PINA

By Len Garae in Port Vila The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) has failed West Papua, says a Vanuatu government champion of West Papuan self-determination. Minister for Climate Change Adaptation Ralph Regenvanu, a former foreign minister and who is also a pioneer spokesman for freedom for the Melanesian people of West Papua, said this when delivering his remarks at the closing of...

Pacific Trade Invest (PTI), the region’s leading trade and investment promotion agency, have released a series of insightful reports, the Pacific Business Monitor COVID Reflections, shedding light on the ramifications of the global health crisis across various Pacific industries from 2020 to 2022. Commissioned by PTI and conducted by the independent research agency, Fifth Quadrant, these reports draw on data...

By Colette Mortreux, University of Melbourne There has been much discussion about the impacts of climate change on migration, with calls that the world is entering an ‘era of mass migration’ and ‘unimaginable crisis’. Many communities in the Pacific are increasingly feeling the pressure of climate change including on livelihoods, food security and health. But the impact on migration is...

Flying Fijians winger Josua Tuisova and prop Peni Ravai are recovering well. The two missed the historic 30-22 win against England on Saturday after sustaining injuries during last Thursday’s training session. Head coach Simon Raiwalui said they’re progressing well. “Josh is doing well, his back running and is on track. Peni Ravai had a slight hamstring strain, his back running as well....

By Peter FitzSimons Simon Raiwalui is a Fijian raised in Australia, who played in the Australian Schoolboys team in the early 1990s with the likes of Ben Tune and Joe Roff. He took over as coach of Fiji in February this year. Last Saturday his team beat England at Twickenham for the greatest victory in Fijian rugby history. I spoke to...

On the rocky foreshore of Popua, in the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa, a group of girls and boys are tossing around a rugby ball. Siua, 13, and 11-year-olds Lesieli and Sisi play catch and run across sharp stones as their families fish on the reef,searching for dinner. It used to be a pretty beach before it was destroyed by a powerful tsunami...

The United Nations on Tuesday called for more global action to end nuclear testing, warning against the danger of “collective suicide”. In his message marking the International Day against Nuclear Tests, Secretary-General António Guterres appealed for key countries to ratify the international treaty that bans experiments for both peaceful and military purposes. “This year, we face an alarming rise in global...

In spite of again being denied full membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group, the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has welcomed the call from the MSG Leaders’ Summit in Port Vila last week for Indonesia to allow the long-awaited visit of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to West Papua. “I hope that the MSG chair will...

Between 1957 and 1958, Fijian soldiers were deployed from the then-British colony of Fiji to Kiritimati (Christmas Islands), now part of the Republic of Kiribati, during the series of British nuclear tests, Operation Grapple. Christmas Island was chosen as a testing site for British nuclear weapons during the Cold War due to its remote location and relative isolation, which was...

Amid Pacific Island countries dealing with the impacts of nuclear testing and Japan's wastewater discharge, leaders came together to commemorate the International Day Against Nuclear Tests, voicing their ongoing concerns and renewing their commitment to international peace. Speaking on behalf of the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) Government and its people at the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva on Tuesday,...