PINA

France coach Fabien Galthié could not hold back tears as Racing 92 confirmed that star centre Virimi Vakatawa had been forced to end his rugby career "for cardiological reasons". At an emotional press conference on Tuesday, Galthié saluted the 31-cap France international as “formidable” and as someone who “made children dream”. “I wanted to come here today to pay homage, in...

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday that China's assistance to South Pacific island countries never attaches any political conditions, and many projects aided by China have progressed well. The remark was made by Mao Ning, a spokesperson of the ministry. In developing relations with South Pacific island countries, China has always adhered to mutual respect, equal treatment, win-win cooperation,...

Kiribati's government has dramatically escalated its campaign against the judiciary, suspending the country's three remaining senior judges after they blocked the deportation of High Court justice and Australian citizen David Lambourne. The decision effectively leaves Kiribati without any functioning high-level courts, deepening its legal and constitutional crisis. The office of Kiribati President Taneti Maamau responded furiously when the Kiribati Court of...

Regional authorities in Egypt, the host country of the 2022 UN climate conference (COP27), are ramping up initiatives designed to improve the country’s environmental credentials, and speed up its transition to a low carbon economy. The event will begin on 04 November, in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh. Several COP27-related initiatives are underway in Egypt: they include projects related...

The leader of the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu has promised to “stand firm” on its ties with Taiwan, as China expands its influence in the region. Speaking at a welcome ceremony in Taipei hosted by Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen, Tuvalu Prime Minister Kausea Natano said “decent and common values” had always been an added strength to their bond. Tuvalu...

Navy vessels from Australia and New Zealand will be exempt from a temporary ban on foreign ships entering the ports of the Solomon Islands, the Pacific island nation’s prime minister told parliament on Monday. Foreign military vessels responding to a request for assistance from the Solomon Islands government would also be exempt, Prime Minister Manesseh Sogavare said. The Solomon Islands signed...

The arrest and extradition to the United States last week of two naturalised Marshallese citizens indicted by the Justice Department for allegedly bribing multiple elected leaders here is "a big black eye for the Marshall Islands,” former Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine told the Nitijela (parliament). “What is the Marshall Islands government going to do about the officials who accepted...

Royal New Zealand Navy offshore patrol vessel HMNZS Wellington has completed two fishing monitoring operations in the Pacific as New Zealand contributes to the battle against illegal fishing. Nearly 60 percent of the world's tuna stocks is fished in the Pacific and the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) believes approximately 192,000 tons of tuna is associated with illegal, unreported...

Twenty-eight participants from 10 Pacific countries and Timor-Leste have completed the Pacific Climate Change Centre (PCCC) executive training on “Understanding Access to Climate Finance Part 3 and 4: Project planning and management.” Held from July to August 2022, the training built capacity in project planning, execution, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E). Part 1 and 2 of the training held in...

For the second successive Rugby World Cup Sevens, the tournaments in Cape Town will operate in a straight knockout format. That means every match counts and no team can afford a slow start. RWC Sevens 2022 will get underway at 08:45 local time (GMT +2) on Friday, when Ireland take on Portugal in the men’s pre-round of 16. Ireland head to South...