PINA

China’s special envoy to the Pacific, Qian Bo, has met with Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown who is also chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, amid growing concerns over the Chinese government’s latest security pact with the Solomon Islands. Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang signed several deals in Beijing last week, including a...

HSBC SVNS, World Rugby’s revamped and rebranded global celebration of rugby sevens across eight iconic cities has been launched as a rugby event, festival and a must-attend experience set in some of the world’s most exciting locations. With a bold ambition to supercharge rugby’s global reach and appeal by being more relevant and accessible to younger, leisure-hungry audiences, HSBC SVNS...

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off in Auckland this week, representing the biggest football tournament ever to be hosted in the Oceania region. 32 teams from around the world will compete to be crowned champions against a backdrop of rich pacific culture in both New Zealand and Australia. Whilst New Zealand is the sole Oceania representative, there is a...

Australia's state of Victoria has withdrawn as host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to projected cost overruns, placing the future of the quadrennial multi-sport event in doubt. Victoria Premier Dan Andrews said the cost of the Games, which were to have been held in four regional hubs, could blow out to more than AUD$7 billion (US$4.8 billion) from a...

Ninety percent of Niue’s artefacts housed in the national museum, along with archives and records, were destroyed during Tropical Cyclone Heta in 2004. The category five cyclone, a sudden onset event left death and destruction behind. The loss of two lives were mourned, with homes and government infrastructure destroyed to the value of NZD$90 million(US$56 million). While a cost price could...

The reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world’s most authoritative sources of climate science approved by 195 countries, reaffirms the reality that Pacific countries are already dealing with Loss and Damage (L&D) from climate change impacts. These impacts include slow onset events such as sea level rise and biodiversity loss or those caused from extreme events...

The Pacific’s new Ministerial Champion for Loss and Damage (L&D), Ralph Regenvanu, has lamented what he’s described as “woefully insufficient” levels of climate change adaptation in Pacific countries. He has placed the blame squarely on decades of marginalisation and delayed action on the part of “historical emitting rich countries” and the absence of finance for loss and damage. Regenvanu, the Minister...

Loss and Damage. It’s a term that has no agreed definition under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change yet, but it’s one that many Pacific Islanders are familiar with. Better felt as climate change impacts or harms that happen to us, regardless of what we do to adapt to them, or stop them – such as sea level...

The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Leaders Summit proposed to be held from 17 -21 July is postponed to another date, which is yet to be confirmed. This was confirmed by Vanuatu's deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Jotham Napat. He said a new date will be confirmed once its endorsed by MSG member countries. Meanwhile, the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) continues...

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Dirk Wagener of Germany as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Fiji, with the host Government’s approval. Based in Fiji, he will also coordinate United Nations development operations in Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. He took up his post on 15 July. Wagener has more than 20 years of experience in the...