MOANA PASIFIKA - Media Day
We catch up with a few of the Moana Pasifika boys at Moana Pasifika HQ for Media Day ahead of the start of their Super Rugby season.
They share what music they listen to before a game, who their childhood rugby hero was, which player they're most looking forward to tackling, their favourite island food and more ...
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ICYMI Sky have also announced a partnership with Moana Pasifika to enable reach and build connections into Pasifika communities including creating content and products to engage Moana Pasifika fans both in NZ and worldwide. They're also keen to support community initiatives.
The shared content creation initiatives will enable the partners to tell authentic Pasifika stories, and for Moana Pasifika content to be available across Sky’s ecosystem (including some free-to-air on Prime).
Stranded in Paradise
“The saddest thing to see are the people sleeping at the airport because they have no money for accommodation” - Tamati Ratahi
“Paradise now feels like a prison when you are trapped here and the people who rely on to get you out arent speaking to you” - Aaron Davy
"I’m one of the kiwis stuck in Samoa. Air NZ would never treat people in Europe like they’re treating us” - Michelle Blau via Twitter
“The Air NZ office in Apia is locked. People start queuing at 7 am for the chance to talk to someone. I waited 3 hours and got nowhere. The staff were lovely but overwhelmed and powerless…People were crying about running out of medicine, missing their spot in Uni programmes, missing medical appointments etc. We got an email saying it would be 72 hours before we hear anything from Air NZ.…more
Councillors and Community advocates rally for Māngere residents hit hard by Auckland flooding
The Māngere community was one of the hardest hit areas in South Auckland affected by the flooding on January 27th.
After it was announced the South Auckland evacuation centre was going to be in Randwick Park, Manurewa; Local Mangere councillors and community advocates fought hard to have a community information pop up centre set up for Māngere residents struggling to find info on where to get help and access support services.
They will be moving tomorrow from the Māngere Memorial Hall in Māngere Bridge (Tuesday 31st Jan) to Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa Pool & Leisure Centre where it will become an official evacuation centre complete with beds and showers as well as the social services shown in the video above.
Māngere-Otāhuhu local board chair Tauanu'u Nick Bakulich said that they've found there are many people who still don't realise this service is available and are calling on people to let friends and family know that they can either come to the Evacuation Centre OR that there are outreach teams available to go out and assist families at their homes.…more
Auckland Floods: Where to get financial help, accommodation and food
On Friday the 27th of January, severe flooding hit Auckland after the City of Sails received 75% of their usual summer rainfall within 15 hours. It resulted in slips, evacuations and flooding with roads across the region blocked.
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown decided to declare a State of Emergency at 9.54pm after flooding wreaked havoc with peak hour traffic and Auckland airport went under water resulting in flights being cancelled and at least 2000 passengers stuck there overnight.
Some of the worst hit areas around Auckland below -
As at 5.10pm, Monday 30th Jan, all Auckland education facilities have been ordered to close until February 7 as Auckland grapples with wild weather and flood damage.
So far up to four people have died - Two people were found dead in Wairau Valley while the third was found in Remuera and the fourth in Onewhero, Waikato.
At a media conference on Sunday afternoon, Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni said the death of four people was was 'horrific'.
"I think it's been a traumatic experience. ...…more
The 2023 Eddie Aikau - Biggest Waves Of My Life: Zeke Lau
Known as the “Super Bowl of surfing,” the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational was held for the first time since 2016 in Hawaii over the weekend, as organizers said an estimated 50,000 people were packed on the beach to watch.
This also marked just the 10th time the event has ever been held due to the tournament’s rules which require open-ocean swells to reach a minimum height of 20 feet before it can commence.
The tournament also featured women for the first time ever.
The format saw athletes surfing two rounds of five heats each - each surfer could ride a maximum of four waves in each round.
After eight hours of intense action, the wave of the day award went to native Hawaiian pro surfer Zeke Lau - catch his highlights from the experience in the video above.
Ultimately, Luke Shepardson ended up taking the crown scoring a near-perfect 89.1 out of a possible 90 points, with three waves counting to the final result, and each scored out of 30.
Jason Momoa welcomed to Auckland marae during visit to NZ
Hawaiian Hollywood heavyweight Jason Momoa visited Hoani Waititi Marae in West Auckland yesterday, receiving a royal welcome.
It's the latest show of love for Aotearoa from the actor, who's embraced Māori culture before.
Momoa - who's in New Zealand filming his new series Chief of War - was welcomed to the marae with a pōwhiri.
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Video by 1News
HUMANS OF THE ISLANDS - BLOODY SAMOAN
Samoan
Comic Book Artist, Professional Wrestler and Owner of 'Bloody Samoan Art' Company
We got to hear from multidisciplinary artist Michel Mulipola also known as Bloody Samoan, about the amazing work he has been doing since our original Humans Of The Island profile on him in 2016. Since then he has accomplished a long list of achievements including working on an exciting new project with Disney.
Hear about Michel's work here...
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You've been working with Disney this year, what has that experience been like for you?
Working as a Story Artist for the Disney Animation Studios has been an absolutely fantastic experience for me. As I have no background in the animation field, the challenges presented by this new (to me) medium has pushed my creative limits in a good way. I have learnt so much over the last 6 months from everyone in the Story Team.
I've been fortunate to be able to work from home in Māngere for Disney but I was lucky enough to work from the Disney Animation Building in Burbank, Los Angeles in November/December.…more
Manti Te'o induction into Polynesian Hall Of Fame
Over the weekend former Samoan NFL player Manti Te'o was inducted into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.
His football career included a Heisman Trophy runner-up finish during his senior year at Notre Dame where he won a number of individual awards including the Maxwell Trophy and his journey was recently told in the Netflix 'Untold' series.
Te'o was enshrined along with 11 year NFL veteran Mike Iupati, a two time All Pro guard and four time Pro Bowler.
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He spoke with NFL journalist Steve Wyche here ahead of the induction weekend - watch the video above and the full interview via NFL Total access here
Can Rugby players make it in the NFL?
Johnny Tuivasa-Sheck is a massive NFL fan and also grew up playing rugby most of his life.
He decides to ruffle a few feathers and breaks down whether he thinks a rugby player could make it in the NFL or not ...
Sports Talk: Joseph Parker talks upcoming fight with Jack Massey
Former WBO heavyweight world champion Lupesoliai Joseph Parker will fight live on New Zealand free-to-air television for the first time on January 22, with Warner. Bros Discovery ANZ having secured the broadcast rights to screen the kiwi slugger’s fight against local hero ‘One Smack’ Jack Massey in Manchester, on TV Three.
The Samoan fighter will be looking to get himself back into title contention with a win in Manchester.
“I’m going to smash him,” Parker said of his looming bout with Massey, an elite cruiserweight who will be stepping up to heavyweight for the first time.
“He’s got big balls I’ll give him that,” said Parker. “But there are divisions in boxing for a reason. I’m going to be the bigger man. I’m going to fight like the bigger man, back him up and push him back. I’m going to make him think about if he really wants to be in the heavyweight division.”
Parker had the chance to eyeball local hero Massey at an open workout at Manchester’s Trafford Centre Shopping Complex on Wednesday.…more