PINA

The renewal of close U.S ties with Micronesia, Palau and the Marshall Islands will contribute to greater regional security, island leaders said after President Joe Biden signed a government funding bill into law that included US$7.1 billion for the three Pacific allies. Biden’s signature on Saturday following the passage of the US$460 billion bill through Congress last week averted a...

Fiji's Ministry of Health has recorded 415 new cases of HIV Aids, from January to December, for the year 2023. This is compared to 245 cases reported for the same period in 2022. This was highlighted by the Minister for Health and Medical Services Dr Atonio Lalabalavu, while responding to the President’s Speech at the Opening of Parliament, last Monday. Dr Lalabalavu...

Tongan Prime Minister Hu'akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni has met King Tupou VI in Niuafo'ou as the two sides worked on ironing out differences that had surfaced in early February. While there has been no official update from either the Prime Minister's Office or the Royal Palace Office in Nuku'alofa, RNZ Pacific has confirmed that the meeting took place last Wednesday. Accompanying Hu'akavameiliku...

The Australian government has committed AUD$20 million (K50 million) towards the Climate FIRST program which will assist PNG to access climate change funding of US$400 million (K1.5 billion) by 2028. The Climate Finance Initiative for Resilience and a Sustainable Transition programme launched Monday falls under the PNG-Australia partnership and will see the endorsement of climate finance proposals towards securing funding...

The Australian Government and Queensland Rugby League will deliver a four-year AUD$9.7 million (about K24.5m) investment to support women’s rugby league and high-performance in partnership with the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League. Feakes said the partnership through PacificAus Sports would build the capacity and credentials of local rugby league coaches, support staff and administrators for both the women’s and...

Osea Kolinisau the newly appointed head coach of the Fiji 7s team conducted his first team briefing Monday. According to Stonewriters, the session was enriched by the presence of Olympians Vatemo Ravouvou and Jerry Tuwai. Kolinisau laid out his vision for the team and spoke about the critical values of hard work, dedication, and unity. He insisted on discipline as a cornerstone...

Thousands of people are being impacted by drought in the Federated States of Micronesia. The four states - Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae - have all been experiencing drier than normal weather since December last year with the U.S National Weather Service predicting things are likely to worsen under current El Nino conditions. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF),...

The United States President Joe Biden has signed into law the Compact of Free Association (COFA) agreements after about a five-month delay. The new COFA agreements include an additional 20 years of funding at higher levels for the freely associated states - Marshall Islands, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The U.S Senate on Friday provided US$7.1 billion in...

No legal immunity will be granted to people found guilty of crimes related to the 18 February massacre in Enga, Papua New Guinea Police commissioner David Manning says. “People need to be held accountable. Our intent is to resolve and take serious actions and interventions towards ending the conflict,” Manning said. He was speaking in reference to a weekend-long roundtable discussions...

Today, 56 of the world’s largest countries and smallest islands, across six oceans, continue to stand united and celebrate shared values for Commonwealth Day. Commonwealth Day is traditionally celebrated on the second Monday in March. The theme for this year’s Commonwealth Day and the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), is ‘One Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Common Wealth’. More...