PINA

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has expressed his optimism about the progress toward establishing a PNG rugby league team in the Australian NRL competition. Following a series of high-level discussions in Sydney with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Minister for Sport Anika Wells, Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, as well...

Tonga has agreed to host the 2031 Pacific Games, the announcement coming seven years after pulling out of hosting the 2019 Games. It was announced the host in Koror, Palau on Friday, when the Pacific Games Council members voted. Tonga secured the right to host the Games with a total of 12 votes, against Fiji's nine. It will be the first Pacific...

Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama says there are no warlords in his Autonomous Region of Bougainville (AROB). “Generally, there is peace and security,” he said. Toroama said the main concern was the law-and-order issue. “I’ve spoken to (Regional MP) Peter Tsiamalili Jr,” he said. “We will have consultations and iron things out. “Bougainville is small, we can undo certain things in a week. “There are no...

The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) made a bold stand in London last week, pressing for urgent global action on maritime decarbonisation at the 82nd session of the International Maritime Organisation’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC82). Minister Hilton Kendall, representing RMI called for decisive measures, emphasising the need for economic and technical solutions to advance together. RMI, as part of...

A power outage may have caused a Royal New Zealand Navy ship to run aground on a reef off the coast of Samoa, NZ Defence Minister Judith Collins has suggested. The HMNZS Manawanui, a specialist dive and hydrographic vessel worth $100m (US$61 million), sank Sunday morning after it ran aground on a reef off the coast of Upolu and caught...

The Australian Government is supporting our Pacific neighbours to respond to climate change, with a $9 million (US$6.12 million) contribution to the Regional Pacific Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) Hub. Parties to the Paris Agreement are required to set NDCs, which represent their commitment to reducing their own greenhouse gas emissions. NDCs are aligned with the Paris Agreement to limit the...

Bougainville is not new to New Zealand’s former Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae as he has “skill in the game” when he takes on the moderator role. Sir Jerry said he is honoured to take up the moderator role in Bougainville’s referendum. He has now been brought to facilitate the dialogue as PNG and Bougainville hit a snag and at loggerheads over...

The Samoa Maritime Police and the Samoa Fire and Emergency Services rescued 75 sailors from New Zealand naval ship HMNZS Manawanui on Saturday night after the vessel ran aground on a reef off the coast of Siumu. Early Sunday morning, a tug boat from the Samoa Ports Authority (SPA) was dispatched to assess the situation. There were concerns regarding an...

The UN Human Rights Council convened a dialogue on Friday to examine the nuclear testing legacy in the Marshall Islands, which representatives from the Pacific nation said has left their people with some of the highest rates of cancer globally. Research conducted by the UN human rights office, OHCHR, revealed that 67 nuclear tests performed between 1946 and 1958 by...

-Tonga has agreed to host the 2031 Pacific Games, the announcement coming seven years after pulling out of hosting the 2019 Games. It was announced the host in Koror, Palau on Friday, when the Pacific Games Council members voted. Tonga secured the right to host the Games with a total of 12 votes, against Fiji's nine. It will be the first Pacific...