PINA

Media freedom has truly returned to Fiji after Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation focused on safeguarding the right to freedom of information — placed Fiji at an index of 44 out of 180 countries in 2024 compared with 89 in 2023. The 45 point jump is a direct result of the removal of 16...

Papua New Guinea Shadow Minister for Bougainville Affairs Sir Puka Temu has condemned the miscommunication and blame game propagated by Prime Minister James Marape over the shifting of the JSB meeting dates. Sir Puka stated that it was unbecoming of Marape to blame our Bougainvillean counterparts over a delay, when it was in fact caused by his team. Sir Puka made...

The pools for the HSBC SVNS 2024 Championship have been announced as excitement builds for the winner-takes-all tournaments at the Grand Finals in Madrid. Argentina and New Zealand celebrated becoming men’s and women’s League Winners in Singapore last weekend, but there is no guarantee they will be victorious again when the action heads to Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano between 31 May...

The German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock Tuesday visited the Fiji Football Association (FFA) in Vatuwaqa, Suva. During the visit, Baerbock met with the Future Kulas U15 Girls team and congratulated them for their victory in the U-15 Development tournament held in Lautoka yesterday, and wished them well in upcoming competition. The U-15 girls are looking forward to their upcoming matches against...

Children in five Pacific Island countries are facing increasing levels of physical, sexual, emotional, and online violence at home, school and their communities, according to new research from Save the Children. Released today, Save the Children’s ‘Pacific Regional Child Protection Situational Analysis’ shows child protection risks have increased for children in Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Tonga...

A Cook Islands cryptocurrency expert is critical of a proposed law targeting tainted cryptocurrency, arguing it undermines human rights and doesn’t address the real channels of money laundering. In the rapidly evolving landscape of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, the introduction of the 2023 Tainted Cryptocurrency Recovery Bill has become a subject of intense scrutiny. Ano Tisam, a Cook Islands cryptocurrency expert,...

United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres will attend this year’s Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Tonga in August. This was announced by Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum(PIF), Henry Puna at his monthly media briefing in Suva last Friday. “I wrote to him last month, I think on the 9th of April, to thank him for gracing the lunch...

Nine more Solomon Islands ministers have been sworn-in Monday formalising their appointments to their respective Ministerial portfolios, almost completing the lineup of cabinet ministers this week. The eleven Ministers includes: *Manasseh Damukana Sogavare – Minister for the Ministry of Finance and Treasury *Manasseh Maelanga – Minister for the Ministry of Infrastructure Development *Harry Kuma – Minister for the Ministry of Commerce, Industries, Labour...

China’s top diplomat pushed for Papua New Guinea to sign a policing agreement with Beijing during a trip to Port Moresby last month, forcing Australian and PNG officials to scramble to prevent an embarrassment for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese before his visit to our closest neighbour. The revelation about the proposed policing deal – which PNG officials say has been...

The Autonomous Bougainville Government(ABG) is warning it might use other avenues to gain its independence should the PNG government continue to be mischievous in dealing with the Bougainville Independence agenda. The warning was sounded by ABG Attorney General and Independence Implementation Minister Ezekiel Massat just as the ABG delegation headed to Port Moresby for the Joint Supervisory Body (JSB) meeting...