PINA

Don Opeloge, Samoa's 25-year-old weightlifting sensation, faced a tough challenge in his Olympic debut in the 102kg event. Despite high hopes, Opeloge was unable to advance to the clean and jerk after three unsuccessful attempts in the snatch. “I’ll be back stronger,” Opeloge vowed, reflecting on his experience at the Olympic Games. “I can’t put into words how I’m feeling right now. “I...

New Zealand and Australia are partnering up to invest a combined NZ$47.5million (US$28.64 million) to establish humanitarian warehouses across the Pacific. Foreign Minister Winston Peters says the Pacific is exposed to a wide range of natural hazards and other risks such as cyclones, tsunamis and disease. “This initiative places Pacific countries at the centre of responses. It will give countries access...

By Dr Satyendra Prasad The Finance Ministers of G20 met earlier this week in Brazil. Collectively, these G20 countries account for over 80 percent of the global economy; wield considerable control over global development financial institutions. Most G20 countries claim to be close friends of the small island developing states (SIDS). Yet their communique does not make a single reference to...

Outgoing Pacific Islands Forum Chair Mark Brown Friday emphasised the need for unity and strategic action as the region faces increasing global interest, climate crises, and new security threats. At the opening of the Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting (FFMM) in Suva, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown urged foreign ministers to strengthen their collective solidarity to navigate the mounting challenges...

Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Foreign Ministers will meet in their annual convening today in Suva, Fiji to consider key regional issues that will be discussed by Forum Leaders when they meet in Tonga at the end of the month. Regional peace and security, progress on the 2050 Strategy, the Review of the Regional Architecture and considerations on the Forum's partnership...

France will reveal today whether it will allow Pacific leaders to visit New Caledonia ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga later this month. The decision from French President Emmanuel Macron will be delivered by French Ambassador to New Caledonia Véronique Roger-Lacan during the Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting in Suva. Roger-Lacan teased the announcement on social media, stating she’s on...

Pacific governments say an official UN report shows their push for a levy on all shipping emissions – with the revenues redistributed to poorer nations – is fairer, cheaper and more effective than other green options under consideration. The report, overseen by a steering committee of 32 governments and published by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), found that a levy...

Paul Coffa fondly remembers a conversation at the Los Angeles Olympics, when he was casually asked what Dean Lukin would do the next day. “Win gold,” was the long-time Australian coach's blunt reply. Forty years after Lukin won Australia's only weightlifing gold medal at the Games, Coffa has the same enthusiasm about Eileen Cikamatana. The 24-year-old will make her Olympic debut from...

With the community of nations deadlocked in international negotiations to conclude a global instrument to end plastic pollution by the end of 2024, a first-of-its-kind Plastic Dialogue was convened in Funafuti, Tuvalu, midway through the Fourth Clean Pacific Roundtable. The Plastic Dialogue was organised by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) through the Pacific Ocean Litter Project...

Pacific voices are uniting to demand a stronger Global Plastic Treaty to address the escalating plastic pollution crisis, emphasising the need for binding international regulations. Alfred Ralifo, Senior Policy and Government Affairs Manager at World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Pacific made a powerful case for the treaty’s necessity. “The growing plastic pollution crisis demands policy measures that go beyond the...