PINA

Defence chiefs from across the Indo-Pacific gathered this week to bolster their connections against a backdrop of China’s ongoing campaign to expand its influence and military presence in the region. General Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the military leaders meeting for three days in Sydney are focused on “the whole situation with the rise...

-Papua New Guinea Governor General,Sir Bob Dadae has accepted the extension of the Return of Writs to 12 August, 2022 at 4pm. The Governor General said, he accepts that it would be impossible to have all the Writs returned on 29 July, 2022, the proposed date of the Return of Writs, which is on Friday this week. “It would be impossible...

After a long and challenging two years and four months, Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa has announced Cabinet’s decision to lift the proclamation of State of Emergency over Samoa. Samoa first declared it was under a Covid-19 State of Emergency in March 2020. The Government had been renewing the SOE Orders each month for the past two years and the...

Solomon Islands Prime Minister has accused the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) of deviating from its purpose of uniting the country. Manasseh Sogavare made this statement when explaining the government’s decision behind the omitting SIBC as a State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) recently. Responding to a question from the Leader of Opposition in Parliament Tuesday, Sogavare said SIBC is a statutory body and...

The massacre of 18 people in the Highlands confirmed fears that an outdated electoral roll and lack of security could lead to trouble Voting in Papua New Guinea’s elections has been overshadowed by outbreaks of violence including the massacre of 18 people in the Highlands and a group of men attacking people with machetes outside a counting centre in Port...

COP26 President Alok Sharma is visiting Fiji from 26-27 July 2022 to see the impacts of climate change in the Pacific region. He will highlight the urgency for the biggest emitters to take action now and deliver the promise of the Glasgow Climate Pact signed by almost 200 countries at COP26. His visit continues the work of the UK COP Presidency...

A Fijian political leader is calling out the Australian and New Zealand governments on their “deafening silence” on human rights issues in the region. The leader of the opposition National Federation Party in Fiji, Biman Prasad, has called out the two countries for not acknowledging what he described as 'the declining standards of democracy, governance, human rights, media freedom and...

Fijian Defence Minister, Inia Seruiratu says that repatriating Fijians who live in Papua New Guinea will be the last option. This as widespread chaos and violent attacks were experienced in most of the provinces in PNG in recent weeks, involving people who are against the voting or election processes. Seruiratu said Fiji has strong bilateral relations with PNG as part of...

Papua New Guinea National Research Institute (NRI) research fellow Dr Thomas Webster has described General Election 2022 (GE22) as worse than the ones in 2012 and 2017. “We come to a stage where if do not fix the electoral system, and there is groundswell of thinking and voices raised from all over the community nationwide, the next election in 2027...

Pacific leaders, law enforcement officials and academics will be brought together to address transnational crime in the Pacific region at the inaugural Pacific Regional Law Enforcement Conference or PRLEC held in Fiji from 01 August. Drug trafficking and other transnational criminal activity in the Pacific Islands has evolved significantly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with a rise in local actor’s...