PINA

The Queensland Reds and Fijiana Drua have confirmed their sides for Saturday's Super W Final in Townsville. The Reds have confirmed a settled line-up as they look for their first title in the competition's history. Simon Craig has kept the same 23 that defeated the ACT Brumbies last week in Sydney, with captain Shannon Parry leading the way. Wallaroos centre Cecilia Smith...

The flying feet of the Queensland Reds’ instant star Heleina Young had lived a lifetime in rugby but never a proper game of 15-a-side until 12 months ago. The astonishing rise of the former track sprinter from Suva reaches a fairytale moment on Saturday in the Super W final in Townsville. Lining up against the Fijiana Drua, with friends on board,...

The draw for the inaugural 2023 OFC Women’s Champions League has been finalised at the OFC Home of Football – Te Kahu o Kiwa, in Auckland. The flagship women’s club competition features six sides from across the region and will be held from 1-10 June, in Papua New Guinea, with all matches taking place at the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium,...

The prospect of expanding a marine sanctuary has alarmed CNMI Governor Arnold I. Palacios, Guam Governor Lourdes Leon Guerrero and American Samoa Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga. In their joint letter to President Joseph Biden, the three governors requested a meeting "at your earliest convenience.” “We are alarmed and concerned over the prospect of expanding potential fishery closures through designating a marine...

The president of the Cop28 climate talks has blamed rich nations’ “dismal” failure to provide US$100 billion a year in climate finance to developing countries for “holding up” progress in negotiations. The UAE’s climate envoy Sultan Al Jaber has requested donor countries to provide a definitive assessment on the overdue delivery of the commitment before the climate summit in Dubai...

The Chinese government does not attach any political strings to its cooperation with Fiji. In response to question by FBC News, a Chinese Embassy spokesperson in Fiji, said that China has always upheld sincerity and good faith in its friendly relations with Fiji. The embassy cited the provision of tangible benefits, including roads, bridges, jetties, solar power systems, and advanced technology,...

World Press Freedom Day has been marked by journalists around the world including the Pacific. Launched by the United Nations in 1998, it's a day of solidarity among the world's media, in particular with journalists who are being persecuted in autocratic nations and war zones. Its serves as a day of celebrating the development and improvement of media landscapes. Media freedom returns...

New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has stayed out of the ugly foreign policy questions hanging over the Indo-Pacific in her first significant foreign policy speech of the year. The big immediate question hanging over New Zealand foreign policy, whether New Zealand will sign up to pillar two of Aukus, didn’t get a mention, but Mahuta addressed head-on other concerns...

More voters in the Solomon Islands would choose a republic in a referendum tomorrow than would stay with the Crown, according to new research from Lord Ashcroft Polls – while most in Papua New Guinea and Tuvalu say they would vote for their countries to remain constitutional monarchies. People in the Solomon Islands said they would vote to become a...

Government is enjoying a “honeymoon” period with the media, says Dialogue Fiji executive director Nilesh Lal. As one of the panelists during an event marking World Press Freedom Day at University of the South Pacific (USP) Wednesday, Lal said the repeal of the Media Industry Development Act (MIDA) 2010 had led to the media industry being free from the restrictive...