Samoa

The new head of state will be sworn-in at the temporary Parliament house at Tuanaimato.

RNZI reports he is the holder of the paramount title Tui A'ana Tuimaleali'ifano Va'aleto'a Sualauvi II.

The current head of state, Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi, told reporters he will address the nation on the swearing-in day.

The Russian foreign ministry said the mutual arrangement to grant travellers stays of up to 60 days without a visa was signed in Wellington in April.

This means Samoan passport holders can now enter more than 110 countries without a visa, which is double the number of ten years ago.

They include the European Union states but not the countries with which Samoa has the closest personal and economic ties.

RNZI reports visas are still needed for Samoans wanting to visit New Zealand, Australia, China and the United States.

Samoa along with Fiji, Tonga and the Cook Islands are stakeholders of the programe.

And retired All Blacks, Samoan born Rodney So'oialo who played 63 tests for the All Blacks and 101 games for the Wellington Hurricanes, is the spokesperson for the New Zealand Rugby Union’s Quick Rip Program.

So’oialo is currently in the country to support an exciting New Zealand funded sports partnership aimed at reducing the effects of non-communicable diseases across the Pacific and developing the sport of rugby according to a release from the Ministry of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

The tender was advertised for public interest and 18 companies submitted applications of bids.

The Sub Committee conducted an assessment of the bids according to their visits to interested companies to make sure that the products are of good and appropriate quality.

After the assessments a recommendation was submitted to Cabinet for the final decision.

The companies selected range from meat and fish suppliers, bakery to wholesalers.

The following companies have been awarded the contract:

But it’s not stopping the Samoa Government from preparing to host the games, says Prime Minister Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi.

As of now, Samoa is the only country to have officially submitted its request to host the next Pacific Games after Tonga pulled the plug last month.

The Kingdom had cited financial reasons and different priorities as grounds for their withdrawal.

One of the groups, the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme, has established the insurance product in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

The programme's Michael Carr said part of their work now is researching the suitability of the insurance product for Samoa.

He said previous work with the Commercial Bank of Samoa highlighted the reasons Samoans hadn't bothered with funeral insurance.

A Cabinet statement said the tender was advertised for public interest and three contractors’ submitted bids.

The Sub Committee conducted an assessment according to the tender's technical specifications before a recommendation was submitted to Cabinet for the final decision.

Photo: You Tube. 

To round off Digicel’s biggest promotion yet for 2017, a grand prize winner, Maluina Aiono was selected live on TV1 by Digicel’s Mulitalo Sailo Tulifau from over 300,000 entries.

The ban, which prevented people from running a shop or constructing a multi storey house, was put in place years ago by village matais who did not want to lease out their lands to businesses.

However, village council member, Taliaoa Viliamu, told a local radio station that the current village council wanted to create business opportunities for the people of Afega.

Mr Viliamu said a few matais opposed the lifting of the ban initially but they now support the decision after several meetings.

The first half was dominated by Tahiti, but Marshall Islands made their presence known in the second by scoring 25 of their 36 points in the second half. Unfortunately, it was too late as they were unable to overcome the 31-point final deficit.