PINA

The Super W finals have been locked in, with the Grand Final set to be played as part of Super Round in Melbourne. Fijiana Drua has already qualified for the Super W Grand Final, which will take place at AAMI Park on Saturday 23 April at 2 pm, having finished first in the regular season. They will face the winner of...

The Hurricanes and Moana Pasifika have made the tough decisions before Tuesday night’s rescheduled game in Wellington. TJ Perenara is back in the Hurricanes No 9 jersey after missing the narrow loss to the Crusaders on Saturday. Coach Jason Holland has selected a much-changed side from Saturday’s defeat, with Wes Goosen and James O’Reilly the only two players who have again...

A prominent New Caledonian indigenous party has said that if France wants to have an economic and political stake in the Pacific – as China’s influence in the region rises to “omnipresence” – it needs to grant New Caledonia a fourth referendum on independence and treat the Pacific island as a partner, rather than a colony. The calls come after...

Fiji has voted alongside 93 other countries to suspend Russia from the United Nations Human Rights Council. The resolution to strip Russia of its seat passed with 93 votes in favour, 24 against and 58 abstentions. Other Pacific island countries that voted to kick Russia out were Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Marshall Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu. “@EUPasifika thanks the...

The Vanuatu Government through the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Marc Ati, has expressed utter dismay at the announcement by the Director General of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Secretariat regarding a recent voluntary contribution of US$100,000(VT10.9 million) by the Indonesian National Police, to the Secretariat. “The Secretariat’s accompanying press statement implied that the donation has the support of the membership,...

By Nic Maclellan Seeking re-election as French President, Emmanuel Macron topped the poll amongst 12 candidates in the first round of voting for leadership of the French Republic, held on Sunday. Macron will now face off against Marine Le Pen of the extreme right Rassemblement National in a second round of voting for the presidency, to be held in...

By Surangel Whipps, Jr and John Kerry As governments around the world work to sustainably rebuild their economies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we would do well to remember that the ocean also holds as many opportunities for resilient low-carbon growth as can be found on land. Call it the blue economy. To date, conversations about the links between...

-Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton says he does not expect the Solomon Islands will allow China to establish a military base in the Pacific nation. However Australia remains concerned about the growing militarisation of the region. Foreign affairs officials found out about a security pact between China and the Solomon Islands when a draft was leaked on social media. The Department of...

In a few days, an estimated 1000 members of NGO executives, ministers, and high-level officials from different countries, including the Pacific nations, will be arriving in Palau for the Our Ocean Conference, the most significant international gathering the island nation will host amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Health Minister Gaafar Uherbelau said COVID protocols remain in place, requiring every visiting delegate...

Opinion by Mark Howden, 'Ofa Ma'Asi-Kaisamy With many parts of the Pacific still suffering due to COVID-19, the latest international report on climate change brings no solace for the region. The report (from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) finds that with greenhouse gas emissions at record levels, limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is only possible if global...