PINA

A total of five cities and regions are set to play a role in the 2026 Commonwealth Games after Australian state Victoria was Tuesday officially confirmed as the host. The announcement followed a successful exclusive dialogue period launched in February between the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), Commonwealth Games Australia and Victoria, where a proposal to stage the major multi-sport competition...

New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) chief executive Nicki Nicol believes that Victoria being named as the 2026 Commonwealth Games hosts will be beneficial to her country and Oceania. The Australian state was awarded the hosting rights in what is set to be the first-ever predominantly regional Commonwealth Games with Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Gippsland all scheduled to stage events. “Bringing...

Aspects of Moana Pasifika’s performance left coach Aaron Mauger grimacing in the coaching box, and the end of their final storm week can’t come soon enough. To add insult to injury, they conceded a pushover try at scrum time on their own feed in the second half as their pack struggled against a second-string Hurricanes outfit. The Hurricanes made no secret...

The Fijiana Drua will fight till the final whistle to scoop the Super W title next week. With only one more match to go, the Fijiana Drua team knows they must be prepared for whichever team they will face in the final. The match on Thursday between the Waratahs and Queensland Reds will determine which of the two will face the...

A former leader of Palau is “frustrated” about the foreign fishing lobby trying to influence national leaders to get rid of a critical law aimed to protect its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). According to the UN, the Palau National Marine Sanctuary Act was among “the world's most ambitious ocean conservation initiatives” that closed off 80 percent of Palau's EEZ to...

After keeping Covid at the borders for two years, Niue has announced its plans to ease MIQ protocols for travellers. From 11 July, travellers will be allowed to visit without having to enter quarantine or self-isolate. This is step three of a five-stage reopening plan announced by the Niuean government last Friday. Step one will allow travellers to visit from 18 April....

Papua New Guinea Police Commissioner David Manning, and head of the COVID-19 National Control Centre, has placed United Nations agencies on notice that they must reveal how they have spent COVID-19 emergency funding over the past two years. Manning said the Prime Minister and other Members of Parliament, and independent organisations such as Transparency International, have all called for the...

By Dionisia Tabureguci Recent green lighting of cryptocurrency projects in Vanuatu and Palau have raised concerns over the lack of an advisory body in the Pacific to help inform governments who wish to explore the economic benefits and risks of cryptocurrencies, blockchain and digital assets in general. Last month, a letter from Vanuatu Prime Minister Bob Loughman to Satoshi Island...

The Our Ocean Conference opens in Palau this week and more than 500 delegates from 80 countries are expected to attend. The Republic of Palau and the United States are co-hosting the conference, which is seen as a key event for countries, civil society, and industry to commit to concrete and significant actions to protect the ocean. This is the seventh...

Global leaders need to realise the harmful impact their lack of climate action is having on the Pacific region, New Zealand's Minister for Pacific Peoples and Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs Aupito William Sio says. Aupito is attending the Ocean Conference in Palau this week and says he hopes to demonstrate Pacific leadership on ocean conservation. The two-day conference, which is...