PINA

Fijian Drua will be without winger Eroni Sau in the Super Rugby clash against the Highlanders this weekend. Sau was taken off the field after a head-on tackle by the Reds’ Feao Fotuaika in the 55th minute. The tackle was overlooked by the match official. Byrne says in accordance to World Rugby’s HIA protocols, Sau will be out for 12 days. “He’s a...

Representatives from Papua New Guinea Rugby League have toured several NRL clubs ahead of a bid to become the competition’s 18th team. Following the Dolphin’s early success in its first season, calls for further expansion and another team in the NRL have grown louder with a Pasifika team looking the likely destination. PNGRL chairman Sandis Tsaka, chief executive Stanley Hondina and...

Moana Pasifika's head coach Aaron Mauger says the weekend's helter-skelter Super Rugby Pacific defeat to the Brumbies highlighted some of the gaps they've still got in their game. The ACT side eventually ran out 62-36 winner in Canberra on Saturday. The match saw the lead change five times until the Brumbies, on the back of a strong lineout, took control of...

Supporting small island states impacted by climate change is expected to be a key issue for the Samoan prime minister during a visit to Australia. Fiamē Naomi Mata'afa is Samoa's seventh prime minister and the first woman to be elected to the role, taking office in 2021. It will be the first official visit to Australia by a prime minister of...

Solomon Islands has reiterated concerns over plans by Japan to discharge nuclear treated water into the ocean and its impact on the health of the ocean. Solomon Islands welcomed discussion between Pacific Islands Forum leaders, the region’s Independent panel of scientists, the Japanese Government, experts and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the science of the proposal to determine...

Former Tongan Prime Minister Dr Pohiva Tu'ionetoa has passed away at the weekend. He had been receiving medical assistance in the United States. Tonga's Chief Secretary and Secretary to Cabinet, Paula Ma'u, confirmed the death to RNZ Pacific. An official government statement will be released soon. Tu'ionetoa was 71 and is survived by his wife, children and grandchildren. He was the country's 17th Prime...

The world must step back from the brink of climate disaster to save the people of the Pacific from obliteration, the prime minister of Samoa has urged. On the eve of a landmark report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is expected to deliver a scientific “final warning” on the climate emergency, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, Samoa’s prime minister,...

By Makereta Komai, PACNEWS Editor in Port Vila  An ambitious and historical call to action for a fossil fuel free Pacific was endorsed Friday in Port Vila – demanding a phase out of fossil fuel production from major economies that continue to produce coal, oil and gas. The Port Vila Call for a Just Transition to a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific...

By Makereta Komai, PACNEWS Editor in Port Vila The fight for a fossil fuel free Pacific will not be without its detractors and opposition – but Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is optimistic it can be achieved if Pacific countries stay the course. Henry Puna was in Port Vila last week when six Forum Island Countries – Fiji,...

Fiji's Assistant Minister in the office of the Prime Minister Sakiusa Tubuna last week contributed to discussions at the 2nd Pacific Ministerial Dialogue on Pathways for the Global Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels, where Government Ministers and officials heard from other Pacific leaders and civil society organisations (CSOs) about a global goal to limit average temperature rise to...