PINA

-The Fijian Drua have managed the horrific conditions to take a 31-13 victory over the Western Force in Laukota. There were puddles aplenty as it poured down with rain for the majority of the game. The hosts thrived in the wet, taking an 18-5 lead before a red card to Tevita Ikanivere presented a chance for the Force to strike. They hit...

Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Chair and Samoan Ambassador to the United Nations, Fatumanava Dr Pa’olelei Luteru, affirms that the group has stood firm in their request for the development of a multidimensional vulnerability index. “We have done so even when we were told our request was unrealistic and unreasonable. “Our unwavering commitment to our own development drove our ambition...

Approximately 2,000 Marines and sailors deployed to Australia's Northern Territory this week to participate alongside their counterparts in the annual iteration of Marine Rotational Force-Darwin, the Pentagon announced today. “Over the next six months, MRF-Darwin will conduct a series of exercises and training events with the Australian Defence Force and other regional allies and partners to establish a forward-postured crisis...

The risks posed by climate-related hazards to the water quality and availability, and water infrastructure in Tuvalu were highlighted on the second day of a series of stakeholder workshops hosted as part of the Tuvalu National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Project. The Tuvalu NAP Project is a three-year, USD$3 million project funded by the Green Climate Fund, and implemented by the...

Nauruan President David Adeang on Thursday urged the international community to strengthen collaboration and unity to address complex, yet interrelated challenges facing the world. “In an increasingly interconnected world, no nation can thrive in isolation. Neither should any nation be isolated from economic and financial engagement with the rest of the world,” he said while addressing the opening ceremony of...

During a visit to Fiji for the General Assembly of the Oceania National Olympic Committees, the IOC President said that digitalisation, e-sports and artificial intelligence are “the biggest challenges”. An exhibition on the future benefits of these tools will be held in April. The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, addressed the ONOC General Assembly in Fiji last...

Climate change affects every facet of life for Pacific islanders, and for Tuvalu which is one of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change, it is no different. The risks to health and disaster management posed by climate change were discussed during the second day of a series of stakeholder workshops held in Funafuti this week. The stakeholder...

A key milestone in the historic Tuna Treaty between the Pacific Island States and the United States has been reached this week with a fishing access arrangement for 2024 signed off. The MOU provides for the United States fleet operating under the Treaty to continue fishing in the EEZs of the Pacific Island Parties in 2024, pending the formal adoption...

Suva Magistrate Seini Puamau has granted absolute discharge to former Fijian Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama in the University of the South Pacific (USP) case. Magistrate Puamau had taken into account health issues concerning Bainimarama. With the absolute discharge, Bainimarama’s finding of guilt is made but no conviction is registered. Character reference heard in court were from former Presidents Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, Jioji...

Climate change and efforts to keep up with advances in artificial intelligence top the agenda for a Commonwealth meeting set for the small Pacific Islands nation of Samoa in October, the grouping’s secretary general said. A voluntary club of 56 nations headed by King Charles, the Commonwealth evolved out of the British empire to cover 2.5 billion people, with 11...