PINA

The gathering of SPREP members, partners and donors in Samoa this week embodies the collective commitment and priority Pacific leaders have placed on the protection and management of environment resources of our blue Pacific for the present and future generations. The point was made by Samoa’s Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, on Monday night when she opened the 31st SPREP...

Invasive species are costing the world at least US$423bn every year and have become a leading threat to the diversity of life on Earth, according to a UN assessment. From invasive mice that eat seabird chicks in their nests to non-native grasses that helped fuel and intensify last month’s deadly fires in Hawaii, at least 3,500 harmful invasive species have...

Vanuatu's parliament elected Sato Kilman as the nation's new prime minister Monday after a court upheld a vote of no-confidence in the nation’s former leader and amid China-U. S rivalry in Pacific Islands. Kilman, a former prime minister and leader of the People's Progressive Party, was elected prime minister 27/23 in a secret ballot by MPs. “First and foremost I want...

The Pacific region remains vastly underserved by access to climate finance, according to the Pacific Community (SPC)'s director of climate change and sustainability, Coral Pasisi. By her estimation, the region currently receives less than 0.22 percent of the promised US$100 billion that donors pledged in 2010 – to be mobilised annually by 2020. “The Pacific region will need US$2 billion a...

For some Banabans who trace their family, their history, and their home to the tiny Pacific island, the prospect of phosphate mining being restarted is the re-opening of a wound never healed, “a betrayal”. “We don’t want mining there,” Toanuea Taratai, chairman of Tabwewa village, told the Guardian this week. “Even though we might be far away, our heart and...

The Solomon Islands opposition is calling for an independent investigation into a contentious shipment of "replica weapons" brought into the Pacific Island country by China after publicly released U.S diplomatic cables claimed the guns were likely real. A controversy erupted in Solomon Islands in March last year after local media reported that firearms had been smuggled into the capital Honiara. The...

At a time of unprecedented concern around the world about reduced public access to accurate, impartial and verified information, this meeting of Pacific members of the Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) reaffirms the importance of media and journalistic freedom. Media freedom is essential in participatory democracies. It empowers media organisations to report without fear or favour and to hold power...

Mick Byrne made his name as an innovator. After a playing career in Australian rules football, he pioneered the role of the rugby skills coach in England and Scotland, going on to work with the All Blacks for over a decade. In 2021, Byrne landed his first Super Rugby head coaching role when he was appointed to the job with...

Former Fiji 7s coach Gareth Baber and Mick Byrne, mentor of Swire Shipping Fijian Drua, are proud of the progress made by the players in the Flying Fijians Rugby World Cup team. Baber coached famous Fiji 7s players and Olympic gold medalists such as Meli Derenalagi, Jiuta Wainiqolo, Iosefo Masi, and Sireli Maqala. Byrne highly praises the smooth inclusion of his...

Jake White has backed the Springboks to win the 2023 World Cup, but says even rank outsiders like England and Fiji will be a threat for the defending champions in France. The world champions will go into the tournament as the second-ranked team as World Rugby’s rankings received a major shake-up after the final round of warm-ups last week. Twickenham was...