via RNZ 

Four men appeared at the Auckland High Court yesterday in front of a packed public gallery of Vake's friends, family and team mates, including UFC star Dan Hooker.

One man, Ofa He Mooni Folau, pleaded guilty to two assault charges - he admitted assaulting Liufau Vake and his brother James Ika Vake (pictured above) on May 16 in Auckland.  A sentencing date has been set down for August. 

However the three others, one of whom is charged with manslaughter, entered not guilty pleas through their lawyers.  They have interim name suppression, and a trial date has been set for October next year.  A name suppression hearing has been set for July 29th.

The twenty-five-year-old rising MMA fighter died in hospital after he was hit from behind on Symonds Street on the 16th of May.

Family spokesman Mike Angove from City Kickboxing has spoken out on social media after the trial calling on supporters to maintain public pressure and awareness in regards to harsher coward punch laws.…more

Tongan journalist Laura Tupou is the new face of TV3 popular show 'The Project NZ' making her one of several Pacific people fronting prime time TV in Aoearoa! 

Taking over while Maori co host Kanoa Lloyd is on maternity leave, Laura says "I’m really excited to be part of a team where we share our thoughts and opinions on air. It means people get to hear differing views and my opinion is just as important as the next hosts’, and sometimes more so depending on the topic. This is important for us because we have a real opportunity to speak up and offer an authentic view that is ours and isn’t always heard." 

"Pasifika faces mean we’re at the table and our voices are present. For me, having more Pasifika faces in mainstream media strengthens our stories, people’s understanding of our culture, and our presence in Aotearoa. We’re capable, competent and we have something to say" Laura added.…more

Stacey Leilua’s performance in ‘Young Rock’ has had viewers talking from the get-go. Her performance has been described as magnetic, captivating, and Stacey has also been named a ‘scene-stealer’ for her role as Ata Johnson. A role and performance that might even snag the Samoan actress an Emmy.

The nomination process for the 73rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards kicked off last week, where the TV academy posted their ballots online. Amongst the ballots was Leilua for her role as Ata. If she makes it past this round of ballot votes, she’ll be in as an Emmy nominee. She finds herself in good company with fellow Young Rock co-stars also in the ballots for their categories. 

‘Young Rock’ is the American sitcom series based on the life of almost every Samoans claim to fame, Dwayne The Rock Johnson. The series gained rave reviews, a huge fan base, and was picked up for a second season. Stacey plays The Rocks mum Ata Johnson. 

Before she was well known for being the strong Samoan mother she is, Ata was Feagaimaleata Fitisemanu Maivia.…more

The Blue Rose continues to gain praise and "fan-favourite" status!

This cafe famous for their distinctive wallpaper, warm service, island tunes and flavourful dishes is a favourite of many Aucklanders. Owned by Robbie & Lenny, Blue Rose is a home away from home nestled in suburban Sandringham. With Cook Island & Maori backgrounds, they take pride in home-made food infused with Pacific and Maori flavours.

We spoke with Robbie about their famous cafe and their recent ICONIC Award.

You've recieved a big award recently we hear, what was it?

Recently we received An ICONIC Award for our famous palusami pie! The Blue Rose Palusami pie is our first pie we introduced on our menu - The marriage of the flavours of the pisupo and the creamy palusami are just the best combination! I wanted something uniquely Pacific, I did not want a variation of what others were doing, it had to scream PACIFIC and nothing screams Pacific more than corned Beef and palusami - when you put that in a pie … there you have it...…more

A peaceful protest was led in the Coral Coast of Fiji this week in a bid to stop the Fijian Government from placing a quarantine facility in their district. 

There are few places in the world that can claim they've managed to keep their community Covid-Free since the start of the pandemic, the Coral Coast is one of them. The Coral Coast is the stretch of coastline between Sigatoka and Suva, on the island of Viti Levu, in Fiji. This community has managed to keep themselves safe from the widespread virus through reciprocal care, proactive safety measures and people-led safekeeping. The villages on the coast have made their own facemasks, set up sanitation stations and have worked around strict lockdown rules. All these precautions have kept them safe. This is why when they heard of the proposed quarantine facility in their area they were greatly worried and decided to protest. 

Community members gathered with signs and masks to tell the public of their concerns.…more

On Saturday 12th of June 2021 the School Strikes 4 Climate Auckland chapter publicly announced their disbandment due to internal issues with racism.

In the statement released in the weekend, School Strike 4 Climate Auckland said it had been a "racist, white-dominated space" and that it was dissolving the group. "School Strike 4 Climate Auckland has avoided, ignored, and tokenised black, indigenous and people of colour voices and demands, especially those of Pasifika and Māori individuals in the climate activism space," it said. 

Maori and Pasifika climate activists have long spoken out about the racist tendencies of SS4C and the climate movement in Aotearoa.

"School Strike 4 Climate Auckland has avoided, ignored, and tokenised black, indigenous and people of colour voices and demands, especially those of Pasifika and Māori individuals in the climate activism space," the statement goes on to say.

This announcement closely follows the recent screening of “High Tide Don’t Hide” at the Doc Edge Film Festival in Auckland. A documentary about the 2019 Aotearoa School Strikes.…more

He's a rapper, model, father and, if it all goes to plan, a future movie mogul. But before Roman Cress was dropping tracks, he was running it. 

The Kaven born, Minnesota raised sprinter began competing in athletics when he was 11 year old and first represented the Marshall Islands at the 1999 South Pacific Games in Guam. Earlier that year he clocked a personal best of 10.39 seconds in the 100m at a meet in Minneapolis and had his sights on the Sydney Olympics. But there was one problem: the Marshall Islands didn't have an Olympic Committee.

"I actually qualified 'B standard' at that time," Cress recalled. "I was in peak form around that time, 99/2000, and after that I still competed in my college years but I didn't have the same desire because when we didn't make it to Sydney I just left it alone, I didn't think about the Olympics anymore." The Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee was eventually established in 2001 but was not recognised by the IOC until 2006, meaning Athens 2004 was also a non-starter.…more

In 2019, students in more than 150 countries launched strikes to demand action to avert cataclysmic climate change.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, filmmakers The Rebel Film Collective started shooting seven months before what became the world’s biggest ever climate change strike. They were given intimate access to New Zealand students’ meetings, homes and personal video diaries to record how the local school strikes movement began. 

The film makers were there when an unexpected turn of events changed the face of the protests. High Tide Don’t Hide reveals the inner processes of teenagers mobilising record-setting numbers of children and adults…while dealing with the looming threat of climate change, interpersonal politics, and the need to just be teenagers. 

One of the teenagers profiled and followed is South Aucklands Aigagalefili Fepulea'i-Tapua'i. Aigagalefili, known by her friends as "FIli" is an award-winning published poet and indigenous activist from South Auckland. Her work has appeared in the 2019 Poetry Yearbook New Zealand and in 2020 she was a guest speaker at the UN General Assembly.…more

Touching on real-life examples, she spoke candidly about institutional racism, sexism and feminism, as seen through her eyes. She related how important it is to have a thick skin, and what resilience means when you’re in complex and sometimes hostile environments.…more