Latest FromPacific Islands
![Samoa's switch to left claims first victim](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=808)
Samoa's switch to left claims first victim
Samoa's radical road switch has claimed its first casualty.
![Hawaii: Smouldering goddess vents her fiery fury](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=808)
Hawaii: Smouldering goddess vents her fiery fury
Kilauea quietly steams as worshippers bring offerings to its deity... But the volcano can still show no mercy, writes Jim Eagles.
![Danger time to come, say Samoans](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=808)
Danger time to come, say Samoans
Samoan police will remain on alert for accidents today, the second day since the switch to driving on the left.
![Cat-sized rat discovered in South Pacific](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=808)
Cat-sized rat discovered in South Pacific
The outsized rodent, which has been named the Bosavi woolly rat, is almost a metre long and weighs in at 1.5kg.
![Confusion, excitement – Samoan drivers switch sides](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=808)
Confusion, excitement – Samoan drivers switch sides
This morning I drove out of my house on the right hand side of the road, and returned on the left, in the same country, in the same car.
![Samoans on tenterhooks as driving switch starts](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=808)
Samoans on tenterhooks as driving switch starts
Samoans are bracing themselves for chaos today as motorists switch to driving on the left.
!['No elections before 2014' - Fiji govt](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=808)
'No elections before 2014' - Fiji govt
Fiji is remaining defiant, despite its suspension from the Commonwealth.
![Fiji suspended from Commonwealth](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=808)
Fiji suspended from Commonwealth
Fiji was banned from the Commonwealth at midnight after failing to announce a date for elections to be held by October 2010.
![Fiji on verge of suspension](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=808)
Fiji on verge of suspension
Fiji faces suspension from the Commonwealth from today, if it refuses to commit to elections next year.
![Samoa road switch date may be postponed](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=808)
Samoa road switch date may be postponed
Samoa's Prime Minister has promised to reconsider the date of the controversial driving side switch.
![Tua comes out against smacking](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=808)
Tua comes out against smacking
Heavyweight boxer David Tua says he is in favour of the anti-smacking legislation remaining intact.
![Sailing holiday turned into 'voyage from hell'](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=808)
Sailing holiday turned into 'voyage from hell'
A Canterbury man's holiday voyage turned into a trip from hell last week when the skipper fell overboard.
![Paradise lost for Fiji investors](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=808)
Paradise lost for Fiji investors
Three big New Zealand-funded developments in Fiji have hit trouble.