PINA

ONOC is delivering this Digest in partnership with The Reporters’ Academy and the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA). Endurance and Resilience: Pacific Island Multi-Event Athletes Show Strength in Birmingham The Pacific Oceania nations were well represented at this Commonwealth Games in multi-event sports with Fiji and the Solomon Islands entering two triathletes each, whilst Papua New Guinea entered a heptathlete and...

Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the Government of Vanuatu launched a new project to support the country in conducting its third National Census of Agriculture 2022. Under the USD$300 000 project, FAO, the National Statistics Office (NSO), and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry, Fisheries and Biosecurity (MALFFB) of Vanuatu will collect information on...

Counting for the Morobe Regional Seat successfully continued into exclusion 35, to have a Governor elected as of quarter past four this morning. Despite minor setbacks, a determined Simon Soheke who is the Provincial Returning Officer and Elections Manager, pushed on until People's Labour Party candidate, and former Governor Luther Wenge was declared as the new Governor. Wenge polled 130, 363...

A total of 34 seats remain to be declared as of midday today. From the total 118 seats, 84 seats have been declared, but one has been rejected by the PNG Electoral Commissioner. Two other seats of Markham and Kabwum Open in the Morobe Province, could be declared fail, because all the ballot papers and boxes for the two seats were...

This week, a team from the United Nations (UN) landed in Vanuatu for the first time since COVID-19 closed Vanuatu’s borders in 2020. Led by the UN Resident Coordinator to Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu, Sanaka Samarasinha, the team begun the mission officially on Monday, meeting with Vanuatu Prime Minister, Hon. Bob Loughman, Minister for Climate Change, Hon....

The holding of New Caledonia's referendum on independence from France is being challenged in the European Court of Human Rights. Les Nouvelles Caledoniennes reports a voter wants France to be convicted in the court in Strasbourg for holding the vote in December despite pleas for its deferral. Pro-independence parties had repeatedly asked for the vote to be postponed to this year...

U.S Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met with Samoa's leader on Friday, discussing climate change, ocean security and opportunities to work together as Washington seeks to re-engage the region amid growing Chinese influence. The senior U.S diplomat's visit is part of a multi-leg trip to Pacific nations. Sherman is now headed to Tonga. Sherman told media at a news conference...

ONOC is delivering this Digest in partnership with The Reporters’ Academy and the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA). We are now over halfway through these Commonwealth Games, and we couldn’t be prouder of what our athletes have achieved so far. Just getting to these Games is a feat in itself and every athlete from our 12 Pacific nations in Birmingham...

After a lapse of many years, the Melanesian Football Cup, now dubbed the MSG Prime Ministers Cup, will be held in Vanuatu from 17-30 September. The official draw for the competition was done by the chair of the MSG Leaders Group and Prime Minister of Vanuatu, Bob Loughman, in Port Vila on Thursday. Papua New Guinea, the Vanuatu National football team...

U.S Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman will be in Tonga today, as part of the Pacific trip to reflect the United States' commitment to the region. Her visit started with Samoa then Tonga, Solomon Islands, Australia and New Zealand from 3-9 August. In Nuku’alofa, she will meet King Tupou VI and other senior Tongan government officials to commemorate 50-years of...