PINA

Following the resounding success of the Pacific Challenge 2023 hosted by Lakapi Samoa, the World Rugby-funded tournament is returning to Apia in 2024 for an exciting competition contested by hosts Manuma Samoa, Fiji Warriors, Tonga A, and Japan Future stars of rugby in the Pacific Islands participated in the 2020 Pacific Combine. The programme featured 24 players from Samoa, Tonga...

Fiji have defeated the Junior Manu Samoa 31–17, claiming the inaugural Oceania Rugby U20s Challenge at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland. Two rich cultures and proud rugby nations went head-to-head for the final prize. Spectators were treated 23s a spine-tingling Siva Tau and Cibi pre-match. Fiji scored two tries in the first half, one from fullback Isikeli Basiyalo, who burst through for...

Geopolitical experts are warning that the Pacific isn’t a priority for the United States and that time is running out for them to be considered a credible partner. Professor Steven Ratuva, the Pro-Vice Chancellor, Pacific at Canterbury University, said so much has been made about the U.S support for development but its contribution is “virtually nil in many countries in...

Maori King Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII joined Pacific traditional leaders on Bau Island in Fiji last week, to have conversations about their role in the contemporary world. Ngira Simmonds the Kīngitanga's chief of staff and adviser to Kīngi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII said the occasion was crucial, given the current political climate of the world. “What is the...

Japanese citizens have called for a halt to the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean and demanded that the government revoke the permission for the controversial programme at the first public hearing of a lawsuit in Fukushima on Monday. The hearing of the lawsuit, filed by 363 Japanese fishery stakeholders and...

Drug dealers have continued to use cutting-edge digital technology, social media platforms and disinformation to sell their illegal produce, fuelling narcotics consumption globally, a UN-backed report launched on Tuesday showed. The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) study recommends responding with the same methods, running counter-narcotics campaigns offering advice that can be trusted on popular online platforms. “We can see that drug...

By Monika Singh The University of the South Pacific(USP) will host a major Pacific international media conference in July to address critical issues in the regional news media sector in the aftermath of the covid-19 pandemic and digital disruption. The conference in Suva, Fiji, on 04 - 06 July is the first of its kind in the region in two decades. With...

Growth in Pacific island countries is estimated to have slowed in 2023 and is forecast to continue to decelerate in 2024 and 2025 as the temporary boost from the COVID-19 pandemic recovery fades and fiscal policies begin to tighten, the World Bank said in its semi-annual economic outlook for 11 Pacific island countries. Investments in key drivers of long-term growth—education,...

The warming El Niño weather phenomenon that peaked in December was one of the five strongest ever recorded, the United Nations has said, predicting that it would produce above-normal temperatures from now until May. Though El Niño is now gradually weakening, its impact will continue over the coming months by fuelling the heat trapped in the atmosphere by greenhouse gases,...

Samoa Electoral Amendment Bill 2024 now debated by Parliament, will allow the online registration of Samoan voters both local and overseas. The Bill seeks to amend the Electoral Act 2019 for the Office of the Electoral Commission (OEC) to ‘clean’ and update the existing rolls under a new electronic system to replace the existing system that has been deemed obsolete....