Samoa ditches mandatory testing
Travellers to Samoa no longer face mandatory Covid testing and other health restrictions.
Photo: 123rf.com
The Samoa Observer reports Acting Prime Minister, Tuala Iosefo Ponifasio, said Cabinet decided at its Wednesday meeting to remove all restrictions and related conditions from the current travel advisory to allow the full opening of borders.
Tuala said this includes the removal of mandatory testing for Covid-19 and visitors to Samoa will no longer need to show any proof of vaccination.
But Tuala advised that travellers are still required to complete health arrival cards and any false declaration will be penalised.
Pro-independence Tahiti party takes fight to New York
A delegation from the pro-independence party from French Polynesia the Tavini Huiraatira will attend the fourth UN decolonisation commission committee early next month in New York.
The party is planning to send up to 30 people to the talks
United Nations returned French Polynesia to its decolonisation list in 2013.
The party has been going to the committee every year for nine years but the French state boycotts the discussions.
The Tavini Huiraatira party, led by the Mayor of Faa'a, Oscar Temaru, has pushed that the move to independence should be through bilateral talks.
To date, Paris has steered clear of any suggestion that it was ever considering holding an independence referendum in French Polynesia.
Storm recovery team in American Samoa
A US Federal Emergency Management Agency recovery team is scheduled to arrive in American Samoa, following US President Joe Biden's disaster declaration issued last week.
The declaration followed the weather event bringing high surf, high winds and flooding to the territory in July.
The Federal coordinating officer will work with officials in the territory to finalise the agreement and also to sign and complete the public assistance form for funds to be released and allocated.
Also part of the federal recovery team are two officials to work with the territorial government for disaster recovery.
Another team is set to arrive early next week.
Micronesia establishes new ties with Panama, Bahrain
The Federated States of Micronesia has established diplomatic relations with Panama and Bahrain.
Kandhi Elieisar, Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs, signed a joint communique formalising the agreement at the United Nations' General
Assembly in New York.
Panama and Bahrain are the 94th and 95th countries with which Micronesia has established diplomatic relations.
Marianas hails development in covid fight
Health authorities in the Northern Mariana Islands think they may have finally turned a corner in their battle against Covid-19.
There have been zero hospital admissions for several weeks now and the number of Covid-19 cases continues to drop.
Only 10 new cases were reported between September 11 and 17.
The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. says it released its penultimate report on Covid-19 figures last Monday and it will cease weekly updates altogether from September 27.
However, it says Covid-19 support services will continue and it will update residents should there be any significant developments.
Samoan teenager wins regional tennis tournament
A rising Samoan tennis star has won the Under-16 category of the Pacific Oceania Junior Championship.
Mahinarangi (Mahina) Warren, 15, beat Tahiti's No,1 seeded player Meehetia Boosie in straight sets in the final, 6-3, 6-3.
She also won the Best Female Athlete award at the tournament.
Mahina is on a tennis scholarship at Saint Kentigern College in Auckland.
She is currently ranked third in New Zealand for her age group.
Mahinarangi was selected to represent the Oceania Tennis Federation at the prestigious Junior Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships held in Florida between December 12 and 21, 2021.