PINA

Statement by the Forum Chair and Prime Minister of Cook Islands, Mark Brown. The Pacific Islands Forum Chair, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, welcomed the latest Advisory Opinion unanimously decided by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), following a Request by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law. The Pacific Islands...

French Olympic surfer, Vahine Fierro, became the first Frenchwoman to win the women’s Tahiti Pro on the waves of Teahupo'o on Wednesday, just two months before the Olympic surfing events to be held on the French Pacific island. Nearly 16,000 kilometres from the French capital, the French Pacific island, despite much previous controversy due to the necessary construction work and...

Climate action taken so far to help fund efforts in cash-strapped small island developing States (SIDS) “does not measure up to what has been said” in the wake of COP28 in Dubai last year. That was the strong message from President of the Western Pacific nation of Palau Surangel Whipps speaking at an Interactive Dialogue on Wednesday during the Fourth...

Civil society groups from across Australia and the Pacific are calling on the Australian Government to champion loss and damage finance for Pacific Island countries at the upcoming Bonn UN Climate Change Conference, saying there is an urgent need to support frontline communities grappling with the escalating climate crisis. In a joint letter led by Climate Action Network Australia (CANA)...

Head of delegation for the Pacific Islands Forum, Sione Tekiteki has addressed the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States(SIDS4) in Antigua and Barbuda, highlighting the resilience and aspirations of the Pacific Islands. Speaking on behalf of the incoming Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Tekiteki extended condolences to Papua New Guinea landslide in Enga Province and civil...

Health is a powerful and compelling argument for climate action. We need to build coherence and foster collaboration across partners and donors alike to accelerate the allocation of finance for climate and health solutions initiatives in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The point was raised by the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tonga, Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni, who added that...

Vanuatu was voting on Wednesday in its first referendum since independence, with citizens asked to decide on proposed constitutional amendments aimed at preventing party hopping and curbing political instability in the South Pacific nation. The referendum asks ni-Vanuatu a simple “yes” or “no” on whether they support inserting two articles into the constitution that are designed to strengthen the country’s...

The notice of motion of no-confidence in the Prime Minister filed by the Alternative Papua New Guinea Government and submitted to the Private Business Committee Wednesday had an error in the requirement under section 145 of the Constitution that the notice must be signed and supported by not less than one-tenth of the total members of Parliament. Speaker of Parliament...

Three Nouméa municipal policemen are now facing a formal criminal inquiry after a disturbing video was posted in a neighbourhood watch Facebook group, allegedly implicating them in acts of severe violence against a person they had just arrested. The municipal police officers are not part or the French security forces that have been sent to restore law and order, RNZ...

-Fijiana and Samoa have set up a winner-takes-all title decider after winning their second round matches in the Oceania Rugby Women’s Championship at Sunnybank Rugby Club in Brisbane, Australia, on Wednesday. Having beaten Tonga 48-3 in round one, Fijiana registered their second bonus-point win of the competition with an emphatic 85-6 victory against a new-look Papua New Guinea team that...