PINA

CNMI Governor Arnold Palacios said the Office of the Budget Management's rescinded memo that called for a pause on all federal assistance programmes served as a wake-up call for all states and territories. “The new administration is reviewing these programmes to make it consistent with their policies. I think it’s a good wake-up call for every state, territory and...

Samoa Opposition leader, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi believes that the Fa'atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) leadership is no longer stable and a snap election is the answer to the political turmoil. Tuilaepa was speaking at the Human Rights Protection Party's meeting with members and supporters at their Petesa Headquarters last Thursday. The former Prime Minister in his address raised...

By Sharon McLennan In the words of UNAIDS Asia Pacific Regional Director Eamonn Murphy, rising HIV infections in Fiji “put the entire Pacific region at risk”. Fiji’s minister of health declared an official HIV outbreak in January, citing 1,093 new cases from January to September 2024 – triple the number from the same period in 2023. The World Health Organisation defines a...

The alliance of five political parties that signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to form the next Vanuatu government remains solid, with more than 30 Members of Parliament (MPs)-elect on their side. A source inside the coalition said the amendments to the Constitution, specifically 17A and 17B, which aim to prevent lawmakers from switching sides too easily, ensure more stability...

Leaders and environmental advocates in the Pacific have expressed alarm over U.S President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement and freeze foreign aid, warning the moves will accelerate the existential threats they face as nations on the frontlines of the climate crisis. The Paris agreement is the world’s main effort to address the impacts of the...

Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr is calling for the urgent confirmation of his appointed ambassadors and ministers, particularly Ambassador Hersey Kyota, as the new U.S administration’s policies begin affecting critical programmes in Palau. Since taking office this month, U.S President Donald Trump has issued directives that have halted U.S aid for 90 days, impacting several key projects in Palau. Whipps...

By Sinclair Dinnen, Dennis Kuiai and Miranda Forsyth Bougainville’s decade-long conflict formally ended with the signing of the 2001 Bougainville Peace Agreement (BPA). This established the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (ARB) and set in train a complex pathway towards possible independence that continues to play out today. However legacies of “the Crisis” continue more than two decades later. One way to...

The Samoa Under-17 women’s team is determined to be one of the best prepared teams from Oceania to ever travel to a FIFA World Cup. Coach Juan Chang Urrea and his charges last year wrote themselves in the history books by becoming the first team from Samoa to qualify for a FIFA World Cup, but they are not planning to...

One of the last of Papua New Guinea's founding fathers and one of the country's longest serving politicians, Sir Julius Chan, has died. Sir Julius passed away at his home in Huris, New Ireland province, where he has served as governor since 2007. In recent years, the 85-year-old has been commonly referred to as "one of the last founding fathers", after...

Against all odds one woman has secured a seat in Vanuatu's 52-member parliament. Marie Louis Paulette Milne, one of only seven women among 216 election candidates, secured 1227 votes to pip her closest rival Tony George Yasyas Ailir (who polled 1197 votes) for the final seat in the Port Vila Constituency. Marie Louis a former Deputy Mayor of Port Vila resigned...