PINA

New Zealand will reopen its borders to the world over the coming months, the government announced Wednesday, allowing for the return of displaced residents from January and tourists from April. The country imposed harsh border restrictions when the pandemic began, effectively banning tourists and requiring returning residents to spend two weeks in a quarantine hotel run by the military. At times,...

World Rugby has approved a landmark change to its eligibility laws which will allow players to switch Test nations and significantly bolster developing countries in time for the 2023 World Cup. In a game-changing move for the sport, players who meet the criteria will be able to change nations from January with the Pacific Islands among the teams poised to...

Picture former All Blacks Charles Piutau, Malakai Fekitoa and Vaea Fifita running out for Tonga at the next World Cup. Then think of Lima Sopoaga, Julian Savea, Victor Vito and Steven Luatua running out for Samoa in France in a couple of years. In a huge win for Pacific Island rugby, it’s now a reality in wake of World Rugby approving...

New eligibility rules passed by World Rugby could open the way for the controversial Israel Folau to make his return to the international game with Tonga. The world governing body approved a major amendment to their eligibility policy on Wednesday which will allow players to switch countries more easily from next January. It looks set to pave the path for the...

The United Nations has glaring problems in Samoa where the government is calling for the UN's role in the country to be reviewed. The most pressing immediate problem concerns UN Resident Co-ordinator in Samoa, Simona Marinescu, and the local government's allegation that she has interfered in domestic politics. Samoa's ruling Fa'atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party has accused...

Samoa's Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa is seen as a shining light when it comes to Pacific women in politics but across the region, female candidates are struggling to get into parliament. A leading Tongan women's rights activist is calling for electoral reforms after 12 women candidates failed to win a seat in last week's national election. Ofa-ki-Levuka Guttenbeil-Likiliki said the...

The head of Fiji's Electoral Commission has resigned - less than 12 months from the general election. Lawyer Suresh Chandra made the surprise revelation during the signing of the Terms of Reference between the Fijian Elections Office, the Pacific Disability Forum and the National Council for Persons with Disabilities at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva on Monday. Chandra told the...

Children who have developed organ inflammation linked to COVID-19 infection should be given steroid treatment in hospital, the World Health Organisation, (WHO), said on Tuesday. The updated recommendation from the UN health agency comes after it first described Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children Associated With COVID-19, or MIS-C for short, last May. “MIS-C is a rare but serious condition where children...

The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. and the CNMI Covid-19 Task Force on Tuesday announced that 98 new positive Covid-19 cases had been identified during a single day of community screening — the largest recorded in CNMI history. These new cases are in addition to the 10 new cases that CHCC reported on the evening of Monday, 22 November. Pacific Island Health Officers...

Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says the Fijian delegation at COP26 did not depart our shores for a vacation in Glasgow, Scotland, but had a purpose and mission to fulfill. Speaking on Radio Fiji One’s – Nai Lalakai programme, Bainimarama highlighted the support rendered by Fijians and religious leaders helped the delegation achieve various key outcomes at the summit. Bainimarama said...