PINA

Fiji’s cabinet has approved the implementation of the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (iEPA) with the European Union (EU) and decided to remove duties on certain goods from EU countries. This move is part of Fiji’s ongoing commitment to the iEPA, a trade agreement designed to enhance trade and strengthen economic ties between Fiji and the EU. Fiji is already reaping the...

World Rugby has reinstated Fiji to the World Rugby Council, effective immediately. This decision comes after the Executive Board approved the recommendation from the Fiji Oversight Committee, following the adoption of a new constitution and governance structure. “World Rugby can confirm that Fiji has been reinstated to the World Rugby Council with immediate effect following the Executive Board’s approval of the...

World Rugby has announced a reimagination of the qualification process for the men’s Rugby World Cup Australia 2027, the first event to feature 24 nations. With the core principle of qualifying on merit and simplifying the process for fans and teams, the new process opens new avenues for more teams to reach the pinnacle of the sport, raising global standards...

Following the World Rugby Council decision in October 2023, an adjustment to World Rugby Regulation 8.1 (c) governing national eligibility has been adopted across the game. From 01 August, 2024, any player with a genuine, close, credible and established link to a union is no longer required to complete 60 months (five years) of unbroken residency in the relevant country...

The purported motion of no confidence in the leadership of Vanuatu’s Prime Minister Charlot Salwai has been neutralised for now after the two Union of Moderate Parties (UMP) Members of Parliament, Nako Natuman and Anatole Hymak, were removed from their ministerial portfolios of Agriculture and Education Monday. UMP was the only major political party with MPs in both the Opposition...

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) is seeking to expand its tuna industry by securing broader access to the international market and reforming its foreign investment policies. At the Second National Fisheries Summit earlier this month, Vice President Aren Palik said the nation must strengthen its partnerships with the European Union, and regional allies including Papua New Guinea and the...

The Marshall Islands decided to agree with other Pacific leaders to support Japan's release of treated nuclear wastewater, despite its president raising concerns. In August last year, Japan began discharging water collected from the Fukushima nuclear plant after an earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that caused it to melt down. Pacific reactions were mixed. The Marshall Islands has had ongoing concerns about...

Tuvalu has endorsed, in principle, a national adaptation plan to address the existential threat posed by climate change on the Pacific island nation. The proposal was presented to Prime Minister Feleti Teo and his Cabinet by the Nanumea Salvation Seawall Group, comprising locals and Tuvaluans living overseas. Teo was elected unopposed by parliament in February and during his first address to...

Pacific nation Kiribati will begin voting in a general election this week, a poll that will test the strengthening ties between China and the government of the climate-threatened archipelago. The vote on Wednesday in tiny Kiribati - a country of scattered atolls and islands - has the potential to stir ripples across the South Pacific. Kiribati has drawn closer to China...

Fiji’s Prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, says he'll make an apology to other Melanesian leaders for failing to secure an agreement to visit Indonesia's West Papua province. Rabuka and PNG Prime Minister James Marape have been trying to organise a visit for more than nine months after the Melanesian Spearhead Group appointed them “special envoys” on West Papua. Rabuka said he’s “still...