Nauru

In an interview with The Project on Channel 10, Sprent Dabwido, said he now regrets having done it.

His damning comments have prompted human rights groups in Australia to renew calls for the government to shut down its refugee detention camps on the island.

The legal director of the Human Rights Law Centre, Katie Robertson, said for the former president to liken the treatment of innocent people on the island to "torture" is a damning indictment of Australia's harmful refugee policy.

South Pacific AFL Development Program Coordinator Simon Highfield says they are impressed with participation from the small island nation.

This was following the Under 16 program they had conducted which accommodated 25 players from Nauru, PNG, Vanuatu and Fiji.

Highfield says the passion is unrivalled.

“From the color, to the songs, and the fact that nearly 40% of the whole population play AFL in some competition, their passion certainly flows.”

Nauru President Baron Divavesi Waqa read the resolution, stating that members of the parliament rejected the "one China principle" and "one country, two systems" framework and recognized Taiwan as a sovereign and independent nation. Waqa is the first foreign head of state to have publicly expressed opposition in parliament to China's "one country, two systems" framework.

Tsai flew to Nauru from Palau on Sunday to continue her eight-day visit to three of Taiwan's diplomatic allies in the Pacific, including the Marshall Islands.

The pact was signed by Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Director-General Chen Guo-en and Nauru Police Commissioner Corey Caleb, in the presence of President Tsai Ing-wen and her Nauruan counterpart Baron Divavesi Waqa.

Tsai is currently on an eight-day visit to Palau, Nauru and the Marshall Islands. She flew to Nauru from Palau on Sunday for a two-day stay and will leave for the Marshall Islands on Tuesday.

Tsai was greeted by Republic of China Ambassador to Nauru Chow Chin-fa and Nauruan officials, including Education Minister Charmaine Scotty and Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Aroi, at the Nauru airport.

During her stay before she leaves for the Marshall Islands on March 26, Tsai will hold talks with President Baron Divavesi Waqa, address the parliament and witness the signing of a sea patrol cooperation accord between the two countries.

President Tsai will leave Taiwan on 21 March 21 and is scheduled to arrive in Nauru on 24 March.

Noting that President Tsai led a delegation to visit the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and the Solomon Islands in 2017, dubbed "Sustainable Austronesia, Working Together for a Better Future—2017 State Visits to Pacific Allies," Deputy Foreign Minister Hsu Szu-chien stated that the president has wanted to once again visit the leaders of their Pacific allies for some time in response to their numerous invitations.

The office will serve as a regional hub for the development institution’s work across the region.

The new regional hub will be integral to the World Bank Group’s delivery of more than one billion Fiji dollars’ worth of projects across six countries (Fiji, Nauru, Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu) in a wide range of sectors including transport, aviation, information and communications technology, education, disaster resilience, fisheries, health and education, among others.

The Nauru Appeal Court, set up last year to replace the country's dependence on the Australian High Court, is to hear the case from the 24th to 26th April.

The government has asserted the Australian judge it brought in to hear the case got it wrong.

Justice Geoff Muecke had granted a permanent stay on the proceedings, saying the government's conduct throughout had been a "shameful affront to the rule of law".

“We stand with @jacindaardern to condemn violence and hatred,” President Waqa said on the Government’s Twitter account.

“The prayers of our nation are with you. May God bring you peace.”

President Waqa also issued a statement in his capacity as Pacific Islands Forum Chair.

He expressed shock and sadness at the tragic events in Christchurch, which claimed the lives of 50 people and left dozens injured.

Deputy foreign minister Hsu Szu-chien said talks were ongoing about a possible stopover in US territory – a move that would likely anger Beijing, which regards Taiwan as a breakaway province to be brought back to the mainland fold, by force if necessary.

The aim of the eight-day visit, starting on March 21, was to “deepen ties and friendly relations” with Taiwan’s Pacific allies, Hsu said.

A person with knowledge of the matter said the stopover would most likely be in Guam or Hawaii, with the chance of at least one visit to US territory “very high”.