PINA

Countries representing over 2 billion people around the world are holding the line as they continue to retaliate that they will not accept a treaty that does not contain a clear, legally binding obligation to phase out the most harmful plastics and chemicals of concern. A hours left for negotiations at the fifth and final Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) to...

Samoa’s tenure as Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) is finishing at the end of 2024. The influential negotiating bloc of 39 small island developing states countries from the Pacific Islands, the Caribbean region, and the African Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean and the South China Seas, will be headed by the Republic of Palau starting in 2025,...

International rugby sevens returned to thrill the huge crowds at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai as Australia women and Fiji men ran out winners to take an early lead in the HSBC SVNS standings. Fiji beat Spain 19-5 to lift the men’s trophy and claim their first SVNS tournament victory since Toulouse in 2022, and their first in Dubai since...

The small Pacific Island country of Tuvalu purchased millions of dollars of property in Fiji from prominent Chinese Communist Party-allied businessman Zhao Fugang, just weeks after reporting by OCCRP and partners revealed that Australia had designated him as one of its top international criminal targets. Tuvalu’s High Commission in Fiji agreed on 02 May to purchase three adjoining lots of...

The Papua New Guinea Opposition has criticised the James Marape Government’s proposed amendment to Section 145 of the Constitution, describing it as a calculated move to consolidate power by restricting the Motion of Vote of No Confidence (VoNC). Hiri Koiari MP Keith Iduhu expressed strong opposition to the amendment, which was tabled in Parliament by Justice Minister Pila Niningi. Iduhu pointed...

New Caledonia's largest pro-independence party, the Union Calédonienne (UC), on Thursday unveiled the main outcome of its Congress last weekend, including its plans for the French Pacific territory's political future. Speaking at a news conference on Thursday in Nouméa, the party's newly elected executive bureau, now headed by Emmanuel Tjibaou, debriefed the media about the main resolutions made during its...

By Lusi Banuve How did it get so bad right under our noses? That’s the question many in Fiji are struggling with, as the country reels from an illicit drugs epidemic many thought could only happen in heavily populated urban centres in bigger countries. But a drug many thought could only be afforded by a few wealthy hedonistic locals, has...

Political stability, climate change and the cost-of-living loom as the biggest issues when Vanuatu goes to the polls in January. Voters in the Melanesian archipelago will know their election date as soon as Friday, following political manoeuvring that led to another snap poll. An election wasn't due until 2026, but under the request of under-pressure Prime Minister Charlot Salwai, who faced...

A whooping cough outbreak has been declared by the Samoa Ministry of Health (MOH) following a significant increase in reported cases at the main hospital at Moto'otua. The ministry made the declaration on Thursday. Six confirmed whooping cough cases have been reported to the Ministry of Health. The confirmed cases fall within an age range of three weeks to 40 years, with...

A new bill introduced by U.S rep Ed Case, Democratic party -Hawaii, and 11 other Congressional colleagues proposed to strengthen ties with Indo-Pacific nations via engagement with civil society organisations, refining overall communications strategies, promoting free media and supporting workforce development. “Successive administrations and Congresses have recognized that no region is more consequential to the future of our country than...