PINA

The SP PNG Hunters will face Fiji’s Kaiviti Silktails from the New South Wales Rugby League’s Ron Mercy Cup in the Melanesian Bowl challenge on Saturday at the Lawaqa Park in Sigatoka, Fiji (4:30pm kick-off). Hunters chief executive Scott Barker told The National that the team left for Fiji after receiving a late invitation to participate in the trial match. He...

Residents of Vanuatu are hunkering down as a cyclone barrels through the Pacific island nation. Authorities said there were power outages in some areas and many fallen trees and branches, but it was too early to assess the extent of the damage with Cyclone Judy still raging. They said there were no initial reports of major destruction or deaths. Some people had...

The United Nations has set a date for crunch talks over funding for climate victims despite Asia-Pacific developing countries’ failure to nominate their two representatives. The move piles pressure on the block to choose its members or risk the world’s biggest continent going unrepresented at talks on setting up a loss and damage fund. At last November’s Cop27 climate summit, governments...

Bula Vinaka and a special Iakwe and greetings to you all. I thank you for the invitation to join you today to mark this important day. Unfortunately, Secretary General Henry Puna is not able to join us today – but let me assure you that you do not have a stronger supporter and partner in theses efforts than him....

Experts, ministers and philanthropists from around the world are meeting in Panama this Thursday and Friday in search of funding and new commitments to promote the “blue” economy, expand marine protected areas and confront the threats facing the ocean. “We expect more than 300 new commitments” for the protection of marine resources “in the short, medium and long term,” said...

Fiji’s new Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has taken swift action against figures from the previous regime, comparing them to “cancer”. He made the comment in an exclusive interview with 1News Pacific Correspondent Barbara Dreaver. Fiji’s new Government is facing the task of dismantling policies and in a country that’s had 16 years of first military and then authoritarian rule. So far former...

The Digital Economy Report: Pacific Edition of 2022 was launched on 16 February at a regional event hosted by the Pacific Islands Forum. The report offers new research and data on the digital economy and focuses on the development and policy implications of digital transformation in the Pacific. More than 200 policymakers and private sector representatives gathered to discuss how digital...

Over one hundred participants from across the Pacific region will be part of a tailor-made climate resilience for sustainability training programme. The participants represent the private sector in the region and will be beneficiaries to this virtual training programme which focuses on climate change and its impact on Pacific business. Adaptation and mitigation strategies as well as enabling participants to identify...

By Barbara Dreaver, 1News Pacific Correspondent The appointment of Baron Waqa, former President of Nauru, to head the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) next year was a jaw-droppingly poor decision and an insult to everything the regional body is meant to represent. What were the Forum leaders thinking? Here’s the thing, they were probably told he’s the former President of Nauru, he’ll...

---“Let’s get to work!” These were the words of Prime Minister Mark Brown to the Cook Islands delegation supporting his attendance at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Special Leaders Retreat (SLR), on his assumption of Pacific Islands Forum Chair responsibilities at the closing ceremony of the SLR on Friday in Fiji. The Cook Islands delegation included Special Envoy to the...