PINA

Transparency International says the latest Corruption Perception Index shows another year of "little to no meaningful progress" towards curbing corruption in the Asia-Pacific region. Transparency International has released its 2023 report, based on a points system, and Denmark, Finland and New Zealand top the list. Other than New Zealand and Australia, Fiji is the highest-ranked Pacific country, coming in 53rd. Fiji has...

Vanuatu leader of Opposition and Member of Parliament for Port Vila, Ishmael Kalsakau, has raised concerns, stating that the Government of National Unity (GNU) is no longer intact. He said national unity involves everyone working together, which was advocated by the Head of State last year during a meeting with the political leaders. In a press conference held recently by the...

Fiji's Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sitiveni Rabuka will participate in the 3rd EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum in Brussels, Belgium this week. At the Ministerial Forum, the Prime Minister will contribute to discussions on economic, environmental, geopolitical, and security challenges affecting the European Union and the Indo-Pacific regions. Chaired by the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs...

Fiji Rugby Football Union Trust Board chair, Peter Mazey says decisions regarding the national 7s coaching staff would involve comprehensive discussions with all stakeholders, including players and support staff. In response to recent media reports suggesting the possible removal of 7s head coach Ben Gollings, Mazey has issued a clarification to dispel any misconceptions affecting players and the public. The clarification...

Papua New Guinea is in early talks with China on a potential security and policing deal, the country’s foreign minister Justin Tkachenko has said, weeks after deadly riots in the country’s capital. Amid jostling between Washington and Beijing for influence in the Pacific, the biggest Pacific Islands nation, Papua New Guinea (PNG), has previously said Australia and the United States...

For an attention-grabbing speech to the 2022 UN climate conference, a Tuvalu cabinet minister stood on one of atoll nation’s smallest islands and predicted it could be the first to be submerged by rising seas. The filament of land, known as Te Afualiku, however has more than tripled in area over the past century, geomorphological research shows. The entire land...

The Japanese government has begun final arrangements to host the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM) in mid-July, inviting the leaders of all 18 Pacific Island Forum (PIF) members to Tokyo. At the summit, Japan plans to launch support measures based on the needs of Pacific island countries, such as climate change countermeasures, aiming to counter China’s growing influence in the...

This year in October, Samoa will make history by becoming the first small island developing state from the Pacific to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM). One of its attendees will be the British High Commissioner to Australia and Head of Oceania network, Vicki Treadell, who is looking to amplify Pacific voices to fight climate change. “How do we...

By Jess Marinaccio On Friday 26 January 2024, Tuvalu went to the polls for its general election. After voting results were announced over the subsequent 24 hours, Tuvalu emerged with a somewhat altered political landscape. In Tuvalu elections, candidates run for two parliamentary positions on each of Tuvalu’s eight islands of Nukulaelae, Funafuti, Vaitupu, Nukufetau, Nui, Niutao, Nanumaga, and Nanumea....

Eight of Tuvalu's 16-member parliament are newcomers following the 2024 general election which saw former Prime Minister Kausea Natano ousted. The country went to the polls on Friday to elect a new 16-member parliament, with 6000 people registered to cast their votes in eight constituencies in the island nation. There are no political parties in Tuvalu, which means that all candidates...