PINA

The Australian Government and Cricket Australia are partnering to support high-performance cricket across the Pacific and strengthen connections with the region. Delivered through the Australian Government’s PacificAus Sports programme, the renewed three-year, $1.55 million (US$1.01 million) partnership will identify and develop talented players from the Pacific region. The partnership will also create opportunities for Pacific teams to access high-level competitions,...

The Vanuatu Opposition bloc has filed a case in court challenging President Nikenike Vurobaravu's decision to dissolve Parliament amid a no-confidence motion against him. The President dissolved Parliament based on advice from the Council of Ministers (COM). Former Prime Minister and Member of Parliament for Port Vila, Ishmael Kalsakau, expressed the Opposition's dissatisfaction with the President's move, asserting that the dissolution...

Fiji's Minister for Health and Medical Services Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu launched the Fiji Health Adaptation Plan 2024 - 2030 at the COP29 forum in Baku, Azerbaijan on Friday. Minister Lalabalavu informed that Fiji is one of the first countries in the Pacific region to establish a Health Adaptation Plan. The plan is aligned to the current National Adaptation Plan...

Hollywood star Jason Momoa has urged his millions of followers to support Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti and stand with Māori against the proposed Treaty Principles Bill. The Aquaman and Game of Thrones actor took to social media sharing footage of Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke performing 'Ka Mate' haka and sharing his backing for the movement. The video of the Te Pāti Māori MP...

The main UN multilateral climate funds – the Green Climate Fund (GCF), Global Environment Facility (GEF) and Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) – could be set for a funding boost from the COP29 finance talks. The latest text on the New Collective Quantified Finance Goal (NCQG), which is due to be agreed in Baku, says that governments...

Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr has announced plans to retain his current cabinet ministers in his upcoming administration, with Vice President-elect Raynold “Arnold” Oilouch slated to lead the Ministry of Justice. The announcement was made at a recent press conference, confirming continuity in key government positions. Whipps affirmed that Oilouch, as Vice President-elect, will also serve as the Minister of Justice. Under...

From the floods that have swept through Spain to typhoons battering the Philippines, extreme weather is hitting the world hard – but even after years of warnings about the need to adapt to the perils of a hotter world, vulnerable countries and communities are unlikely to get much immediate help from the COP29 climate summit, officials told Climate Home. There’s...

While Vanuatu and Fiji's first-ever foreign policy documents reveal their non-aligned positions, the papers give both countries credibility amid competition by major geopolitical powers, such as China and the United States, for influence in the Pacific region. Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka launched his government's Foreign Policy White Paper and said it would help the country deal with "complex foreign...

COP29 as a ‘finance COP’ must recognise the challenges faced by Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to access climate finance due to their small economies, limited resources, and geographic remoteness. Samoa, as the Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), issued the rallying call during the Leaders' Summit of SIDS on Climate Change held in Baku, Azerbaijan, where...

Pacific governments at a UN climate summit are criticising Australia’s plans for a massive gas industry expansion in Western Australia, saying it could result in 125 times more greenhouse gas emissions than their island nations release in a year. As the Cop29 summit in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku begins its second week, representatives from Vanuatu and Tuvalu have called...