PINA

Zed Seselja will visit the Solomons despite the federal government being in caretaker mode. Australia's Pacific Minister Zed Seselja has flown to Honiara to strengthen Australia's relationship with Solomon Islands after a leaked Chinese request to import arms was made public. This is despite the government currently being in caretaker mode due to the upcoming federal election. China proposed importing firearms including...

The Local2030 Islands Network held its first in person high-level meeting, co-chaired by Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry in the margins of the Our Oceans Conference, currently being hosted by Palau. “We are very proud to be part of this Network, and also represented through various US islands and territories such as...

Palau's Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment Steven Victor says it is significant for Palau to be the first small island developing state to host a large event like Our Ocean. The conference opens in Palau today and more than 500 delegates from upwards of 80 countries are expected to attend. “We are one of the few countries in the...

The ethnic Wallisian party in New Caledonia's Congress, which holds the balance of power, has pulled out of its partnership with the pro-independence Caledonian Union. The leader of the Pacific Awakening Party Milakulo Tukumuli made the announcement to withdraw its three members a week after the Caledonian Union Congress. At the Congress, the Caledonian Union president Daniel Goa said as Pacific...

Op-Ed by Levan Bouadze, Resident Representative, UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji. (Covers Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu) The Blue Pacific defines who we are as Pacific people and our relationship with the vast oceans that make up our environment and the place we call home. This biggest ocean in...

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...