PINA

By Robert Glasser  The impacts of climate change on the Indo-Pacific, already the most exposed region in the world to climate hazards and home to the world’s fastest-growing populations, economies and geopolitical rivalries, will be profound. The scenario described below is an extrapolation from current climate science and observations of recent extreme climate-related hazards and their societal impacts. It isn’t...

Fijian Drua head coach Mick Byrne continues to introduce new Fijians into the Super Rugby Pacific competition by making some changes in the team against the Brumbies in round two this weekend. They play at the GIO Stadium in Canberra, Australia on Saturday. Kaliopasi Uluilakepa makes his debut at loosehead prop, joining hooker Tevita Ikanivere and tighthead prop Samuela Tawake in...

Mick Byrne will take the slow-down tactics as a compliment and expects a more composed Fijian Drua side to test the Brumbies now their emotional Super Rugby Pacific debut is behind them. The Drua, boasting just one man in five-eighth Baden Kerr with Super Rugby experience, lost 40-10 to the NSW Waratahs in Friday's opening round. Byrne's side scored the game's...

ACT locals and Brumbies pathways products Lachlan and Ryan Lonergan will start for the Brumbies against the Fijian Drua in round two of Harvey Norman Super Rugby Pacific this Saturday at 2.35 pm at GIO Stadium. The brothers first started together in the penultimate round of 2021, Nick Frost being the other addition to the Brumbies starting side for the...

Health authorities in Solomon Islands expect a surge in Covid-19 cases in rural areas where up to 80 percent of the population live. The death toll remains at 83 and the total number of infections since the outbreak began last month is now 5,891 - of which more than 4,000 are in Honiara. The Health Minister Culwick Togamana said Covid-19 case...

People must be at the heart of post-pandemic recovery, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told a global meeting that opened on Tuesday to examine the economic and social impact of the crisis. Although COVID-19 caught the world unprepared, “we cannot let this happen again,” he said in a video message to the Global Forum for Human-centred recovery, organised by the International...

Publishers hope new series will inspire the children of the Pacific to protect an ocean deeply connected to their culture. By Sanya Ruggiero A disposable mask flies out of an overflowing bin that hasn’t been shut properly; in the course of one night, it encounters a seagull, a whale and a school of sleeping fish who fervently attempt to chase it out...

The use of firearms is one of the three major threats identified by the Papua New Guinea joint security forces for General Election 2022, Deputy Commissioner of Police (operations) Anton Billie says. “The threats for the security planners are bribery and social media,” he said. Billie said the number of firearms in circulation in the lead up to the issuance of...

The BA.2 viruses, a sublineage of the Omicron COVID-19 mutation, should continue to be considered a variant of concern, scientists convened by the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a statement on Tuesday. BA.2 should also remain classified as Omicron, WHO’s Technical Advisory which was held Tuesday. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19, and the expert group meets regularly to...

After a lengthy process, the Melanesian Spearhead Group(MSG) Secretariat has a new Director-General, Leonard Louma from Papua New Guinea. This follows an announcement by the Chairman of the MSG and Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, James Marape in an official statement issued on 01 February 2022 in Port Moresby. The MSG Secretariat was without a Director-General since the departure...