American Samoa: Amata says No to U.S. citizenship

American Samoa Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata supports U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision not to ‘impose’ U.S. citizenship on U.S. nationals in American Samoa.  “I am gratified that the Biden

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Scientists closely monitor earthquakes in American Samoa

American Samoa has flown in experts to monitor seismic activities in the territory, after ongoing earthquake swarms prompted alarm over a possible volcanic eruption.  For weeks, earthquakes have rattled the

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Community Bank of American Samoa proposes buying Territorial Bank of Samoa

A local group of investors is proposing they buy the Territorial Bank of American Samoa (TBAS), the government-owned bank that started operating when Bank of Hawaii departed American Samoa four years ago. In a letter to

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Pacific fishery council recommends tuna catch limit

The Western and Central Pacific Fishery Council has recommended setting a 2023 catch limit of 2,000 metric tons of bigeye tuna each for Guam, the Northern Marianas and American Samoa. “Each U.S participating territory

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ANZ to close American Samoa, sell Guam businesses

ANZ is closing its banking operations in American Samoa and is looking for buyers for its Guam business. ANZ Country Head, American Territories, Clarke Schaumann, said: “This was not a decision we made lightly but we

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American Samoa, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Samoa, Vanuatu remain on EU tax blacklist

Six Pacific Islands are on the EU tax blacklist, remaining listed an “non-cooperative”. They are American Samoa, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Samoa and Vanuatu. The European Union blacklist was set up in 2017 to

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Opinion: Chinese overfishing in the South Pacific devastates some Islands’ livelihoods

Chinese fishing boats’ illegal overfishing in the South Pacific has been devastating some island economies. According to two former U.S. officials, “illegal, unregulated fishing by Chinese vessels has become common

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Potential for more benefits from new Hawaiki telecom cable

A new deal could potentially provide more Pacific Island countries access to affordable Internet via submarine telecom cable.  The multi-million dollar deal was jointly announced in New Zealand last week by its

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Coronavirus travel restrictions: a Pacific wrap

There have been no cases of coronavirus reported in the Pacific Islands region, although Australia and New Zealand have reported cases, and in the case of Australia, one death. However the Pacific region has responded

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