Weekend Observer News Today

It has been over a week since multiple teams from Samoa’s Ministry of Health (MOH) began the mass administration of drugs in all of Samoa’s islands. The exercise targeted members of the public, in a bid to fight off the risks of lymphatic filariasis infection, which local authorities warned conti...

It has been a big week for Samoa’s tourism sector with hundreds of visitors in town for the week-long Teuila Festival, no doubt, pumping in thousands of tala into the local economy. Last month the International Va'a Federation (IVF) World Distance Championship hosted by Samoa, based on estimates ...

Last Friday the Office of Electoral Commission (OEC) closed the nomination period and in the process confirmed the candidacy of eight individuals who will contest next month’s three by-elections.The entry of a new political party, Constitution Democracy Republic Party has created a buzz among pun...

It is great to see the Office of the Electoral Commission progressing with moves to set up an upgraded e-roll biometric system in preparation for electronic voting. The introduction of electronic voting in Samoa’s next general election in 2026 would mark the next evolutionary phase of our voting ...

Last Monday the Government reopened the SAT$2.6 million Fagali’i Airport, primarily for light aircraft flights from American Samoa, and four years after the former Administration decided to close it.Government leaders, representatives of the business community, the diplomatic corps and Fagali’i v...

It is good news that progress is finally been made on Samoa’s National Identification Project (NIP). The ID card that will be issued at the completion of the project is supposed to replace the voter ID and can be used as a health or medical ID card.An article (National ID coming soon) in yesterda...

Governments and public institutions around the world have strict laws and policies governing the giving of gifts to public officials.The rationale behind these laws or policies, in most democratic nations with similar systems of governance to Samoa, is to maintain the integrity of the public offi...

Dear Editor, In the Weekend Observer issue dated Saturday, 18th February 2023, the abovementioned headlined article by reporter Sialai Sarafina Sanerivi was covered on front and second page.This article referred to “recent data released by the Samoa Bureau of Statistics (SBS)” more specifically the...

The debate on banning the overwhelmingly popular video-sharing app TikTok has been raging globally over the last three years, due to security concerns that its parent company, ByteDance could pass on confidential user data to the Chinese government.But Samoans, like other Pacific islanders, are u...

The second and final part of The Desmond Allen Interviews looking at the life of veteran journalist, broadcaster and playwright Barbara Gloudon published in the Jamaica Observer on...