PINA

The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) has received an impressive 24 expressions of interest for the highly anticipated OFC Professional League, due to kick off in January 2026. With the deadline for submissions closing on Friday 28 February, clubs from across the Pacific have signalled their intent to be part of the game changing competition. Widespread interest from across the region The 24...

Samoa Parliament was adjourned Monday following an uproar after Speaker Papalii Lio Masipau granted a contentious second motion of no confidence in less than a week. Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa in her ministerial statement said the executive will withdraw all pending bills before the House until the second motion of confidence is dealt with. Mata'afa also expressed her disappointment in...

French Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls left New Caledonia on Saturday after a one-week stay which was marked by the resumption of inclusive political talks on the French territory's future. He has now submitted a "synthetical" working document to be discussed further and promised he would return later this month. During his week-long visit, Valls had taken time to meet New...

Governments on Friday reached agreement on a strategy to raise an additional US$200 billion each year to better protect the world’s flora and fauna by 2030. Delegates met in Rome last week for the resumption of the UN Biodiversity Conference to hammer out an agreement at COP16.2 after attempts to reach a deal on financing at COP16 in Cali, Colombia,...

The Chuuk islands — a seemingly idyllic spot in the Pacific Ocean, northeast of Indonesia and north of Australia and Papua New Guinea — is one of the four states making up the Federated States of Micronesia, an island nation strategically aligned with the U.S. Despite Micronesia's small population, (around 113,000 in 2024) the island chain allows for control of...

Members of the Fa'atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party are reaching out to the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) in hopes of garnering their support for a vote of no confidence against Samoa Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa. Ale Vena Ale, Member of Parliament for Faleata No.4, confirmed on Friday that he has approached certain members of...

Pacific Island children are experiencing “alarming” violence and abuse, amongst the highest rates in the world, amid a lack of government-funded services, religious and cultural barriers and growing drug use. Seventeen nations met last week with civil society groups and stakeholders in the Fijian capital Suva for the inaugural Children’s Wellbeing Summit, as reports of human rights abuses escalate. More than...

The Marshall Islands and Palau joined Russia and the United States in voting Monday last week against a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly about Ukraine, which called for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. While the official UN voting board showed Marshall Islands and Palau as the only Pacific Islands to vote with Russia on this resolution...

For the first time since 2019, there have been tripartite talks on the political status of New Caledonia, during an eight-day visit by France’s Overseas Minister Manuel Valls. After six months of conflict that began on 13 May 2024, six parliamentary groups, representing both supporters and opponents of independence, have sat around the table with the French government for talks...

The Fijiana Drua made a statement win in the opening round of Super W avenging their 2024 final loss to the Waratahs at Allianz Stadium in Syndey, Australia. The two-time champions defeated holders Waratahs 23-17 in a fast-paced game. Vice-captain Vitalina Naikore played a key role in their win, scoring one of the fastest try in the competition in just 10...