PINA

Following their qualification for Rugby World Cup 2023, ‘Ikale Tahi head coach Toutai Kefu says his team will be setting their sights high at next year’s tournament. Kefu insists his team will not be going to Rugby World Cup 2023 purely to make up the numbers. The ‘Ikale Tahi’s place in Pool B at next year’s tournament was confirmed last Saturday...

Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero has expressed support for the Federated States of Micronesia’s move to oppose China’s proposed “action plan” for the Pacific island states, advising island governments to be vigilant against the communist nation’s attempts to control domestic affairs. “Guam stands with you and your effort to minimise China's efforts to control Pacific governments, assets and resources,” Leon...

The Fijian parliament will debate the Media Industry Development (Budget Amendment) Bill 2010 later this week. The Bill seeks to amend the Act to ensure that those who are directly in charge of a media organisation and its operations are shielded from any outside influence, that may by formal agreement or other arrangements, essentially take over or control the provision...

New UN-backed guidelines issued on Monday aim to protect, include and empower children forced to flee their homes due to the climate crisis, marking the first-ever global effort to address this increasingly major concern. The Guiding Principles for Children on the Move in the Context of Climate Change contain a set of nine principles that address the unique and layered...

Terrified Port Moresby residents have welcomed soldiers in armoured vehicles on the streets of the capital after two days of chaos and fear created by machete wielding supporters of political opponents. The National Security Advisory Council ordered 100 men from the 1PIR Taurama Barracks onto the streets after clashes between knife wielding opportunists send frightened citizens packing and turned sections...

The United States will host a virtual meeting on Tuesday of officials from the 14 countries in Asia and the Pacific that have joined the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. The ministerial meet – to be hosted by U.S Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo – is part of moves by Washington to expand its engagement with Asia. The meeting...

By Aubrey Belford (OCCRP), OCCRP Pacific, Hyein Kang (KCIJ-Newstapa), and Myungju Lee (KCIJ-Newstapa) Grace Road Church believes a nuclear-tinged Judgment Day is rapidly approaching — and that Fiji is the post-apocalyptic promised land from which they’ll feed humanity. But despite repeated accusations of abuses, including ritual beatings and forcing members to perform unpaid labor, they’ve received a warm welcome...

A Commonwealth team observing Papua New Guinea’s election has expressed concern about the voting process. Releasing its interim statement in Port Moresby, the Commonwealth Observer Group said that, in some cases, as many as half of those eligible to vote were reportedly not on the common roll (voter register). In the interim statement, Chairperson of the Group, former President of Nauru,...

Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General, Henry Puna has condemned the recent deaths and escalating violence in Papua New Guinea, including in Porgera and Port Moresby, over the course of the 2022 National Election. Puna said the Forum stands ready to support the government and people of Papua New Guinea in any way it can. “My heart goes out to the grieving...

Residents of Papua New Guinea's capital were told to stay home and troops were deployed to its streets on Monday, after a brutal election-related attack hospitalised two people. In a politically motivated attack, a machete-wielding gang chased down two victims outside a counting centre in Port Moresby on Sunday, leaving one with a traumatic brain injury and another with an...