China

Manasseh Sogavare attended high-level talks in Beijing during the first ever official visit to China by a Solomons' prime minister.

His visit follows last month's controversial move by the Solomons to switch its diplomatic recognition to China, ending a long relationship with Taiwan.

While in Beijing, Mr Sogavare met China's President Xi Jinping, with the two leaders signing various agreements.

According to the ABC, one of the agreements was for co-operation under China's sprawling Belt and Road initiative.

It comes as Solomon Islands continues to reassess its relationship with Taiwan, ahead of a possible diplomatic switch to China.

Sixteen Solomons MPs declared last week they wanted the country to stick with Taiwan, following the visit of a ministerial delegation to China.

The group is led by the Minister for National Planning, Rick Hou, who said a vote in parliament on the matter would not happen this year.

Speaking to reporters in Palau last week, Dr Wu said he respected that the Solomons needed time to debate the issue.

Speaking at the ceremony yesterday Samoa's Prime Minister Tuilaepa Malielegaoi thanked China saying the building of the Multi-Sport Centre aligns with the government's vision to grow Faleata as the sports hub of Samoa and the Pacific region.

The Multi-Sport Centre consists of two state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor netball courts built to international specifications. It also has the capacity to host badminton, basketball, table tennis, boxing and other indoor sports.

The 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck near Yibin in Changning County, south-east of the provincial capital Chengdu, late on Monday, officials said.

It was followed by several powerful aftershocks.

TV footage showed rescuers pulling injured people from the rubble of collapsed buildings.

More than 4,000 people have had to be relocated because their homes were destroyed or damaged, state media reported.

China Central Television showed the aftermath of a landslide that had blocked a road and left a lorry engulfed in debris.

The Head of School and Director Politics and International Affairs, Dr. Sandra Tarte, outlined this when speaking to journalists at the Pacific Journalists Dialogue at the Forum Economic Ministers Meeting (FEMM) in Suva.

Dr. Tarte said this was not an initial Chinese government strategy and the current perception of the Asian powerhouse as an economic colonizer in the Pacific stems from the actions of Chinese firms, rather than the government.

The female turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) died in Suzhou zoo in southern China.

Experts had tried to artificially inseminate the creature, which was over 90 years old, for a fifth time shortly before she died.

The species has suffered from hunting, overfishing and the destruction of its habitat.

One male, estimated to be more than 100 years old, is left in the Chinese zoo while two other turtles live in the wild in Vietnam. The elusive nature of the turtle means it has been difficult to identify the gender of the pair.

A small whirlwind known as a dust devil tore the inflatable from the ground at a fairground in Yucheng county.

One parent reportedly told local media that she saw children fall from a height of about 20 metres (66ft).

A county government official told the South China Morning Post it was unclear whether "human factors" played a role.

Local authorities said 18 other children and two adults were taken to hospital. One child was in a serious condition while the rest were being treated for minor injuries.

The Pacific is Taiwan's last bastion of diplomatic support, with six nations in the region - Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Tuvalu and Palau - recognizing Taipei rather than Beijing.

Taiwan donates large amounts of aid to these countries, and works hard to cultivate relationships with their political leaders.

But China is intent on prising off Taiwan's remaining allies around the globe.

The ABC reports Pacific officials lobbied by China asked not to be identified because they did not want to damage diplomatic ties with Beijing.

In a statement, the airline said: “Air Niugini is committed to ensuring the highest quality, on time service to all passengers and will continuously review its business to improve efficiencies.

“Our partners and the airline have invested heavily in setting up operations to achieve our goal of opening the Chinese market to Papua New Guinea. It is our desire to complete this venture at the earliest possible opportunity. 

Baron Waqa, the president of Nauru, warned China and other global powers seeking to use the Pacific as their playground to compete with each other - that the Pacific will no longer tolerate any interference

"From this meeting in Nauru, going forward, we will not allow this kind of behaviour in our Pacific meeting space," Mr Waqa said.