PINA

Pacific Islands Forum Chair and Cook Islands Prime Minister, Mark Brown has emphasised the importance of member states to ‘work together’ as Forum Foreign leaders meets in Suva Friday to prepare for the upcoming Forum Leaders Meeting in November. “It is important to remember that in order for Pacific regionalism to work, we must be willing to work together to...

Insufficient progress towards climate goals is slowing down the global fight against poverty, hunger and deadly diseases, according to a report released on Thursday by the UN World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). UN Secretary-General António Guterres echoed that message, warning that record temperatures and extreme weather were “causing havoc” around the world. The global response has fallen “far short”, Guterres insisted, just...

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Climate Ready project has mobilised US$562 million from Climate Finance Organisations to support Pacific Island countries meet their climate change adaptation goals and become more climate resilient. This amount includes 17 large projects to improve health, food and water security, marine ecosystems, biodiversity protection, conservation, and natural resource management. “Over the last seven...

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown met with Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa in Suva this week ahead of the upcoming Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting (FFMM)to be held today at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. Brown supported by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Secretary Tepaeru Herrmann, met with PM Mata’afa at the Samoa High Commission in Suva. During their...

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown met with his Nauru counterpart Russ Kun Thursday ahead of today’s Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting (FFMM) to be chaired by Prime Minister Brown at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. PM Brown supported by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Secretary Tepaeru Herrmann and High Commissioner to Fiji, Jim Armistead met President Kun at the...

Fiji will be one of the eight Pacific Island countries to benefit from the Climate Finance Experts that will be funded by the Australian government. The visiting Australian Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, made the announcement in Suva Thursday. Wong said these experts will work with the eight countries to access climate finance through funds from the World Bank, the Asian Development...

New preliminary research findings highlight persistent and alarming rate of ongoing sea turtle harvesting, which directly contradicts the well-defined regulations prohibiting this practice. A troubling trend that warrants immediate attention. The findings identified major harvesting hotspots in the provinces of Lomaiviti, Macuata, Kadavu, and Bua. The turtle, also known as vonu or ika bula, holds significance within Fiji's customary rituals...

Tonga head coach Toutai Kefu has named his match-day 23 to face Ireland at Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes on Saturday, with captain Ben Tameifuna forming part of a heavyweight front row. Kefu has included four former All Blacks in Tonga’s starting XV: full-back Salesi (Charles) Piutau, centre Malakai Fekitoa, scrum-half Augustine Pulu and number eight Vaea Fifita. Fekitoa is...

Christian Leali'ifano, who scored the most points for the Wallabies at the 2019 World Cup, will start as Samoa's five-eighth in their opening Rugby World Cup clash with Chile in Bordeaux. The 35-year-old, who survived cancer to return to playing elite rugby, transferred his allegiance this year to Samoa from Australia after 26 Tests. He took advantage of a relaxation in...

Tuvalu has made a bold proposition, asserting that it will continue to exist as a country, even if the island disappears due to rising sea levels. This month, it enshrined a new definition of statehood in its constitution. The definition states the State of Tuvalu shall remain in perpetuity, notwithstanding the impacts of climate change or anything else that results in...