PINA

Lord Fohe was sworn in as the new Tongan Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forests, when Parliament resumed sitting Monday 01 August. He entered parliament as Tongatapu 3 Noble's Representative, after being elected for the first time in the 2021 Election. His letter of ministerial appointment was effective from 29 July. Prime Minister Hu'akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni had recommended his appointment, in accordance...

Countries need to work more together to stop the rapidly spreading outbreak of monkeypox, “no matter the nationality, skin colour or religion of the affected population,” the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday. Speaking from Dakar, Senegal, WHO Assistant Director-General for Emergencies Ibrahima Soce Fall said that “we have been working on monkeypox in Africa for several years, but...

The Solomon Islands Government through the Ministry of Mines and Energy will be taking pre-cautionary approach when it comes to opening up the country to deep sea mining. This was echoed by Minister of Mines and Energy Bradley Tovosia in parliament in response to a question raised by Opposition Leader on the floor of parliament asking government’s position on deep...

A group of Pacific workers who breached their visa conditions are fighting to get them back, although advocates say it should never have reached this point. The 24 workers in Bundaberg "absconded" from the Pacific Australian Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme by getting jobs with a non-registered employer when work on the farm they were at dried up. A spokesman for the...

Approximately 12,000 seasonal workers from Vanuatu have been sent to New Zealand and Australia for work over the past two years. This was conveyed by the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Minister of Internal Affairs who is also responsible for the labour mobility programme, Ishmael Kalsakau. He said the active labour mobility programme is one of the positive impacts of resetting...

There was no majority winner in the 2022 General Election after the preliminary count last night, however, the governing Cook Islands Party holds the upper hand to retain power with support of Independent seats. Meanwhile, the Cook Islands parliament looks set for a shake up after Tuesday's general elections. In preliminary results the ruling Cook Islands Party has performed solidly, but...

The U.S is closer to conflict in the Pacific than it is to peace, the head of U.S 3rd Fleet said, and the command structure must change to reflect that. Vice Admiral Michael Boyle has called for a centralised command-and-control structure — a standing maritime force similar to those elsewhere around the globe — that could rapidly respond to a...

New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern avoided a direct response to the question of any steps to make travel easier for Samoans to New Zealand in the future. She was asked during a joint press conference Tuesday with her Samoan counterpart, Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa of what New Zealand was offering Samoa to mark the 60th anniversary of the...

Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama Tuesday met with the U.S Secretary of State, Antony Blinken where they discussed strategic ways of building a firmer and enduring partnership between the USA and the island states of the Pacific. The two leaders met on the margins of the 10th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear...

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) recorded 306 new Covid-19 infections in the 24-hour reporting period until 31 July. FSM's health department said positive community cases in the states of Pohnpei and Kosrae continue to spread, while Chuuk and Yap remain free from the virus. The Micronesian nation has recorded a total of 5,281 positive infections since January 2021. There are currently...