PINA

Work continues on setting up a permanent United Nations office in Fiji’s capital Suva. UN Resident Coordinator, Sanaka Samarasinha confirmed they continue to work with the Fijian Government and have already looked at some potential sites. Once completed, UN House will bring all branches of the international agency under one roof. “We have engaged with the government and the design is a...

About 65 women have put up their hands to contest the Papua New Guinea General election. They announced at the third Practice Parliament for Women in Port Moresby that they were prepared to take on the men. The initiative is being implemented as a partnership among the Independent Political Parties and Candidates Commission (IPPCC), Parliament, Department for Community Development, Youth and...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has released a US$5 million (Vatu566 million) grant from its Pacific Disaster Resilience Programme (Phase 3) to help finance the Government of Vanuatu’s response to the community transmission of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Vanuatu is battling large-scale community transmission of the virus, with the Ministry of Health confirming a total of 252 COVID-19 cases since...

Solomon Islands Cabinet has defended its plan to extend the current term of parliament to five years. Special Secretary to the Prime Minister, Albert Kabui said Cabinet has the mandate to change policies as it sees fit. Kabui made this statement in light of the recent call by the Opposition Group in Parliament, calling on the Cabinet not to extend the...

-Samoa remains committed to hosting the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting after Rwanda, says Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa. Addressing guests at the commemoration of the Commonwealth Day in Apia on Monday, Mata'afa said the country remains committed to being the CHOGM host after Rwanda. Prime Minister Mataafa then acknowledge the assistance of the Commonwealth to Samoa. “As a small island...

Top UN officials on Tuesday gathered with government and civil society representatives to draw attention to the scourge of violence against women worldwide who are involved in politics, which is increasingly seeing women parliamentarians, human rights defenders and electoral observers silenced, and intimidated. “As a former Parliamentarian, and a lifelong politician, violence against women in politics is an issue near...

The Australian federal environment minister, Sussan Ley, has successfully appealed against a high-profile court decision that found she had a duty of care to protect young people from the climate crisis when assessing fossil fuel developments. Eight teenagers and an octogenarian nun last year sought an injunction to prevent Ley from approving a proposal by Whitehaven Coal to expand the...

As of Monday this week, Vanuatu has recorded a total of 341 confirmed COVID-19 cases. 45 of these cases have recovered. 42 cases have been reported on Efate and 17 on Santo, as of Monday this week. Minister of Heath, Bruno Leingkone said the Ministry of Health (MOH) is continuing investigation into the death reporter in south Santo and will confirm...

Fiji is a key facilitator of Digital Financial Services (DFS) in the Pacific, says Minister for Industry and Trade Faiyaz Koya. Speaking during the World Consumer Rights Day in Suva, Koya placed special emphasis on fair digital finance and stated that consumers are a critical component of any economy. “Throughout the pandemic, more people have adapted to getting their business online...

Serupepeli Vularika has been terminated from the Fijian Drua team for disciplinary reasons. This was confirmed in a statement which states the Fijian Drua and the Fiji Rugby Union have terminated the participation of Vularika in the Club for disciplinary reasons. The statement further states that Vularika will return to Fiji and discuss future opportunities with the Fiji Rugby Union. Drua CEO...