PINA

Former Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama was charged with one account of abuse of office, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Christopher Pryde said on Thursday and will appear in court today. Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho are accused of stopping a 2019 police investigation into complaints of financial mismanagement at the University of the South Pacific(USP). “The former...

Climate change is our greatest security threat, Tonga's Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni, told the Least Developed Countries meeting, in Doha when he delivered Tonga's national statement this week. “We face global commons issues among which climate change is our greatest security threat. The Doha Programme of Action prioritises climate change and will help LDCs build resilience against future economic...

As the floodwaters recede in cyclone-ravaged Vanuatu, officials are assessing the medium- and longer-term requirements, including food security, health needs and improving disaster preparedness. Residents have been urged to take steps to prevent illness from unsafe food in the aftermath of tropical cyclones Judy and Kevin – category 4 storms – which hit Vanuatu last Wednesday and Friday last week. The...

Officials and practitioners from the public and private sectors from seven Pacific islands countries, Cook Islands, Fiji, Nauru, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu, engaged in holistic policy and practical discussion, aiming to contribute to combating corruption, stemming illicit financial flows and preventing tax evasion. The two-day workshop, with the participation of experts from the Asia Pacific Group on Money...

Fiji's Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Christopher Pryde, has sanctioned charges of abuse of office against the former prime minister and FijiFirst Party leader Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama and the suspended police commissioner, Sitiveni Tukaituraga Qiliho, following a review of the police evidence docket. The charges relate to a complaint laid with the police by the University of the South Pacific...

Former army officer, Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba Mara, arrived in Fiji today - 12 years after seeking political asylum in Tonga. It's understood he will attend the installation of Ratu Epenisa Cakobau as Vunivalu Friday. In May 2011, Lieutenant-Colonel Mara was commander of the Third Battalion Fiji Infantry Forces. He was accused, along with Brigadier Pita Driti and Colonel Mohammed Aziz, of attempting...

The Solomon Islands has made a call for a three-year extension to its planned graduation as a Least Developing Country, in December 2024. In a statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade at the 5th Conference of Least Developed Countries, in Doha, Qatar, a plea for shifting that graduation date until December 2027 takes its cue from...

The initial estimate of the recovery cost following Vanuatu's twin cyclone disaster is estimated at six billion vatu (US$50 million). Cyclones Judy and Kevin caused extensive damage and plunged parts of Vanuatu into a state of emergency. However, Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau said the true cost is yet to be determined. He said at the moment he is focused on reinstalling confidence...

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has fired its top official in the Western Pacific after the Associated Press reported last year that dozens of staff members accused him of racist, abusive and unethical behaviour that may have compromised the UN health agency’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. In an email sent to employees on Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus...

Deep-sea mining will be exempted from environmental impact assessment (EIA) measures established under a landmark international oceans treaty, a move campaigners fear could undermine protection for the seabed. The High Seas Treaty is the first international agreement to protect oceans that lie outside of national boundaries. It creates a legal mechanism for the future designation of marine protected areas and...