Samoan baller Charlisse Leger-Walker Makes History with NCAA Basketball Title
Today will surely go down as one of the great days in New Zealand basketball, with Charlisse Leger-Walker becoming the first woman from Aotearoa to win an NCAA basketball title in the United States.
Leger-Walker's UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) has beaten South Carolina in the championship game 79-51.
The 24-year-old was a key figure in the win. She was in the starting five and was on court for 26 minutes, scoring ten points, including two three pointers.
She also claimed four rebounds and two assists.
Leger-Walker, who is from Hamilton, is from a basketball-rich family, with she, her sister Krystal and their mother Leanne having all played for New Zealand.
In 2018, she became the youngest player to play for the Tall Ferns, when she debuted as a 16-year-old at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
She's had a lengthy American college career. She spent several years with Washington State, before transferring to UCLA after being granted a fifth season of eligibilty due to the Covid-19 pandemic.…more
Jason Momoa, Taika Waititi and Cliff Curtis are backing Polynesian storytelling
“It’s an Indigenous-owned studio and the focus for us is bringing that work and uplifting - well, actually not just our people but people in the industry”
Jason Momoa, Taika Waititi and Cliff Curtis have acquired Studio West in West Auckland through their Āriki Group, positioning themselves not just as creatives, but as the ones putting resource behind the kinds of stories Māori and Pacific communities have already proven work.
Across the last two decades, some of Aotearoa’s most successful and widely recognised films have come out of that space. Whale Rider reached global audiences with a story grounded in whakapapa. Sione's Wedding showed Pacific stories could carry at the box office here. Boy and Hunt for the Wilderpeople followed, each reinforcing that local stories, told from here, don’t need to be adjusted to connect.
More recently, Tinā and Chief of War have continued that trajectory, showing the same stories can scale internationally without losing their grounding.…more
Things to do in Auckland this long weekend
Looking for fun things to do in Auckland this Easter long weekend? From immersive theatre and glowing light festivals to carnival thrills and family-friendly egg hunts, there’s something for everyone. Here’s our pick of the best events happening from April 3–6.
Swimming with Sharks
When: Friday, April 3 | 10:00 am – 3:30 pm
Where: Auckland Museum, Central Auckland
Ages: All ages
Dive into the depths of the ocean without getting wet! Swimming with Sharks is a theatrical, immersive experience created with the internationally renowned puppet theatre company Erth. Discover the diversity of sharks in New Zealand waters, from the bioluminescent kitefin shark to a five-metre-long great white, all brought to life through expressive puppetry.
Shows run for 20 minutes, with children invited to get up close on floor cushions and adults welcome to enjoy from sofas at the back.
Dreamer: Auckland’s New Indoor Light Festival
When: Friday, April 3 – Sunday, April 12 | 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Where: New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC), Central Auckland
Ages: All ages
Step inside a glowing world of colour and imagination at Dreamer.…more
HUMANS OF THE ISLANDS - FEHI'A TANGITAU
TONGAN / SAMOAN / GERMAN
MORTICIAN + MORTUARY COSMETIC ARTIST
Introduce yourself, your heritage, where you were raised.
My name is Fehi’a Lusiola Tangitau, and I am a mortician. I am of Tongan, German, and Samoan heritage, and I was raised between Pago Pago, Vava’u, and California. My father is Otto Emili Tangitau, and my mother is Moeaki Masaniai Koli. I am the middle child of seven siblings. I spent much of my childhood in Vava’u and Falevai with my siblings, surrounded by both sides of my family, before moving to California, where we continued to grow up together.
My father has since passed, and it was one of the greatest honors of my life to care for him and carry out his funeral services through my work in the funeral home.
Can you share your journey into becoming a mortician and mortuary makeup artist? What first drew you to this work?
I first started as a makeup artist in the mall, and later transitioned into film, where I specialized in creative and special effects makeup.…more
Cook Islands down to just 20 days of fuel stock as local suppliers warn of 'significant price increases'
Fuel stocks in the Cook Islands have dropped to just 20 days - less than half of full capacity - and while suppliers are confident this is sufficient, they warn of further price hikes.
"Our fuel storage capacity, if we think about the full capacity, is about 45 days. We currently have around 20 days of stock. Compared to other Pacific islands, we are relatively well positioned," Ministry of Finance and Economic Management (MFEM) director of Economic Planning Division, Joaquin Vespignani, said while speaking at the Cook Islands Tourism global update on Thursday (Friday NZ time).
Local suppliers are confident that current stock is sufficient to last until the next shipment in early April - provided there is "no panic buying" - but they have warned of looming price increases.
