for their conservation and management.

This year’s theme for the event “Making the invisible, visible”.  

The International Pacific Arts community will be taking their turn to weigh in on the issues of climate change and dislocation and how they will impact our cultures in the future. 

Samoan artist, Tupe Lualua, is the Creative director behind Le Moana Dance Company based in Wellington, New Zealand, and she will be attending this year’s arts conference.