Fiji president suspends anti-corruption chief, fires deputy
Drama in Fiji as the head of the country's anti-corruption commission, Barbara Malimali is suspended and her deputy sacked as police investigate her appointment.
A series of high profile meetings between Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and a host of his Pacific counterparts have wrapped up in China.
A new parliamentary committee has been set up in Papua New Guinea to protect children who make up 43 per cent of the nation's population.
Samoa's former long time prime minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, believes his party has a good chance of regaining power after the implosion of the ruling FAST Party.
It's win or bust, do or die, for head coach Tana Umaga as Moana Pasifika face the Wellington Hurricanes this weekend, for a shot at the playoffs.
Fijian Drua co-captain Tevita Ikanivere and lock forward Isoa Nasilasila will become the first players to have made 50 Super Rugby appearances for Fthe iji team.
Despite her footballing genes, getting out on the pitch wasn't always on the cards for Bella-May Fa'arodo. We meet the young footballer who's been turning heads at regional level.
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Sydney Morning Herald
7 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Caps on foreign players, star payments under radical Shute Shield overhaul
The Shute Shield will undergo a major overhaul in 2026, with teams facing weekly caps on professional stars and foreign players, and limits on payments at club level, under a radical new system that will replace the controversial player points system. The player points system, a salary cap-style talent equalisation device introduced in Sydney's premier club rugby in 2008, has been scrapped and replaced by a new 'cap system', which limits the number of certain players a Shute Shield team can have on the field at one time, within categories like contracted Wallabies and Super Rugby players, and players from overseas. In what was seen as a growing 'arms race' among many Shute Shield clubs, foreign players had grown to account for 10 per cent of all players in recent seasons (with some clubs having far more than 10 per cent); inhibiting the development of local talent and reducing the pool of eligible players for the Waratahs. Ahead of the Shute Shield finals series beginning this weekend, Sydney Rugby Union confirmed the changes in a letter to all Sydney club presidents, chairmen and general managers on Tuesday, following a three-month review. The unwieldy points system has players given a value, with Wallabies worth 20 points and Super Rugby players worth 10 points each, and factoring in other histories overseas and at junior level. But an array of discounts are also available for things like junior rep background and long service at a club. Shute Shield sides have a limit of 100 points per game, and squabbling between clubs and fans over the self-reported player values is rampant, particularly around the star-studded clubs. In 2024, Eastern Suburbs were found guilty of breaching the 100-point limit and were initially let off without punishment. But after rival club bosses threatened to boycott the Catchpole medal awards night, Easts were later docked five competition points. The penalty didn't stop the Waratahs-laden Easts side winning their first premiership in 55 years, but the saga was the impetus for the SRU to fast-track change. 'Sydney Rugby has been looking at it for a number of years, it's not just in isolation to the 2025 season or 2024 season, where we had some challenges with it,' SRU general manager Peter Watkins said.
The Age
7 hours ago
- The Age
Caps on foreign players, star payments under radical Shute Shield overhaul
The Shute Shield will undergo a major overhaul in 2026, with teams facing weekly caps on professional stars and foreign players, and limits on payments at club level, under a radical new system that will replace the controversial player points system. The player points system, a salary cap-style talent equalisation device introduced in Sydney's premier club rugby in 2008, has been scrapped and replaced by a new 'cap system', which limits the number of certain players a Shute Shield team can have on the field at one time, within categories like contracted Wallabies and Super Rugby players, and players from overseas. In what was seen as a growing 'arms race' among many Shute Shield clubs, foreign players had grown to account for 10 per cent of all players in recent seasons (with some clubs having far more than 10 per cent); inhibiting the development of local talent and reducing the pool of eligible players for the Waratahs. Ahead of the Shute Shield finals series beginning this weekend, Sydney Rugby Union confirmed the changes in a letter to all Sydney club presidents, chairmen and general managers on Tuesday, following a three-month review. The unwieldy points system has players given a value, with Wallabies worth 20 points and Super Rugby players worth 10 points each, and factoring in other histories overseas and at junior level. But an array of discounts are also available for things like junior rep background and long service at a club. Shute Shield sides have a limit of 100 points per game, and squabbling between clubs and fans over the self-reported player values is rampant, particularly around the star-studded clubs. In 2024, Eastern Suburbs were found guilty of breaching the 100-point limit and were initially let off without punishment. But after rival club bosses threatened to boycott the Catchpole medal awards night, Easts were later docked five competition points. The penalty didn't stop the Waratahs-laden Easts side winning their first premiership in 55 years, but the saga was the impetus for the SRU to fast-track change. 'Sydney Rugby has been looking at it for a number of years, it's not just in isolation to the 2025 season or 2024 season, where we had some challenges with it,' SRU general manager Peter Watkins said.
ABC News
19 hours ago
- ABC News
Australian officials touch down in Tanna as part of potential 500M dollar pact with Vanuatu
On the program today Australia's Foreign Minister, Defence Minister and Pacific minister arrive in Tanna Island to discuss an ambitious new strategic pact. One of Fiji's favourite sons and Pacific music legend George 'Fiji' Veikoso is farewelled at a moving funeral service in Suva. Football Federation American Samoa reaches a pivotal moment in their development by partnering with the International Football Consultancy. Five-hundred roofs across four continents are painted with a reflective coating, as part of research into tackling the health impacts of climate change. Papua New Guinea's very own hip hop dance crew makes history again by winning first place at the 2025 World Hip Hop Champs. And it's been 80 years the allies claimed victory in the Pacific, but Pacific nations are sill paying a price in the form of munitions, landmines and unexploded ordnance left over from the conflict.
