PINA

The pools for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic rugby sevens competitions have been confirmed as players, teams and fans countdown to the kick-off at Tokyo Stadium on 26 July. The 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams have been allocated to three pools of four teams, according to rankings based upon performances in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and other World...

STAR)---Saints and Tonga coach Kristian Woolf has called for an end to the uncertainty over the 2021 World Cup and says his Tongan players are unwavering in their commitment. Four months out from the opening game between England and Samoa at Newcastle's St James' Park, the 16 competing nations still do not know if the event will be held as...

The Teieniwa Vision Gathering in Tarawa, Kiribati from 4 to 5 February 2020 with the President of Kiribati as the Chair, we, the Prime Minister of Samoa, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, Vice President of Kiribati, Ministers from the Kingdom of Tonga and the Solomon Islands, Ambassador of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, High Commissioners of Australia and...

Samoa caretaker Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr Sailele Malielegaoi says the post election process is not yet complete, and all 51 electoral consituents of Samoa have to be represented at the first convening of Parliament after a general election. Tuilaepa was speaking to Radio 2AP on Monday after the handing down of a Supreme Court decision that not only declared the...

Fiji has reported 241 new cases of COVID-19 infections and one death Monday. Ministry of Health permanent secretary Dr James Fong says five cases are prison officers from Suva who are undergoing 14 days’ quarantine at the FSC Compound in Rakiraki as part of essential movement from red zone to green zone when they tested positive. “They were undergoing 14 days’...

The Australian Department of Defence has announced it will arm the Papua New Guinea Defence Force’s four new Guardian-class Patrol Boats. The equipment will be delivered through the Pacific Maritime Security Programme along with a ‘comprehensive support and training package’, the department said on Friday. Under the $2 billion (US$1.5 billion), 30-year programme, Australia will deliver 21 Guardian-class Patrol Boats to...

A new, much-awaited legal definition of “ecocide” has moved the world a step closer to recognising the plunder and mass destruction of nature as criminal. This raises the possibility of having ecocide included under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), alongside four already recognised international crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. That,...

FASANOC’s Executive Board is making the following recommendations for Athletes and Officials to represent Team Fiji at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. National Federations have been working hard in preparing their teams with final submissions forwarded to FASANOC’s Selection Justification Commission (SJC). The SJC has vetted the nominations from the respective National Federations and forwarded its recommendations to the FASANOC Executive...

Papua New Guineans are expected to go to the polls to elect the 111 parliamentarians on 11 June 2022. Nominations will be received at 4pm on 14 April to 4pm on 21 April. Polling will start on 11 June. The return of writs will be on or before 15 July. Governor-General (GG) Grand Chief Sir Bob Dadae’s acting official secretary Bill Toraso said...

Pacific Trade Invest (PTI) Australia, an agency of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, has launched its 2020 Annual Report, highlighting more than AUD$20 million (US$15 million) in export deals and a record nine investment deals facilitated in the region, despite the challenging environment. PTI Australia Trade and Investment Commissioner, Caleb Jarvis, noted the impacts of the pandemic on the Pacific...