Samoa

China is making a bold attempt to muscle in on the Pacific's most important political gathering. The country wants to meet with the region's foreign ministers on the same day they will all be in Fiji for the Pacific Islands Forum. HPR’s Derrick Malama has more in the Pacific News Minute.

A 29-year-old woman tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday during routine testing before boarding an international flight.

The prime minister of Samoa has placed the small Pacific nation into a 48-hour lockdown after 15 passengers on a flight from Australia tested positive for COVID-19. The infected passengers were among 73 who arrived from Brisbane on Wednesday.

Samoa's first female Prime Minister called 2021 a challenging year for everyone. But she also said that was more of a reason for the country to come together. HPR’s Derrick Malama has more in the Pacific News Minute.

People call FestPAC, the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture, a life-changing experience because of the immersion in Polynesian cultures it offers. HPR's Noe Tanigawa reports that preparations are already well underway for the next FestPAC in Honolulu.

The East-West Center is winding up a two-day virtual meeting of leaders from nations and territories across the Pacific, though notably absent was a leader from Samoa. That's because there is a political standoff between Prime Minister-elect Fiame Naomi Mata’afa and long-ruling prime minister Tuilaepa Malielegaoi.

Transportation Committee Vice-Chair Senator Lorraine Inouye on Honolulu's rail project, a closer look a court decision on Maui water rights, Samoan journalist Ken Aiono gives his perspective on the standoff in Samoa, and Hawaii County's Disaster Recovery Officer Douglas Le updates the status of Kapoho

Transportation Committee Vice-Chair Senator Lorraine Inouye on Honolulu's rail project, a closer look a court decision on Maui water rights, Samoan journalist Ken Aiono gives his perspective on the standoff in Samoa, and Hawaii County's Disaster Recovery Officer Douglas Le updates the status of Kapoho

Constitutional crisis in Samoa; The Long View with Neal Milner: Zillow Spike; Reality Check with Civil Beat; Restoring limu along Hawaii's shorelines; 11-year-old author from Punahou School

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Samoa was plunged into a constitutional crisis Monday when the woman who won an election last month was locked out of Parliament…