PINA

-History is now in the making with Pacific Island representatives gathering in Suva, Fiji this week on the road to an international binding agreement on plastics. Our island region will establish its priorities before the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to negotiate a new binding global agreement covering the whole life cycle of plastics. This will help ensure our Pacific voice...

The Fiji Rugby Union is conducting an internal investigation with three staff members sacked while John O’Connor, the chief executive, has agreed to take annual leave. Over the years various Pacific Islands rugby unions have faced investigations over the financial handling of their affairs and now Fiji is dealing with speculation and rumour at a time when its sevens team...

The Fijian Drua have confirmed the signings of prop Mesake Doge and Sevens Gold Medalist Iosefo Masi for the next two seasons. Doge returns to Fiji from Welsh club Dragons in the United Rugby Championship. The 29-year-old, who has played eight games for Fiji since making his debut in 2016, previously had stints with Timisoara Saracens in Romania, making 27 appearances,...

There’s a concern there may be trouble ahead in the Solomon Islands as the ruling Government seeks to delay next year’s election. MP Peter Kenilorea, a key member of the opposition and son of the Solomon Islands' first Prime Minister, says he believes there will be “boots on ground” from the Chinese to help the Government push through a...

Tonga will hold a parliamentary by-election on 03 November to elect three new People's Representatives to the Tonga Legislative Assembly, in the constituencies of Tongatapu 4, Tongatapu 6 and Tongatapu 7. The Office of the Legislative Assembly, stated that the Speaker Lord Fakafanua had issued to the Electoral Commission, writs of election for the by-elections, following the unseating of three...

-Vanuatu has become the most recent country in the world and the first Pacific island country to eliminate trachoma, a neglected tropical disease (NTD) that can cause blindness. This will be the second NTD eliminated from this archipelago nation of 83 islands, after lymphatic filariasis in 2016. “This is a proud moment for Vanuatu,” said Minister of Health Bruno Leingkone. “My...

Former Fiji’s Opposition MP and Namosi province paramount Ratu Suliano Matanitobua has been sentenced to 36 months imprisonment by the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court in Suva. Justice Thushara Kumarage delivered his sentence to a courtroom packed with his people and supporters. Ratu Suliano was sentenced to 36 months with 10 months suspended, and for the remaining 26 months, he...

The operationalisation of a Loss and Damage Finance Facility is an urgent issue for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) that grapple with servicing loans to recover from extreme climate disasters and slow-onset impacts, at the cost of sustainable development. The Alliance for Small Island States (AOSIS) is leading the charge to ensure that loss and damage finance, or “L$D” for...

The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been warmly welcomed in the Pacific island countries because it has helped boost their social and economic development over the past decade, a Fijian expert said. In an interview with Xinhua, Keshmeer Makun, a lecturer at the University of the South Pacific based in the Fijian capital Suva, said that the BRI...

A growing number of countries are demanding more time to decide on rules that would allow companies to mine the deep seabed for minerals needed to manufacture batteries for the energy transition. Last year, the small island state of Nauru, triggered a never-before-used procedure giving the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the UN body which regulates mining activities in international waters,...