PINA

New Zealand has deployed a navy ship to the Solomon Islands to help peacekeeping efforts after political unrest in the capital, Honiara. The decision to deploy the HMNZS Wellington to the mission was not formally announced by the Government or the Defence Force. The armed offshore patrol vessel left the Devonport Naval Base in Auckland just before 7:30pm on Monday with...

Fiji's Ministry of Health says finding the Omicron variant in travellers in border quarantine is not unexpected, given how quickly it has spread worldwide. Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr James Fong said it is a sharp reminder that the key to avoiding restrictions and lockdowns is for Fijians to remain cautious about how they engage in the greater freedom they...

An application by the United Liberation Movement of West Papua to become a full member of Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) has been re-activated. Last year, the ULMWP announced itself as a provisional government in exile for West Papua, as it pushes for a referendum on independence from Indonesia. Several years ago, the ULMWP applied for full membership status at the sub-regional...

On Friday, the tiny Pacific country, one of the few countries to avoid any Covid cases throughout the pandemic, announced its first case: a 10-year-old boy who arrived on a flight from Auckland to Rarotonga, the main island in the country. “I was honestly going to quit my job and stay home when I found out it was a positive...

The rise in sea level and king tides now affecting more than 30,000 lives on coastal Manus will continue through 2022, according to the Manus Province disaster office. The king tides started on 03 December, 2021, destroying thousands of homes on Manus Island and is expected to continue through to January. Most coastal areas and smaller atolls from Mokerang on Los...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a US$6 million grant and the Government of Vanuatu US$1.2 million to establish a network to deliver renewable energy to the people of Malekula and Espiritu Santo islands. The ADB-supported Vanuatu Energy Access Project will help construct a 400-kilowatt Brenwe hydropower plant and extend the two islands’ electricity grids to deliver sustainable, affordable...

Passing the final hurdles As Bougainville marks two years since its historic independence referendum, Pacific leaders must work together to ensure the process does not falter, Ben Bohane writes. There were colourful rallies around Bougainville in late 2019 as people prepared to vote in a referendum they had waited decades for. In the carnival atmosphere, people tooted car horns and...

The Pacific Islands Forum Deputy Secretary General, Filimon Manoni, and Young-kyu Park, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, have Tuesday signed a new project to support coastal and marine planning under the Republic of Korea – Pacific Islands Forum Cooperation Fund. Valued at US$D1.8 million, the three-year project will be implemented by the Pacific Community (SPC), the Korea Institute of...

The Malaita Provincial Government in Solomon Islands is seeking the assistance of the United Nations Security Council to fulfil recommendations in the Townsville Peace Agreement (TPA) for an independent Malaita. Malaita Provincial Premier Daniel Suidani revealed this on Monday during a public address in the provincial capital, Auki. Suidani told the public gathering that the provincial government and Malaita for Democracy...

Ocean flooding for the third straight day hit low-lying islands throughout the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), causing sparse damage but requiring large-scale clean-ups in their wake. Roads by Amata Kabua International Airport in Majuro was down to single lane traffic Monday afternoon as heavy equipment operators moved up and down the long roadway clearing rocks...