Apia - Samoa has banned the blockbuster Elton John biopic "Rocketman" from cinemas over depictions of gay sex, which remains illegal in the Pacific island nation.

Apia - Pacific island leaders on Friday demanded urgent action from the global community to address climate change, following fresh warnings that the region would be hit harder than anywhere else on Earth.

Apia - Climate change will hit the Pacific harder than anywhere else on Earth and the region's tiny island nations need major international aid to deal with the challenge, the World Bank said Thursday.

Apia - Claims that a young woman developed Christ-like wounds after playing Jesus in a play have sharply divided opinion in Samoa, igniting debate over whether the bleeding cuts to her body are miraculous or a hoax.

Wellington - New Zealand has been spying on its small, friendly Pacific neighbors and Indonesia and is sharing the intelligence with international allies including the US National Security Agency, according to new revelations by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Apia - A major United Nations conference on small island nations began in Samoa on Monday, with the emphasis on helping them survive the pressing challenge posed by climate change.

The tragic death of young Trayvon Martin is back in the news daily as the trial of George Zimmerman, the man who shot Martin, wraps up. The prosecution and defense will begin closing arguments Thursday.

Sydney - A flying start before the wind as the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race provides Boxing Day entertainment for the sixty eighth consecutive year.

More than 8000 people have been forced to flee their homes and take refuge in evacuation centers in Fiji, as Cyclone Evan hits the Pacific nation with strong winds and heavy rain.

Apia - The first reported storm of the South Pacific cyclone season triggers flooding and structural damage, with two people dead.

The tiny Pacific island nation of Samoa will skip an entire day on Friday as the international dateline is adjusted. The adjustment is being made so that the nation will be up to date with other international economic powers.

Gummy bears were one of the items chosen to take part in underwater crush tests, but filming was halted when the "crush cam" ended up being crushed.

Two Polynesian islands in the South Pacific are running so low on water its residents expect to run out of drinking water within one to two weeks. Tokelau and Tuvalu are typical tropical islands of paradise but now they face an environmental crisis.

The top ten fattest nations in the world for the year 2010 have been released. Think the United States or Canada, known for their numerous fast food restaurants, are number one? Nauru, a tiny South Pacific island, topped the list.

Apia - Another strong earthquake has been reported. A 6.0-magnitude earthquake has rocked the Samoa-Tonga region. No aftershocks have yet been reported and the proper authorities have not issued a tsunami alert.

New guidelines released by the U.S. CPSC recommend gutting thousands of home tainted by corrosive, potentially unhealthy Chinese drywall. Some samples of the drywall emit 100 times as much hydrogen sulfide as drywall made elsewhere

An unknown Samoan Member of Parliament has shocked and stunned his country by calling the Parliamentary Speaker a "bad name."

Former WWE superstar Eddie "Umaga" Fatu, who had his contract with the WWE terminated in June, died today of a suspected heart attack, according to WWE's site.

Almost simultaneously, disasters and calamities occurred in South Asia, including Samoa, during the last two weeks. The typhoons have killed more than 3,000 people and injured thousands in calamity affected areas.

Barely a day after a tsunami struck the Pacific island nations of American and Western Samoa, a tsunami warning was issued after an earthquake struck off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.