Samoa

The final match of the Pacific Test triple-header was, on paper, the hardest game to predict, but England's precision proved too much for a Samoan side that had its moments, but ultimately couldn't match it for 80 minutes with their northern rivals.

RNZ reports he helped the island countries negotiate the deal and said it should bring significant benefits.

But Dr Kessie said a key is that New Zealand and Australia meet their commitments to allocate up to 20 per cent of their Pacific aid budgets to helping the island nations develop such things as the capacity to meet international bio-security requirements.

He said this would amount to $US300 million dollars annually being allocated.

In the opening match of the Qualifier, Samoa won the toss and sent Japan in for the first ICC match on turf in Japan.

Japan got off to a slow but solid start before captain Kurumi Ota was unluckily run out at the non-striker’s end.

From there Japan lost regular wickets throughout their 20 overs which restricted their ability to set a defendable score.

Former captain Shizuka Miyaji was the only batter to stay there for her 27 not out with Japan setting Samoa a target of just 71 for victory.

The Baby Manu has been training together for six weeks in preparation for the Oceania tournament and the upcoming World Rugby Under 20 Championship in Georgia.

Samoa won the second tier Under 20 Trophy last year to earn promotion back to the elite division.

Head coach Junior Leota said testing themselves against Australia, New Zealand and Fiji will tell them exactly where there preparations are at.

"It's crucial that we get preparation right and I guess Oceania it's a first step on our journey," he said.

This is the first workshop for regional executive-level police officers facilitated by the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) and funded by the Australian Federal Police (AFP). It builds on four previous training sessions funded by the AFP with frontline police officers from across the Pacific to improve policies and responses to cases of violence against women.

Like many designers, it took Keil a long time for the breakthrough.

Her very first engagement as a designer was creating the wardrobe for Miss Samoa in 1996.

And something which started off as a hobby has brought her far from her kitchen table, onto local and regional runways and eventually the big jump to the red carpets of Hollywood.

In preparation for the 48th Forum Leaders Meeting, the Forum Officials Committee Meeting, the governing council of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, will meet in Suva on 8 and 9 August preceded by the Smaller Island States Officials Meeting and the Pacific ACP Officials Meeting on 7 August, 20167.

A meeting of the Forum Foreign Ministers will also be held on 11 August 2017 in Suva.

The Smaller Islands States Leaders Meeting will be held in Apia on 4 September. This will be followed by the Pacific ACP Leaders Meeting.

For Tokelau, this is now underway with a special inception workshop held in Samoa, to plan implementation of the different activities.

With the Tokelau General Fono recently endorsing the Tokelau Climate Change Strategy – 'Living with Change' the protection of the ocean is featured as a high priority.

 Being part of the New Zealand Pacific Partnership on Ocean Acidification (NZPPOA) regional project to build resilience to ocean acidification is especially important for Tokelau and her community.

A deal hasn't yet been agreed but the Weekend Herald understands there is growing confidence among all parties that on Friday, June 16, the All Blacks will play Samoa in Auckland - with Tonga versus Wales as the curtain raiser.

The All Blacks are keen to play a meaningful contest before the first test against the Lions on June 24. They are conscious the Lions will have had six tough tour games before that first test, while the All Blacks will have had two weeks of training, but no opportunity to play.

There has long been criticism that countries such as Fiji, Samoa and Tonga do not face enough tier-one opposition outside of World Cups every four years and that this diminishes their chances of performing at their best in the global showpiece, where they have nevertheless made a significant contribution over the years.

This is something officials have tried to address in the new global calendar unveiled by World Rugby last week, but that doesn't kick in until 2020.