A new price order that took effect on Friday has pushed fuel and LPG prices to among the highest ever recorded in the Cook Islands.…more
The regions next in line for flooding as heavy rain heads south
MetService says there's a strong likelihood of several regions being upgraded to red heavy rain warnings as a damaging storm sweeps across the country.
Northland and Whangārei are currently in a state of emergency, which will last for seven days.
Although rainfall is set to ease for both regions, others may soon be in the flood firing line.
So which regions are preparing for the worst?
Tauranga
Tauranga City Council is also warning people of landslide risks.
An orange heavy rain warning remains in place for Tauranga through to 1am on Saturday.
The warning has a high chance of being upgraded to a red warning.
Due to earlier rainfall and slips, it said there was an increased risk of new landslide occurring and more damage at sites which had already experienced slides.
"If you learn or suspect that a landslide is occurring or is about to occur in your area evacuate immediately if it is safe to do so.
"Seek higher ground outside the path of the landslide.…more
Pads or gas? Pasfika families faced with hard choices
“I’ve had to use my kids’ nappies as pads last week because I was down to my last dollars… we do what we have to do.”
It’s a harsh reality, but for many Pasifika families already hit hardest by the cost-of-living crisis, rising fuel prices have only made things worse.
Seeing petrol prices climb day after day has become a quiet source of pressure for Pasifika across Aotearoa. And yes, even the South Auckland mum with the cleaning job, even the South Auckland mum who’s a lawyer, is feeling the pinch.
Prices have climbed as high as $3.40 per litre following the Iran conflict, landing on top of a cost-of-living crisis that was already pushing families to the edge. All New Zealanders feel it, but not evenly.
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2026 report already shows Pacific communities carrying the heaviest load. Nearly three in ten Pacific children are living in material hardship. Almost half experience food insecurity. Unemployment is the highest of any ethnic group.…more
Jetstar axes some New Zealand flights amid fuel price surges
Via RNZ
Jetstar has axed a number of New Zealand flights as the war in the Middle East drives up the price of jet fuel.
A Jetstar NZ spokesperson said 12 percent of scheduled services had been impacted, including some services between Auckland and Christchurch as well as Auckland and Wellington, and some international flights between Auckland and Sydney and Auckland and Brisbane.
The changes were temporary, the spokesperson said, due to the rise in jet fuel prices and other rising costs.
All impacted customers had been contacted directly, the spokesperson said, and most had been offered same-day travel.
It comes after Air New Zealand announced it was cancelling four return flights to Samoa.
Air New Zealand said it had nine services to Samoa each week and described the change as "minimal".
It said like other airlines it was dealing with unprecedented volatility with jet fuel prices due to the conflict in the Middle East and was adjusting schedules to manage the impact.…more
Bubbah makes history as first Samoan South Aucklander to perform at SkyCity Theatre
Extra Extra, Read all about it!
South Auckland’s Actor, Writer, Comedian and full time Shnack - King Uluvale aka Bubbah is back! She’s leaving the kuā backs to entertain us once again, at SkyCity Theatre no less. The first Samoan, South Aucklander to do so, and who better than Bubbah to break it in for the rest of us brownies.
After leaving the industry last year to move back home to her village of Utuali’i, she’s making her comeback with a one-and-a-half-hour special at the 2026 New Zealand International Comedy Festival. Promised to be just as funny and lemaffs as her last show ‘Pure Mature’, so buckle up baby! No kids, NO elders, you’ve been warned!
When asked what this opportunity meant to her, the South Auckland icon said the recognition felt different this time.
“It means I’m getting somewhere. It means I’m being heard,” she says. “I’m really grateful for the backyard shows, they definitely helped me find my style as a comedian.”
Those early backyard gigs shaped a voice that remains central to her work today.…more
Oahu hit with worst flooding in 20 years
Severe flooding across Hawai‘i has forced thousands from their homes, as relentless rainfall batters communities and raises fears over the possible failure of a 120-year-old dam.
The crisis is centred on the island of Oʻahu, where muddy floodwaters have inundated roads, destroyed homes and swept away vehicles in what officials are calling the worst flooding the island has seen in more than 20 years. The Pacific are no strangers to the effects of Climate Change, and we are unfortunately the first to feel the devastating impacts.
More than 230 people have been rescued so far, with evacuation orders affecting around 5,500 residents, particularly across North Shore communities like Haleʻiwa and Waialua.
Emergency sirens sounded as authorities issued urgent warnings for those living downstream of the Wahiawā Dam, which has been flagged as being at risk of imminent failure. Water levels rose rapidly during the storm, coming dangerously close to capacity. While levels have since fluctuated, officials warn the situation could quickly worsen if heavy rain continues.
Despite the scale of the disaster, no deaths have been reported.…more