Category Archives: Samoa

Former Labor senator to be Australia’s first anti-slavery commissioner

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With an estimated 41,000 people living in modern slavery in Australia, Chris Evans’ role to address exploitative practices such as forced marriage and deceptive recruiting

The former Labor minister Chris Evans will be Australia’s first anti-slavery commissioner, with the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, announcing that the longtime senator will take up a five-year term in December.

Evans served as immigration and workplace relations minister under the Rudd and Gillard governments, and is a former chief executive of anti-slavery group Walk Free’s faith-based arm Global Freedom Network.

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‘Time has come’: Commonwealth heads agree to reparatory justice dialogue despite reluctant UK

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UK government stresses it does not pay reparations and said before Chogm summit that issue was not on agenda

Commonwealth leaders have resolved that “the time has come” for a conversation on reparatory justice despite the UK’s insistence that the issue was not on their agenda.

The language, agreed at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm) on Saturday, is a blow to the UK, which wanted to avoid reparatory justice being mentioned.

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Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey appointed Commonwealth secretary general

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Ghana’s foreign minister since 2017, Botchwey supports calls for reparations for transatlantic slavery and colonialism

Commonwealth members have appointed Ghana’s foreign minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, as the new secretary general, on the final day of the group’s summit in Samoa.

Botchwey, a former lawmaker who has served as Ghana’s foreign minister since 2017, has supported calls for reparations for transatlantic slavery and colonialism – a position that was also shared by the two other candidates who had vied for the position.

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King Charles acknowledges ‘painful’ past as calls for slavery reparations grow at Commonwealth summit

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Some leaders had hoped Charles might use his speech at Chogm in Samoa as an opportunity to apologise for Britain’s colonial past

King Charles acknowledged “painful aspects” of Britain’s past while sidestepping calls to directly address reparations for slavery at the summit of Commonwealth leaders, saying “none of us can change the past, but we can commit … to learning its lessons”.

Charles was speaking to leaders representing 56 Commonwealth nations at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm) in the Pacific nation of Samoa, his first time attending the summit since taking the throne. In his speech, the king also addressed the climate crisis, development challenges and paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth.

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State-backed loans to go to firms importing critical minerals into UK

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Rachel Reeves to encourage import of raw materials from Commonwealth countries to counter China’s grip on market

Businesses that import critical minerals to the UK will be given access to state-backed loans in a move to counter China’s dominance in the market.

The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is expected to announce extra government support to encourage the import of critical minerals such as lithium, graphite and cobalt in her budget next week. Companies that bring supplies of critical minerals into the UK will be able to access state-backed loans under the UK export finance mechanism.

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Keir Starmer seeks 2030 host for troubled Commonwealth Games

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Prime minister trying to secure tournament’s future at Commonwealth summit in Samoa

Keir Starmer will try to find a host country for the 2030 Commonwealth Games this week as ministers try to shore up the tournament’s future.

The prime minister’s spokesperson said Starmer wanted to see “a successful Commonwealth Games from 2030” and would spend time at this week “talking to partners about who may be interested in taking that forward”.

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UK ‘open to discussing non-cash forms of reparatory justice’ for former colonies

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Starmer under pressure from Caribbean countries at Commonwealth talks but is refusing payments or apology

Keir Starmer has opened the door to non-financial reparations for the UK’s role in the transatlantic enslavement, as he came under pressure from Commonwealth leaders to engage in a “meaningful, truthful and respectful” conversation about Britain’s past.

While Downing Street insists that the wider issue of reparations is “not on the agenda” of this week’s Commonwealth heads of government (Chogm) gathering in Samoa, No 10 has accepted it is likely to be referenced in the end-of-summit communique.

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Starmer says he wants to ‘look forward’ and not talk about slavery reparations

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UK prime minister would rather work with nations on ‘future-facing challenges’ at Commonwealth summit

Keir Starmer has insisted he wants to “look forward” rather than have “very long endless discussions about reparations on the past” in his first comments on the issue before the Commonwealth summit.

The prime minister is under pressure to discuss reparatory justice with Commonwealth countries, most of which are former UK colonies, in Samoa this week.

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New Zealand navy ship Manawanui sinks off Samoa

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All crew safe after specialist dive and hydrographic vessel ran aground near the southern coast of Upolu as it was conducting a reef survey

A Royal New Zealand Navy vessel has run aground and sunk off Samoa – the first time the navy has lost a ship since the second world war, the New Zealand Defence Force said in a statement on Sunday.

Manawanui, the navy’s specialist dive and hydrographic vessel, ran aground near the southern coast of Upolu on Saturday night as it was conducting a reef survey, Commodore Shane Arndell, the maritime component commander of the New Zealand Defence Force, said in a statement. All 75 crew and passengers were safe.

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Mapped: the vast network of security deals spanning the Pacific, and what it means

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Guardian analysis shows web of agreements between Pacific countries and Australia, US and China, as experts raise concerns over rising militarisation

As competition for influence in the Pacific region intensifies, analysis by the Guardian has mapped a vast network of security, policing and defence agreements between the island countries and foreign partners – leading to concerns about militarisation of the region.

The Guardian examined agreements and partnerships covering security, defence and policing with the 10 largest Pacific countries by population. Australia remains the dominant partner in the region – accounting for more than half the deals identified – followed by New Zealand, the US and China.

