Former Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has been sentenced to a year in prison for interfering in a criminal investigation while leading the government of his South Pacific island nation.

Fiji’s former leader Frank Bainimarama has been released on bail after pleading not guilty to abusing his power as prime minister by stopping a police investigation.

Sitiveni Rabuka has been confirmed as Fiji’s next prime minister more than two decades after the former military commander first held the office in a term lasting nearly seven years.

Fijian police say they are calling in the military to help maintain security following a close election last week that is now being disputed.

An international group that monitored Fiji’s general election this week says it didn’t observe any voting irregularities and the process was transparent and credible.

The leaders of four political parties contesting Fiji’s general election called for an immediate halt to vote-counting after the online results app experienced a glitch and then the next batch of results swung in favor of the incumbent prime minister.

The United Nations chief is warning that “humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation.”.

A major U.N. meeting on the landmark Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty is about to begin after a long delay due to the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris assured Pacific island leaders of more U.S. engagement after acknowledging the United States may not have previously provided the diplomatic attention the region deserved.

Australia and New Zealand’s prime ministers have agreed that security concerns regarding China’s expanding influence must be discussed at a meeting of western Pacific leaders.

Australia and China are continuing their tit-for-tat diplomatic rivalry in the Pacific as the foreign ministers from each country pay separate visits to island nations.

China has fallen short on its bold plan for 10 Pacific nations to endorse a sweeping agreement covering everything from security to fisheries.

COVID-19 travel restrictions will cut the representatives of Pacific island nations attending U.N. climate talks that begin this weekend in Scotland.

South Korea is reporting a new daily high for coronavirus cases a day after authorities enforced stringent restrictions in areas outside the Seoul capital region seeking to slow a nationwide spread of infections.

Hawaii officials are moving forward with a plan to allow people who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus to skip pre-travel testing and quarantine requirements for flights between islands.

In this photo provided by Sandy Price, Price and her husband, Pal Ahluwalia, pose for a photo in Brisbane, Australia, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. Ahluwalia, the leader of the University of the South Pacific, and his wife were asleep Wednesday at their Fiji home when a ruckus outside awoke them near midnight. (Sandy Price via AP)WELLINGTON – The leader of the University of the South Pacific and his wife were asleep at their Fiji home when a ruckus awoke them around midnight. Now, he's at the center of a bitter dispute threatening to tear apart South Pacific regional relationships. By shaking up the university, Ahluwalia found himself in conflict with other administrators, some of whom have deep ties with Fiji's government.

In a year of cataclysm, some world leaders at September 2020's annual United Nations meeting are taking the long view, warning: If COVID-19 doesn't kill us, climate change will. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)JOHANNESBURG – In a year of cataclysm, some world leaders at this week’s annual United Nations meeting are taking the long view, warning: If COVID-19 doesn't kill us, climate change will. Meanwhile, the U.N. global climate summit has been postponed to late 2021. That hasn’t stopped countries, from slowly sinking island nations to parched African ones, from speaking out. World powers cannot shirk their financial commitments to fighting climate change during the pandemic, Remengesau said, even as economies are battered.

South Africa is struggling to balance its fight against the coronavirus with its dire need to resume economic activity. The country with the Africas most developed economy also has its highest number of infections more than 19,000. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, file)TANZANIA The U.N. chief on Thursday warned the largest gathering of world leaders since the coronavirus pandemic began that it will cause unimaginable devastation and suffering around the world, with historic levels of hunger and famine and up to 1.6 billion people unable to earn a living unless action is taken now. Nearly 50 world leaders spoke by video at the event along with economic experts, including the heads of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. African leaders also support Gutteres' call for economic relief worth at least 10% of global GDP, which would mean over $200 billion in additional support for Africa.