PINA

Flying Fijians put up a gutsy performance despite doing down 57-23 in their first test match against the All Blacks in Dunedin on Saturday night. The national 15’s side led by Levani Botia played with a lot of emotions dedicating it to the loyal fans here in Fiji as we continue to face the second wave of COVID-19. Fly-half Ben Volavola...

Manu Samoa ran in five second-half tries to take the upper hand in their France 2023 qualifier against the ‘Ikale Tahi. Samoa ran in five second-half tries to win the first leg of their Rugby World Cup 2023 qualifier 42-13 against Tonga in Auckland. Henry Taefu scored 20 points at Mt Smart Stadium as Manu Samoa turned on the style following...

Fiji's Kiwi coach Vern Cotter says his players weren't properly consulted about the ‘Vaccinate Fiji’ jerseys revealed days before the All Blacks test, leaving them with little time to resolve the “complex” issues they created within the squad. Fiji wore clean jerseys during the All Blacks tests after ditching the ‘Vaccinate’ messaging at late notice, prompting concern from medical professionals...

Samoa caretaker Minister of Education Sports and Culture, Loau Keneti Sio, has agreed to resign from office as a result of a post election challenge filed against him. Loau's resignation has resulted in the petition being dropped but it has also triggered a sixth by-election and reduced the Human Rights Protection Party's (HRPP) numbers even lower. Loau's resignation will effectively reduce...

The first batch of Covid-19 vaccines for Tokelau will leave New Zealand on Monday, delivered by the naval ship HMNZS Wellington. The 76-member crew underwent weeks of rehearsals to ensure strict safety protocols were in place to protect the islands from Covid-19. The Pfizer vaccine doses will be enough to vaccinate Tokelau’s entire eligible population and can only be delivered by...

A group of Fijian-born soldiers who sued the government after being classified as illegal immigrants have been granted leave to remain in the UK, despite losing their legal battle against the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Home Office. Seven of the group, who claimed they were the victims of serious and systemic administrative mistakes because they were not properly...

A Supreme Court hearing in Samoa today will determine if the caretaker prime minister will face criminal contempt proceedings. Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, as well as the attorney general, parliament's former speaker and its clerk are to appear for preventing parliament from convening on 24 May as the court ordered. A substantive Supreme Court hearing today will probe the roles played by...

The manner in which the Fijian Government has enforced directives on people to get vaccinated for COVID-19 is concerning. Fiji Law Society president William Wylie Clarke says there are better ways for Government to address the issue. He was responding to a directive from Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama that people could lose their jobs if they failed to vaccinate to get...

The Pacific Islands Forum on Saturday reminded Samoa’s caretaker Government of the Biketawa Declaration, which amongst other guiding principles promotes the peaceful transfer of power and the rule of law in Forum member states. Forum Secretary General Henry Puna, in a statement said Samoa has for a long time been a shining example of self-determination and democracy within our Forum...

Written by Sargam Goundar, Kim Andreas Kessler Fiji’s COVID-19 story started with the Fijian Government taking action in the form of travel restrictions to Fiji and mandatory border quarantine to keep the virus out. This was largely driven by an anticipation of Fiji’s lack of resilience due to communal living, high NCD (non-communicable disease) rates, a fragile health system,...