PINA

An unprecedented conference organised by the Pacific Islands Forum has opened in Suva, and it's bringing together island governments and their creditors to tackle the twin problem of rising debt and climate change. Seven Pacific nations are considered to be at high risk of debt distress, including the most populous, Papua New Guinea. Among the speakers is Luke Fletcher, the Executive...

A diverse group of Pacific women engaged in media and civil society joined the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on 05 April to explore how gender issues linked to the impact of corruption. Recognising the paucity of research on gender and corruption in the Pacific, a new information note on “Breaking the Silence on Gender and Corruption...

The HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens on 09-10 April is set to thrill fans with the highly anticipated return to HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series action of Olympic champions Fiji, 2020 Series winners New Zealand and Samoa. The team captains lined-up on Wednesday at the Toa Payoh Dragon Playground, a site of local cultural significance since 1979 where they had the...

Fijian Drua captain Nemani Nagusa has been banned for four weeks after a red card for “a particuarly dangerous tackle’’ against the Waratahs. The Sanzaar foul play review committee accepted Nagusa’s guilty plea for contravening a law preventing players from making early, late or dangerous tackles. Nagusa, 33, has been suspended up to an including May 8 after his late and...

Fijian Drua centre Apisalome Vota has returned to the starting line-up for the Swire Shipping-sponsored side’s Super Rugby Pacific Round 8 line-up against the Brumbies. Vota missed last week’s game against the NSW Waratahs and will form a new partnership with Tuidraki Samusamuvodre. Meli Derenalagi will captain the side in the absence of Nemani Nagusa who is suspended for four weeks...

Moana Pasifika has named their team to play the Highlanders in the inaugural DHL Super Rugby Pacific match between the franchises. The squad will travel to Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium in search of their second win of the season on Friday night. After being on the receiving end of a 46-16 defeat at the hands of the Blues, Head Coach...

Australia would bid to host a United Nations climate change summit in partnership with other Pacific nations if Labor won next month’s federal election as part of the federal opposition’s bid to improve the nation’s credentials with the region on the issue. The annual Conference of the Parties – known as COP – has brought together the world’s nations for...

After two years of recession caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the Pacific is expected to return to positive growth this year, according to the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2022, ADB’s flagship economic publication, which was released today. The economies of ADB’s Pacific developing member countries contracted by 0.6% on average in 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to...

The Solomon Islands government is believed to have abandoned its plan to extend Parliament by another year, sources have revealed. Instead, it has backed the idea of an early dissolution of Parliament – an option proposed by the Opposition, the sources said. It is understood that public outcry against the proposed 12-month extension forced Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare’s government to take...

New Zealand expects the Solomon Islands security tie-up with China to be the subject of a special Pacific Islands Forum meeting. Regional security and the potential militarisation of the Pacific has caused a blue continent blow-up over the past week. Australia and New Zealand were in one corner, attempting to talk the Solomon Islands and China out of a potential security...