PINA

The pools for the London 7s tournament has been drawn. Fiji is in Pool A with USA, Spain and Wales. Toulouse 7s silver-medalist Ireland has been drawn in a challenging pool alongside Series leaders Argentina, South Africa and Kenya. In Pool C are France, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Samoa heads Pool B with England, Scotland and Japan. The London 7s kicks-off this weekend. SOURCE:...

With an oath to “well and truly serve the Commonwealth of Australia”, and the flick of a signature, Anthony Albanese has officially become Australia’s 31st prime minister. Victorian-based federal MP Richard Marles was sworn in as deputy Prime minister and Minister for employment, rather than defence minister – a position he was widely speculated to take. Throughout the campaign, it was...

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has announced Member for Lae and Minister for Lands John Rosso as the country’s Deputy Prime Minister going into the election and beyond. He will be sworn in on Wednesday this week. Marape has also announced Hagen MP and SOE Minister William Duma acting Prime Minister while he is away attending the 37th Australia...

Anthony Albanese will today be sworn in as Australia's 31st prime minister, as his incoming Labor government takes power after almost a decade of Coalition rule. The weekend's election result has the Liberal Party on the hunt for a new leader, with Peter Dutton emerging as the most likely replacement for Scott Morrison. Albanese will be sworn in with his deputy...

The Solomon Islands has congratulated Australia's Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, on his election victory, saying much “remains to be done” in the bilateral relationship, as Pacific islands neighbour Fiji welcomed the party's climate policies. Albanese said he would be sworn in as the 31st prime minister on Monday along with four senior party members, even as vote counting continues, before...

China is intensifying its drive for influence in the Pacific by negotiating security deals with two additional island nations following a pact with the Solomon Islands, according to officials in the U.S and allied countries. Beijing’s talks with Kiribati, a Pacific island nation 3,000km from Hawaii where U.S Indo-Pacific Command is based, are the most advanced, the officials said. “They are...

Experts have reaffirmed the inevitable radioactive pollution to be caused by the dumping of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean after Japan last Wednesday initially approved the discharge plan. They demanded the Japanese government to stop pressuring those opposed to the plan and to truly listen to concerns from domestic public and international community, as...

Two of the last four remaining Covid-free nations in the world are preparing to open their borders to re-join the Covid world. The Federated States of Micronesia has announced its plan to open its borders without quarantine beginning 01 August. Meanwhile, the Marshall Islands has gradually reduced its quarantine requirements since late last year and the country’s top government administrator said...

The U.S, Japan, Australia and India will on Tuesday unveil a maritime initiative aimed at curbing illegal fishing in the Indo-Pacific, a U.S official said, in the latest effort by the “Quad” to counter Chinese activity in the region. President Joe Biden and the other Quad leaders — Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and newly...

New Zealand's Budget will commit NZ$4.4 million (US$2.8 million) for a new transmitter for RNZ Pacific ensuring the future of the service. RNZ Pacific broadcasts into the wider Pacific on shortwave 24 hours a day, collaborating with 22 broadcasting partners across the region. Its current primary transmitter is nearing end of life, and its other transmitter has in effect already been...