PINA

In a heartfelt farewell, BenarNews, a trailblazer in independent journalism across the Asia-Pacific, has announced a pause in operations due to funding challenges. After a decade of delivering crucial news from countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and the Pacific the outlet faces an uncertain future after the U.S administration withheld essential financial support. “As BenarNews pauses its...

Members of the PNG Defence Force and police will never set foot on Bougainville again, says Prime Minister James Marape. He was asked by TVNZ in New Zealand last week if he expected any need in future to deploy PNG soldiers to Bougainville again. “We will put it into law in our Constitution: Never again will the PNG Defence Force set...

Achieving gender equality is not the business of governments alone. It is something that needs to be addressed by all sectors of our Pacific.” Mereseini Rakuita, Principal and Strategic Lead for Pacific Women at the Pacific Community (SPC) made this statement at a briefing yesterday ahead of a meeting of the CEDAW Committee (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against...

Vanuatu Minister of Health John Still Tari Qetu was arrested in Port Vila Wednesday and charged with intentional assault and causing public disorder over an incident that occurred in July last year. Police confirmed that they arrested the minister around midday and took him into custody at the police station, where he provided a sworn statement. Daily Post spoke to the...

Solomon Islands Premier of Choiseul Province Harrison Pitakaka has made his feelings known—sounding the alarm of his province’s intention to join the Autonomous Region of Bougainville by 2027. Choiseul is in the western part of the country, close to the Bougainville southern border with the Solomon Islands. His pro Bougainville switch comments was made when he commented on a news thread...

A project proposed by Elon Musk's SpaceX and the U.S Air Force to test hypersonic rocket cargo deliveries from a remote Pacific atoll could harm the many seabirds that nest at the wildlife refuge, according to biologists and experts who have spent more than a decade working to protect them. It would not be the first time that SpaceX's activities...

Countries that have experienced conflict in the past possess the capacity to achieve peace, says Johanna Podlesak, Director of Pacific Programmes (South East Asia and Pacific) at Conciliation Resources. Speaking to Solomon Star during the recent two-day Peacebuilding and Security Dialogue in Honiara, Podlesak emphasised the resilience of Pacific nations despite their histories of conflict. “Many countries in the region have...

The New Zealand government remains tight-lipped on the findings of a review into its development assistance to Kiribati. It came in the wake of a diplomatic stoush between Foreign Minister Winston Peters and the Kiribati President Taneti Maamau over a proposed visit. “It was a misunderstanding that has since been clarified,” Ruth Cross Kwansing, a Kiribati government MP, told RNZ Pacific. Both...

The Fiji Rugby Union has announced that the Flying Fijians will take on Scotland in a test match scheduled for July 12th, 2025, at 3:00 PM at the HFC Bank Stadium. This marks the 13th encounter between the two rugby nations, with their first meeting dating back to September 25th, 1982. Flying Fijians Head Coach Mick Byrne, who recently returned from...

The Fiji Drua boss has slammed Rugby Australia for what he labelled an “inequitable” travel schedule, where the Drua women’s team will arrive a day before before their Super Rugby Women’s semi-final on Sunday. He also suggested it could lead to a “ridiculously compromised” preparation if they make the grand final. The Fijian Drua open the Super Rugby Women's season with...