SUVA, Fiji (AP) — Defending champion Fiji conceded a try after two minutes but countered with five of its own to take a bonus point Saturday from a 32-10 win over Tonga in the second round of the Pacific Nations Cup.
Tonga finished the match with 14 men after backrower Siosiua Moala received a second yellow card in the 68th minute which became a red card.
Fiji was able to gain surpluses of possession and territory in both halves to win a scrappy and ill-tempered match for its 11th win over Tonga in their last 12 meetings.
Later, Japan opened its campaign with a statement performance, scoring eight tries to two in a 57-15 win over Canada in Sendai, Japan. Canada had opened its campaign with a 34-20 win over the United States.
Japan led 17-10 after a tight first half but overwhelmed Canada in a second half in which it scored six tries. Backrower Amato Fakatava and winger Kippei Ishida scored doubles and Warner Dearns scored a try in his first outing as Japan captain.
“Canada really showed up in the first half and we were under a lot of pressure. I've got to thank the boys for coming out in the second half and putting up a good fight,” Dearns said. “I'm really happy to win my first game as captain.”
Japan was runner-up to Fiji in last year's tournament.
Fakatava scored the opening try after only three minutes. But Canada got into the match — as Japan conceded a succession of penalties — and scored through Sion Parry to level at 10-10. Dearns' try in the 38th minute allowed Japan to go to halftime with a seven point lead.
Japan took 14 minutes to score its first try of the second half through Fakatava but then ran riot with tries to fullback Sam Greene, backrower Ben Gunter, center Tomoki Osoda and Ishida who scored twice in the last few minutes.
Flyhalf Seungsin Lee landed eight of nine kicks at goal.
Tonga opened its Pacific Nations Cup campaign last weekend with a 30-16 win over Samoa and started strongly Saturday with an early try to scrumhalf Augustine Pulu.
After a penalty to Caleb Muntz, Fiji took the lead for the first time with a superb long-distance try finished by former All Blacks center Seta Tamanivalu. Winger Kalaveti Ravouvou scored during Moala's first absence in the sin-bin and by halftime Fiji led 17-10.
Fiji took time in the second half to extend its lead, frustrated by solid Tonga defense.
Captain Tevita Ikanivere scored in the 63rd minute from a cross-kick by Muntz and Taniela Rakuro added Fiji's final try five minutes later in a goalline scramble.
“We were a bit disappointed with our start. We talked about coming out in the first 20 and welcoming Tonga,” Ikanivere said. “We didn't start well but I'm grateful for the boys showing great spirit and getting the win.”
In the third and final preliminary round on Sept. 6, Fiji and Samoa play at Rotorua, New Zealand and the United States hosts Japan at Sacramento, California.
The top four teams will advance to the semifinals, and the playoff rounds are set to be played in the United States. Denver is hosting the semifinals and fifth-place playoff on Sept. 14 and Salt Lake City the third-place playoff and final on Sept. 20.
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
Canada's Tyler Ardron, center left, and Piers Von Dadelszen, center right, celebrate after defeating the United States in Pacific Nations Cup rugby match action in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss Iran's deadly protests at the request of the United States, even as President Donald Trump left unclear what actions he would take against the Islamic state.
Tehran appeared to make conciliatory statements in an effort to defuse the situation after Trump threatened to take action to stop further killing of protesters, including the execution of anyone detained in Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.
Iran’s crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday and some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to “temporary halt” travel to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country.
Iran previously closed its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in June.
Here is the latest:
U.S. President Donald Trump has hailed as “good news” reports that the death sentence has been lifted for an Iranian shopkeeper arrested in a violent crackdown on protests.
Relatives of 26-year-old Erfan Soltani had said he faced imminent execution.
Trump posed Thursday on his Truth Social site: “FoxNews: ‘Iranian protester will no longer be sentenced to death after President Trump’s warnings. Likewise others.’ This is good news. Hopefully, it will continue!”
Iranian state media denied Soltani had been condemned to death. Iranian judicial authorities said Soltani was being held in a detention facility outside of the capital. Alongside other protesters, he has been accused of “propaganda activities against the regime,” state media said.
