PINA

For Tongan sisters Akosita Kristen Urwin and Suliana Fusikata stepping foot on their beloved Atata Island is bittersweet. On one hand, they are desperate to reconnect with their land but on the other, they know all they will find is destruction from January’s tsunami. Kristen, who lives in New Zealand, looks stony-faced at the damage to the resort that employed many...

Kiribati is over-reliant on income from access payments by distant water fishing fleets, according to a newly published study. An examination of climate change vulnerability of the island found that the country has become over-reliant on revenue from offshore foreign-flagged purse seine tuna fishing vessels. The country earns around 80 percent of its revenue from fees charged to tuna companies...

By Rajan Sami in Suva The hopes of Fiji’s fledgling fashion industry sit on the slim shoulders of a 25-year-old from Muaninuku Village named Laisiasa Raibevu Davetawalu. The young designer has done what so many in the Pacific country have dreamed of but not had the opportunity to do. Sponsored by the entire Fiji fashion community, which recognised his promise and...

By Stefan Armbruster Imagine living in a city that is still littered with bombs from about 80 years ago – and then one exploding. Maerverlyn survived, but her friends didn't. The scars of war cover Maeverlyn Pitanoe’s body. The 50-year-old mother-of-two was blown up while at a Mother’s Day fundraising barbecue in Solomon Islands last year by an unexploded World...

French Polynesia President Édouard Fritch has signed a principle agreement for the territory, which includes the planned Paris 2024 surfing venue host Teahupo’o on the island of Tahiti, to feature in the Olympic Games Torch Relay. The Organising Committee has recently played down concerns over the development of the Athletes' Village in Teahupo’o, and Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet made...

The Australian government and the country's cricket federation will help develop the sport of cricket in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu as part of a renewed soft power push in the Pacific region. The initiative will offer coaching and training support to the elite teams of both countries, and will allow them to compete in Australian cricket competitions. An Indigenous...

The Solomon Islands Government is investing about US$66 million (about SBD367 million) in improving telephone network nationwide over the next two years, largely to ensure people in the rural areas have access to watching the 2023 Pacific Games. A government committee has been assessing sites to be included in the project for towers to be built. Permanent Secretary of the Ministry...

The Kiribati Government has expressed its gravest concerns by the action of the Court of Appeal and those who continue to aid and abet David Lambourne in his unconstitutional attempt to seek a life-time appointment. It is also unbecoming for members of the noble judiciary to continue with the action to purposefully create a life-time appointment within the Judiciary, when...

Australia is pinning its hopes on Pacific workers to help fill shortages across the economy — particularly in aged care — but industry says a history of poor conditions and sheer numbers mean that's unlikely to make a significant dent in demand. The federal government has expanded the Pacific Australian Labour Mobility Scheme (PALM) to include aged care, hospitality and...

Vanuatu Speaker of Parliament, MP Simeon Seoule has stressed his status is neutral. He made this statement following a call made by the government side for him to resign. The Speaker's status was questioned after his involvement in a reconciliation ceremony made recently between him and another MP in the Opposition Camp. MP Seoule conceded he was part of a reconciliation ceremony,...