PINA

President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that a voting reform that triggered deadly riots in French Pacific Territory New Caledonia would be “suspended” in light of snap parliamentary polls. Instead, he aimed to “give full voice to local dialogue and the restoration of order” after weeks of unrest in which nine people died, Macron told reporters at a Paris press conference. The...

Vanuatu has voted to change its constitution in a bid to end years of political instability, results of the Pacific nation's first national referendum showed on Wednesday. A grassroots push to alter the constitution had been gaining momentum since October last year, when Vanuatu churned through three prime ministers in a month. Vanuatu's 52-member parliament is currently dominated by independents and...

King Charles will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa on October 21 and embark on a tour of Australia later this year. According to the Daily Express, Buckingham Palace officials are currently reviewing a foreign visit schedule and have initiated preliminary plans for a scaled-down Commonwealth tour. King Charles, 75, who was initially expected to attend the...

In 2024 in Honolulu, the most venerated participants of the 13th Festpac are the voyagers who have arrived by reading the stars, the waves and winds, to close the circle begun by Hawaii’s Hokule’a canoe in the mid 70s. In 1992 at the Festpac Cook Islands, he was the Mauke vaka navigator sailing into Avana for the first ever vaka...

Fiji and Papua New Guinea have urged the UN’s decolonisation committee to expedite a visit to the French-controlled Pacific territory of New Caledonia following its pro-independence riots last month. Nine people have died, dozens were injured and businesses were torched during unrest in the capital Noumea triggered by the French government’s move to dilute the voting power of New Caledonia’s...

Papua New Guinea Opposition’s special reference uploaded on Monday on the National and Supreme Court’s Integrated Electronic Management System (IECMS) was confirmed to have been successfully received and endorsed by the Supreme Court. This is according to a sealed and endorsed copy of the decision received by the Young and Williams lawyers law firm representing the Opposition. This completed the filing...

With the founding members of FijiFirst exiting the party, renowned academic Professor Steven Ratuva said they had not only “abandoned the sinking ship, but also deliberately scuttled and sunk it”. Prof Ratuva said the mounting issues had become untenable and unsustainable. “It’s the end of the party,” he said as FijiFirst is expected to be deregistered. Prof Ratuva also said the stress...

By Charley Piringi The Rennell landowners are questioning the government again about the status of their royalty payments for the 33 bauxite shipments worth millions and their compensation claims for the Kangava Bay oil spill in 2018. Furthermore, Penrose Palmer, a Land Acquisition Officer who falsified documents for land acquired for mining on Rennell Island in 2015 was identified as the...

Andrew Abdo has emphasised the NRL must believe a Papua New Guinea team can be genuinely competitive before it is given the green light to enter an expanded competition. The league will take the next step towards expansion in coming weeks, with a bidding process to be unveiled following the next ARL Commission meeting on June 26. NRL officials have eyes...

Samoa Sailors Eroni Leilua and Vaimo’oi’a gearing up to make a mark on the global stage at the Olympic Games in Paris. The two have qualified to compete in the International Laser Class Association (ILCA) 7 and ILCA 6 in sailing and will compete in the upcoming Olympics. The two will be up against some very experienced sailors who are way...