PINA

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Asian Development Bank are poring over a highly critical audit of a multimillion-dollar COVID-19 aid package in Solomon Islands, partly supported by the two institutions, that found widespread mismanagement and potential corruption. The report from the Solomon Islands Auditor General Office highlighted a litany of problems surrounding delivery of the SBD$309 million (US$37 million)...

Opinion by Sefanaia Nawadra The adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) in Montréal Canada in 2022, to guide global action on nature through to 2030, was a historical occasion. It provides the global framework against which we plan our regional and national actions. At Montréal's Palais des Congrès, more than thirty delegates from Pacific Island countries stood amongst delegations from...

A pair of long-range intercepts helped Papua New Guinea to a 22-10 victory over Fiji on Saturday night, marking a dream start to their Pacific Bowl campaign and bid to earn promotion to the top tier of the Pacific Championships in 2025. Despite being met head on by the emotion of a Fijian crowd who were witnessing their side in...

The Kangaroos have kick started their Pacific Championships campaign with a hard-fought 18-0 win over Tonga XIII at Suncorp Stadium. With Tom Trbojevic running for 227 metres in his return to the Test arena after a six-year absence and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow slicing through for a trademark try, the Kangaroos went some way to burying the demons of last year's 30-0...

Fetu Samoa are one win away from confirming their ticket to the 2026 World Cup after getting past Pacific neighbours Tonga 30-16 on Saturday night in Suva. Following a dream start that had them up by 10 after as many minutes, Samoa had to endure a courageous fight back from Tonga, who trailed by just four with 15 to go,...

By Ben Bilua While the demand for minerals continue to rise globally, social and environment pressure continues to threaten the coexistence of Indigenous people and their livelihood in the rural areas. The industrial encroachment on marine ecosystems has far-reaching consequences that extend beyond environmental degradation. This is evident in coastal communities within Thousand Ships Bay in Isabel Province of Solomon Islands. Communities are...

Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele has reaffirmed Solomon Islands’ measured approach to the West Papua issue, stating that his GNUT administration respects Indonesia’s sovereignty. Speaking ahead of his departure to Indonesia this Friday, Manele addressed the media on his administration’s position on West Papua – a matter that has long been a sensitive topic in the Pacific region. While acknowledging the complex...

The global target to protect at least 30 percent of the world’s land and water ecosystems by 2030 faces “huge” challenges, a top facilitator of UN biodiversity talks warned ahead of the COP16 summit starting next week in the Colombian city of Cali. According to the UN’s biodiversity agency, only 29 countries – out of 196 – have so far...

South Australia has launched a bid to host a major UN climate conference in 2026 in Adelaide, with the premier, Peter Malinauskas, declaring it would draw more than 30,000 people and could be worth $500m (US$336 million) to the state. Australia is vying with Turkey to host the year-ending climate summit known as Cop31, with a decision expected next month...

Western Pacific nations are unlikely to meet the United Nations target of reducing premature deaths from lifestyle-related diseases including cancer and diabetes, due to the slow decline in alcohol and tobacco consumption, the World Health Organisation(WHO) said on Thursday. Chronic lifestyle diseases, such as heart attacks, stroke, asthma and lung diseases, have been blamed for more than 80 percent of...