PINA

Stanley Tepend is the newly appointed PNG Kumuls head coach. Assisting him as a coaching mentor will be former NRL Sharks head coach and current St George Illawarra Dragons pathway coach Shane Flanagan. PNG RFL CEO Stanley Hondina says both coaches have met all the coaching requirements and both will mentor the team (PNG Kumuls) for the 25 June mid-season Test...

A police crackdown in Vanuatu that has seen people arrested for allegedly posting comments on social media speculating politicians were responsible for the country’s current Covid outbreak has raised serious concerns about freedom of speech in the Pacific country. At least four people from two separate islands have been arrested as part of a major investigation by Vanuatu’s Serious Crime...

Papua New Guinea will witness 6.2 million voters taking the polling booths from Saturday, 09 July. Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai said the updated Common Roll ready and would be available at all Electoral Commission offices across the country. “While we would like to see the Common Roll to be available online, due to the time constraints all voters can check their...

Removing derelict vessels from Fiji’s three main ports at Suva, Lautoka and Levuka will cost FJD$59 million (US$26.7 million), according to Minister of Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. Responding to a question from the Opposition, Sayed-Khaiyum said, “A lot of these ships have local owners and they have sort of sunk them and disappeared. So these companies do not even exist.” There are...

The latest report from the world’s most authoritative source of climate science demands a substantial global reduction in fossil fuel use, improved energy efficiency, and use of alternative fuels, to limit global warming. The message reverberated during a webinar where Pacific countries and partners delved into the main findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group III...

Papua New Guinea deputy Prime Minister and Member for Bulolo Open, Samuel Basil has passed away from a freak car accident at Wau-Bulolo Highway Wednesday night. This was confirmed by the Police Commissioner David Manning. “It is confirmed that Samuel Basil the Deputy Prime Minister, and parliamentary member for Bulolo has succumbed to injuries he sustained in a vehicle collision along...

Beijing’s growing co-operation with the South Pacific is not a threat to Australia’s security, China’s local ambassador says, amid regional alarm a security pact with the Solomon Islands could pave the way for a military base. In a further conciliatory sign from Ambassador Xiao Qian, he said common interests between Australia and China should outweigh differences that had fractured diplomatic...

New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister says she wouldn't be surprised by reports her Chinese counterpart is planning a formal trip to the Solomon Islands and has expressed her own interest in travelling the Pacific. Australian media are reporting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi could travel to the Solomons as early as next week, less than a month after China said...

Solomon Islands Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade Jeremiah Manele and Minister for Police, National Security and Correctional Services, Anthony Veke met with PIF Secretary General Henry Puna and his executive team this week at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Suva, Fiji. The two Ministers used the occasion to update PIF Secretary General on the implementation of Solomon...

Solomon Islands' prime minister dismissed criticism of a new maritime investment deal with China on Wednesday, saying there was nothing "sinister" in the draft agreement. The new agreement, a copy of which has been leaked to the media, comes after a controversial security pact was signed last month. The security pact gave Beijing a military foothold in the South Pacific, and...