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Biden seeks to win over Pacific leaders as Solomon Islands turns back on talks

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‘Historic’ summit seen as part of effort to counter Beijing in the region as Pacific leaders seek more support on climate change

President Joe Biden will host Pacific leaders at the White House this week as the US seeks to bolster its engagement with the nations amid growing concern about China’s presence in the region.

The US is expected to offer funding for infrastructure and more maritime cooperation, and new embassies for Cook Islands and Nuie. But the talks have already suffered a setback as Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sogavare, now closely aligned with Beijing, will not attend.

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Britain’s top diplomat James Cleverly skips part of Pacific tour to focus on Sudan

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Foreign secretary cancelled plans in Samoa and New Zealand due to crisis in Sudan, his office said

The British foreign secretary, James Cleverly, has skipped planned meetings to New Zealand and Samoa to focus on coordinating the UK’s response to the crisis in Sudan.

Cleverly had been scheduled to join the New Zealand foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta, in Samoa on Wednesday for a series of trilateral meetings with the Samoan government, and then travel on with Mahuta to New Zealand.

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Samoa PM urges world to save Pacific people from climate crisis obliteration

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Fiame Naomi Mata’afa pleads for action before landmark IPCC report is expected to issue ‘final warning’

The world must step back from the brink of climate disaster to save the people of the Pacific from obliteration, the prime minister of Samoa has urged.

On the eve of a landmark report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is expected to deliver a scientific “final warning” on the climate emergency, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, Samoa’s prime minister, issued a desperate plea for action.

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CSIRO joins deep-sea mining project in Pacific as islands call for industry halt

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Agency to lead consortium in scheme targeting battery materials while conservationists say Australia on ‘wrong side of debate’

Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, has agreed to work with a controversial deep-sea mining project in the Pacific as a fourth island nation joins a call for a moratorium on the industry.

CSIRO will lead a consortium of scientists from Australia and New Zealand to help the Metals Company (TMC) develop an environmental management plan for its project, which is backed by the Nauru government.

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Serious defects discovered in patrol boats Australia supplied to Pacific Islands

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Potentially serious faults in Guardian-class patrol boats may force some countries to pause use of vessels

Pacific island countries may halt the use of Australian-provided patrol boats after potentially serious defects were discovered, in a blow to a $2.1bn maritime security program.

The Australian government is now considering how to work with Pacific nations to close any gap in their maritime surveillance activities while the issues – including carbon monoxide entering part of the boat – are resolved.

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‘Things aren’t going back’: Australia braces for step-up in China’s Pacific push

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Despite initial relief over island nations’ rejection of security and economic pact, senior government figure says reprieve could be only temporary

The Australian government is bracing for China to step up its push to expand influence in the Pacific, with a senior figure privately conceding Canberra has a lot of work to do to regain lost trust and strengthen regional unity.

Despite initial relief at a decision by Pacific island countries to defer a sweeping 10-country security and economic pact proposed by China, the Australian government now believes this may be only a temporary reprieve.

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Samoa’s PM says China’s expectation of Pacific-wide deal ‘something we could not agree to’

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Regional matters must be taken to Pacific Islands Forum, says Fiame Naomi Mata’afa after countries declined deal with Beijing

Samoa’s prime minister has suggested it was unreasonable for China to expect a Pacific trade and security deal to be rushed through this week, as she warmly welcomed the new Australian government’s climate policy.

The Australian minister for foreign affairs, Penny Wong, announced during a joint press conference in Samoa on Thursday that Australia would provide it with a new Guardian-class patrol vessel to replace the one that was grounded last year.

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Samoa signs China bilateral agreement during Pacific push by Beijing

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Scant details released apart from promises of infrastructure support, amid western concerns that China is seeking to expand its security presence in region

Samoa signed a bilateral agreement with China on Saturday, promising “greater collaboration”, as Beijing’s foreign minister continues a tour of the Pacific that has sparked concern among western allies.

The deal’s details are unclear, and come midway through a Chinese delegation’s eight-nation trip – but an earlier leaked draft agreement sent to several Pacific countries outlined plans to expand security and economic engagement.

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Fear and dread: Covid-free for two years, Pacific islands experience explosion in case numbers

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The virus has swept into remote island countries, sowing panic and confusion

Covid-free for almost two years, some Pacific island nations are suddenly struggling with an explosion in cases as the virus, thought in most cases to be the more transmissible variant Omicron, breaches the defences they had so successfully put up since the beginning of the pandemic.

Kiribati, Samoa, Palau and Solomon Islands have all experienced outbreaks within the last three weeks. The countries have approached the arrival of the virus with different strategies, some imposing lockdowns while others rely on their high levels of vaccination for protection.

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Plant in traditional Samoa medicine could be as effective as ibuprofen, study shows

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Researchers say leaves of the matalafi plant could also potentially be used to treat cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases

Leaves from a plant which can be found “in back yards across Samoa” could be as effective as ibuprofen in lowering inflammation and could even be used to treat illnesses such as Parkinson’s and cancer, a new study has found.

For centuries, the leaves of the psychotria insularum plant, known locally in Samoa as matalafi, have been used in traditional medicine to treat inflammation associated with fever, body aches, swellings, elephantiasis, and respiratory infections.

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