Samoa

Of the 171 candidates in the general election, 24 are women.

In the previous 2011 election, there were just 9 women candidates.

In 2013 the constitution was changed to reserve five seats, or l0 percent, of the 49 seats in Parliament for women.

Faaulusau Rosa Duffy Stowers is one of the only two candidates nominated for Gagaifomauga number 3.

She will be running against the Parliamentary speaker, La'auli Leuatea Polataivao next week.

The speaker is challenging her candidacy in court.

The road though for the Director/ Producer of Three Wise Cousins Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa.

The caretaker Prime Minister and leader of HRPP, Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi said he is proud of the political party's achievements during its reign in power.

The plaintiff, Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, is seeking a court decision to declare void the candidacy of, the Tautua Samoa party's Tu'ula Kiliri Lafi Tuitui.

Tuila'epa claims that his opponent doesn't meet the monotaga or traditional village service requirement under the Electoral Act.

Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet Admiral Scott Swift will accompany Assistant Secretary Russel will travel to Apia, Samoa; Nuku'alofa, Tonga; and Koror, Palau, February 20-25, for bilateral meetings and regional consultations.

The 35th US Coral Reef Task Force Meeting from Feb. 12-19 in Washington D.C. included the USCRTF Business Meeting where Gov.

Lolo Matalasi Moliga addressed the gathering. Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR) director Dr. Ruth Matagi-Tofiga also attended the meeting as well as side meetings of the USCRTF’s All Island Committee (AIC) for which she is the point of contact for American Samoa.  

According to a statement from DOH, the free checkups are to 'help pregnant mothers at this time of the Zika outbreak, to ensure that they don't miss any checkups and are well protected from Zika." 

Pregnant women are a special target group "due to a suspected link between the virus and deformities in babies born of mothers who contracted the virus" while pregnant.  

According to the Health Department, such cases have occurred in Brazil but have not been documented and confirmed in the United States and its territories.  

This brings the total of imported cases in China to three.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) and General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China say the male patient, a 38-year-old man from Yiwu, Zhejiang, traveled to Fiji and Samoa in a tour group on February 2.

The Tautua Samoa party is one of the groups staking claims to know how to end corruption.