PINA

The Fijian Media Association (FMA) conducted its annual general meeting on Friday (22 March 2024), at the Fiji Museum in Suva, where it reviewed the work carried out in 2023, including its financial report, proposed measures to strengthen the organisation and forthcoming projects in 2024. The meeting, in the 10th year since the FMA's establishment, also elected its Executive Committee...

The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat has submitted a written statement to the International Court of Justice on the question of the Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change. This is the first time the Secretariat is participating in a proceeding of the World Court, whose seat is at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. The Secretariat was represented by...

Former Cook Islands deputy Prime Minister Robert Tepaitau and two other former high-ranking Government officials were handed jail terms Friday for fraud and corruption charges. Tepaitau has been jailed for two years and nine months for conspiracy to defraud and using a document to obtain pecuniary advantage. He, along with former Environment Service director Ngatokorua Puna and his wife, Diane Charlie-Puna,...

From his perch at the hilltop Yue Lai Hotel, China-born entrepreneur Zhao Fugang enjoys a panoramic view of Fiji’s seaside capital, Suva. But the hotel is not just the headquarters of Zhao’s local business empire, which has stretched from tourism to property development. It’s also the base for the businessman’s parallel job: promoting China’s influence in the Pacific country. The imposing...

Japan conducted its first-ever cybersecurity exercise with five Pacific island countries in February, apparently aiming in conjunction with the United States to create secure and robust digital connectivity in the strategically important region where China is expanding its influence. Security experts hailed the recent event in Guam as significant -- with some seeing it as Japan's first foray into cyber...

By Camilla Pohle Members of a U.S Senate hearing on 14 March said that Washington’s relationships with Pacific Island countries are based on respect. If this is true, the United States must compensate and apologise to Marshallese victims of U.S radiation experiments that began in the 1950s. The Marshall Islands is a crucial U.S partner, with a diaspora in this country,...

International Maritime Organisation IMO has agreed on an illustration of a possible draft outline of an “IMO net-zero framework” for cutting greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from international shipping. This marks a step forward in the legal process towards adopting global regulations, referred to as "mid-term GHG reduction measures", that will help achieve the targets contained in the 2023 IMO Strategy...

The Fijian Drua have broken NSW Waratahs hearts with a pulsating 39-36 Super Rugby Pacific win in tropical Lautoka. Kemu Valetini snapped a field goal seven minutes into golden-point extra time to snatch victory after the Waratahs seemed poised to avenge two deflating two-point home defeats to the Highlanders and Blues. The Tahs overcame extreme heat and a 16-point second-half deficit...

Fijian Drua coach Mick Byrne has cheekily donned a Chicago Bulls cap to make the Waratahs eat their words on Saturday. Two years ago, Waratahs coach Darren Coleman told reporters in Sydney that they “hadn’t beaten the Chicago Bulls” after a victory against the Drua. But after the Drua beat the Waratahs in a golden-point thriller in Fiji on Saturday, Byrne...

A brilliant Tom Wright try-of-the-year contender has helped the ACT Brumbies trounce Moana Pasifika in a statement 39-point Super Rugby Pacific win in Canberra. Five-eighth Noah Lolesio was also a standout in Friday's 60-21 victory, the Brumbies scoring nine tries and moving to 4-1 ahead of a tasty Australian derby with the in-form Queensland Reds in Brisbane next Saturday. The game...