PINA

Fiji's former prime minister Frank Bainimarama and suspended police commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho will go to trial over corruption allegations. The charge being brought against Bainimarama is attempting to pervert the course of justice and Qiliho is charged with one count of abuse of office. The allegations are related to a complaint filed by the University of the South Pacific (USP) in...

Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna says the Pacific needs to move away from the heavy reliance on access revenues and move towards diversifying and future proofing the Tuna industry. In his keynote address Wednesday at the two days Pacific Tuna Forum in Port Moresby, Puna believes that the future of prosperity lies in our ocean – its fishery...

Amplified by wildfires and desert dust fanned by climate change, more frequent heatwaves are leading to a sharp drop in air quality and human health, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said in a new report on Wednesday. The news came as the UN chief released a strongly worded statement on a record summer of global warming in the northern hemisphere,...

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday condemned the opening of Papua New Guinea's embassy in Jerusalem as an “aggression” and a “violation” of international law. In a statement, the ministry termed the embassy opening as "an aggression against the Palestinian people and their rights." It warned that the move would cause "great harm to the chances of achieving peace on the...

A group of influential civil society organisations has called on the Export-Import Bank of the United States (U.S Exim) to reject an application to support a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Papua New Guinea. The Papua LNG project risks leaving “US$13bn in stranded assets without securing guaranteed sales”, according to Oil Change International, at a time when the Pacific...

The vote of no confidence to oust Tonga’s Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni was defeated in Parliament Wednesday afternoon with a vote of 14-11. The motion was submitted by 10 people’s MPs including two members of the nobility. The motion detailed a list of allegations against Hu’akavameiliku, mostly around government spending, mismanagement, lack of financial reports and non compliant activities surrounding...

Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa has announced a Cabinet reshuffle and the appointment of new Cabinet Ministers, the first in her two-year-old Government. Having clocked 25 months in public office, since the FAST administration came into power, the Prime Minister announced the Cabinet reshuffle during a press conference on Wednesday, after her Cabinet convened its weekly meeting. The appointment of...

Samoa’s Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mataafa has criticised the current global financial system as “condemning the small island states to a vicious cycle of growing debt, crushed by an uncaring, unseeing, and unfair global financial system.” She was giving a statement on video link as the Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) at the current UN meeting...

A milestone in regional cooperation was achieved on Monday with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), represented by Deputy Secretary General, Esala Nayasi and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) represented by Secretary General, Dr Kao Kim Hourn. The signing ceremony took place in the margins of the 43rd ASEAN Summit, hosted...

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held a summit with Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown on Wednesday, and discussed cooperation in the maritime and fisheries fields, his office said. The two leaders met on the sidelines of annual summits involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta and highly assessed the recent active exchanges between their countries, including...