PINA

It's with deep sadness, respect, and gratitude that I, the Forum secretariat families and our Pacific nations join the world in mourning the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Across the UK, the Commonwealth and beyond, we honour the legacy of a remarkable monarch, mother, and world leader. Her lifelong commitment to the service of all her peoples across...

Fiji and Australia were crowned Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 winners in the men’s and women’s events respectively as they both defeated reigning champions New Zealand in two exhilarating finals in Cape Town. The Flying Fijians claimed a third RWC Sevens title, their first since 2005, by beating an All Blacks side that won the last two tournaments with a...

The Albanese government has put great effort into repairing relations with Australia’s Pacific neighbours, which might explain its silence over what is happening in Kiribati. However, the Law Council, the Australian Bar Association and the Australian Judicial Officers Association (AJOA) have been making noise about the small island nation now having no judiciary. In May, Kiribati President Taneti Maamau suspended Chief...

Flags are flying at half mast across the Pacific and leaders are paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, who has died at the age of 96. The Queen visited the Pacific multiple times during her reign, with a visit a few months after her coronation to Fiji and Tonga, in December 1953. With the death of Britain’s longest-serving monarch and Australia’s...

Telstra-owned Digicel Pacific is tracking ahead of financial expectations just a few months after the government-assisted takeover, and will tear out its Huawei-built equipment on its mobile infrastructure at its next refresh. Oliver Camplin-Warner, Telstra International chief executive, said the Papau New Guinea-based telco would only remove equipment from Chinese state-owned infrastructure company Huawei, like the then-Turnbull government told local...

Over 40 civil society organisations are today calling for greater transparency and a break from failed trade models as Ministers from 14 countries meet in Los Angeles today to discuss the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). The IPEF is a proposed mega-regional trade and economic agreement that is being promoted by the United States. “The lack of transparency in the talks has...

Palau President Surangel Whipps, in Japan for a state visit, on Thursday voiced concern about attempts by Moscow and Beijing to change the international status quo by force, warning that such moves will increase military tensions and destabilise the global order. “Being a small country, and seeing what has happened in Ukraine, we value the rule of law, respecting boundaries,”...

The Metals Company (Nasdaq: TMC) (the “Company” or “TMC”), an explorer of lower-impact battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules, has announced that the International Seabed Authority has completed its review of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Environmental Monitoring and Management Plan (EMMP) submitted by its subsidiary, Nauru Ocean Resources Inc (NORI), and recommended that it proceed with its...

The federal government has trumpeted its successful bid to enshrine its emissions reduction targets in law, telling investors Australia is now “open for business”. The bill to lock in a 43 percent greenhouse gas reduction target by 2030 and net-zero by 2050 passed the Senate on Thursday with the support of the Greens and crossbenchers. The legislation was waved through the...

Queen Elizabeth II, the UK's longest-serving monarch, has died at Balmoral aged 96, after reigning for 70 years. She died peacefully on Thursday afternoon at her Scottish estate, where she had spent much of the summer. The Queen came to the throne in 1952 and witnessed enormous social change. Her son King Charles III said the death of his beloved mother was...