PINA

Two more gold medals have been claimed by Samoa's champion weightlifting team at the Commonwealth Championship in Delhi in India. Sanele Mao claimed the other gold in the Men's 109 +kg division while powerhouse woman lifter Iuniarra Sipaia claimed the other. The latest additions mean Team Samoa has now claimed four golds at the championship. Coach Tuaopepe Jerry Wallwork told the...

Weighting Fiji has managed to win another two medals at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship in Delhi, India. Leyna-May Domonatani won a gold and bronze medal Monday. Fiji weightlifiting coach Henry Elder says Domonatani claimed gold in the junior event and bronze in the senior division. Fiji won its first gold medal through Taniela Rainibogi. Rainibogi snatched 163kg and 200kg in the clean and...

New Zealand prime minister Chris Hipkins has said that the Pacific region is becoming “more contested, less predictable, and less secure” as China becomes more assertive. Hipkins said it was important that New Zealand continues to engage with China to listen and to build dialogue. “Our region is becoming more contested, less predictable, and less secure,” Hipkins said in a speech...

Australia has welcomed the final report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Japan’s proposed release of treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The IAEA has found release of the treated water would be consistent with internationally accepted safety standards which ensure the protection of people and the environment. “The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency...

Solomon Islands leader of Opposition Matthew Wale has slammed the recent trip by the Prime Minister and his delegation to China describing it as a waste of taxpayer’s money. The makeup of the 30-member delegation included the Prime Minister, Madam Sogavare, nine ministers, five government backbenchers, eight officials, four permanent secretaries and two close protection police officers. Documents at hand suggest,...

Kapeliele Molitoni Lanumata has won the Tongatapu 10 parliamentary by-election for the late Tonga Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa’s former seat. He won with 870 votes, a margin of 249 votes over Matani Nifofā who had 621 votes, the first runner up. The second runner up was Fotu Kuo Hiko Valeli Fisi’iahi with 507 votes while Daniel Kimball Fale had 139 votes....

Former Fiji's Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho’s trial began in court in Suva this morning. Bainimarama is charged with one count of attempt to pervert the course of justice whileQiliho is charged with one count of abuse of office. It is alleged that in July 2020, Bainimarama in his capacity as the then PM directed the...

Australia has been told to be bolder about calling out corruption and malign foreign interference in the Pacific to counter China's increasing influence. The expanding security relationship between Beijing and the Solomon Islands has raised concerns in Canberra, which wants the issue to be primarily dealt with by Pacific nations. The co-lead of the U.S-based Hoover Institution's China Global Sharp Power...

Solomon Islands has said that its policing pact with China poses no “threat” to the Pacific, rebuking western powers that raised fears the deal could inflame regional tensions. Prime minister Manasseh Sogavare inked a raft of deals during a trip to China this week, including an agreement allowing Beijing to extend its police presence in the developing Pacific nation until...

A comprehensive report released ahead of the Thirty-sixth meeting of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board last week, sheds new light on challenges faced by Pacific Island Countries (PICs) accessing global climate finance funds. Pacific nations have long been vocal on the challenges of accessing support from the global funding entity. The report titled, titled “What GCF do we want...