PINA

China has signed a security deal with the Solomon Islands just days ahead of a visit by U.S government officials to the South Pacific country, exacerbating western fears over Beijing’s growing influence in the region. Wang Yi, Chinese foreign minister, and his Solomon Islands counterpart Jeremiah Manele signed the deal “in recent days”, China’s foreign ministry said. The agreement “proceeds in...

The United States is seeking to seize a superyacht suspected of belonging to a Russian oligarch that is docked in the Pacific island nation of Fiji, a restraining order filed on Tuesday by Fiji’s director of public prosecutions showed. The luxury vessel the Amadea is widely believed to be owned by Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, who is the subject of...

Papua New Guinea Electoral commissioner Simon Sinai says the data for the common roll is being processed and will be available next month. “Polling will be held as scheduled on 25 June. “Writs will be issued on April 28 and nomination is on 05 May,” he added. “For this (general election 2022), we have a shorter period of time with many things...

Two new Technical and Vocational Education and Training certificate qualifications were launched earlier this month by the Pacific Community’s (SPC) Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change and Resilience Building (PACRES) project. Certificate 2 in Resilience provides basic theoretical understanding in agriculture, coastal management, fisheries, forestry, water resources, health, energy and infrastructure, and tourism. While Certificate 4 applies the concepts and knowledge...

The one-week break was an opportunity to freshen up for the Fijian Drua and reflect on what they can do better this week against the Blues. It’ll be a whole new ball game altogether facing New Zealand teams, especially the Super Rugby Pacific leaders, however, Head Coach Mick Byrne said the players are excited. Byrne said this weekend will be an...

Australia's Eileen Cikamatana and Hannah Powell of Wales headline the two countries' weightlifting squads as their teams have been announced for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. At 22 years old, Cikamatana is the youngest weightlifter in Australia's Birmingham 2022 delegation, but she could become the first woman in history to win Commonwealth Games gold for two different countries in individual...

The Queensland Reds will look to continue unleashing returning star Suliasi Vunivalu, excited about what he can do as they prepare to begin Kiwi action on Saturday. The Reds enter Super Round in third position on the ladder, one point behind the top two as they prepare for the Hurricanes on Saturday. Brad Thorn's men were boosted by the return of...

“I think the 100 percent Ocean management is the critical agenda that needs to be pushed forward. When you say 100 percent management, it could mean a lot of things but it should be tied to the issues each of the nations are facing,” says Minister Steven Victor of the issues that Palau will take to the UN Our...

The momentum of celebrating a Pacific first with the 7th One Ocean conference has not been lost on marine resources, says Palau’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment, Steven Victor. Asked about next steps and key issues to progress the Ocean-Climate nexus at COP27 in Egypt, he said the Pacific needs to be more strategic in its approach to the...

A year since Japan announced plans to dump treated Fukushima wastewater into the Pacific Ocean starting in 2023, a group of five independent experts wants those plans to be put on hold while more information is shared. One of the five experts, Dr Robert Richmond of the University of Hawaii said, “There is this time element that’s being pushed over...