Trump sent tensions soaring this week by pledging that “help is on its way” to Iranian protesters and urging them to continue demonstrating against authorities in the Islamic Republic.
On Wednesday Trump signaled a possible de-escalation, saying he had been told that “the killing in Iran is stopping.”
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union’s main foreign policy chief said the G7 members were “gravely concerned” by the developments surrounding the protests, and that they “strongly oppose the intensification of the Iranian authorities’ brutal repression of the Iranian people.”
The statement, published on the EU’s website Thursday, said the G7 were “deeply alarmed at the high level of reported deaths and injuries” and condemned “the deliberate use of violence” by Iranian security forces against protesters.
The G7 members “remain prepared to impose additional restrictive measures if Iran continues to crack down on protests and dissent in violation of international human rights obligations,” the statement said.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has spoken with his counterpart in Iran, who said the situation was “now stable,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Abbas Araghchi said “he hoped China will play a greater role in regional peace and stability” during the talks, according to the statement from the ministry.
“China opposes imposing its will on other countries, and opposes a return to the ‘law of the jungle’,” Wang said.
“China believes that the Iranian government and people will unite, overcome difficulties, maintain national stability, and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests,” he added. “China hopes all parties will cherish peace, exercise restraint, and resolve differences through dialogue. China is willing to play a constructive role in this regard.”
“We are against military intervention in Iran,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told journalists in Istanbul on Thursday. “Iran must address its own internal problems… They must address their problems with the region and in global terms through diplomacy so that certain structural problems that cause economic problems can be addressed.”
Ankara and Tehran enjoy warm relations despite often holding divergent interests in the region.
Fidan said the unrest in Iran was rooted in economic conditions caused by sanctions, rather than ideological opposition to the government.
Iranians have been largely absent from an annual pilgrimage to Baghdad, Iraq, to commemorate the death of Imam Musa al-Kadhim, one of the twelve Shiite imams.
Many Iranian pilgrims typically make the journey every year for the annual religious rituals.
Streets across Baghdad were crowded with pilgrims Thursday. Most had arrived on foot from central and southern provinces of Iraq, heading toward the shrine of Imam al-Kadhim in the Kadhimiya district in northern Baghdad,
Adel Zaidan, who owns a hotel near the shrine, said the number of Iranian visitors this year compared to previous years was very small. Other residents agreed.
“This visit is different from previous ones. It lacks the large numbers of Iranian pilgrims, especially in terms of providing food and accommodation,” said Haider Al-Obaidi.
Europe’s largest airline group said Thursday it would halt night flights to and from Tel Aviv and Jordan's capital Amman for five days, citing security concerns as fears grow that unrest in Iran could spiral into wider regional violence.
Lufthansa — which operates Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings — said flights would run only during daytime hours from Thursday through Monday “due to the current situation in the Middle East.” It said the change would ensure its staff — which includes unionized cabin crews and pilots -- would not be required to stay overnight in the region.
The airline group also said its planes would bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace, key corridors for air travel between the Middle East and Asia.
Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for several hours early Thursday without explanation.
A spokesperson for Israel’s Airport Authority, which oversees Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, said the airport was operating as usual.
Iranian state media has denied claims that a young man arrested during Iran’s recent protests was condemned to death. The statement from Iran’s judicial authorities on Thursday contradicted what it said were “opposition media abroad” which claimed the young man had been quickly sentenced to death during a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in the country.
State television didn’t immediately give any details beyond his name, Erfan Soltani. Iranian judicial authorities said Soltani was being held in a detention facility outside of the capital. Alongside other protesters, he has been accused of “propaganda activities against the regime,” state media said.
New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Thursday that his government was “appalled by the escalation of violence and repression” in Iran.
“We condemn the brutal crackdown being carried out by Iran’s security forces, including the killing of protesters,” Peters posted on X.
“Iranians have the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression, and access to information – and that right is currently being brutally repressed,” he said.
Peters said his government had expressed serious concerns to the Iranian Embassy in Wellington.
A demonstrator lights a cigarette with a burning poster depicting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of Iran's anti-government protests, in Holon, Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
