PINA

There are now three people shaping up to contest for the Tonga prime ministership. Tongans went to the polls last month and elected an all-male parliament, with nine new faces coming in via the 17 People's Representative seats, and three among the nobles. The last day for nominations for the prime minister is Tuesday next week, 14 December 2021, before parliament...

The motion of no confidence and calls for Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare to resign are made against the backdrop of an illegally attempted coup. Sogavare made this comment in Parliament Monday during the motion of no confidence vote against him as Prime Minister. He said what happened on Wednesday 24 November was an attempted coup to overthrow a democratically...

Taiwan's government on Monday denied involvement in the recent bloody riots in the Solomon Islands after the leader of the former Pacific Island ally accused Taipei of being involved earlier in the day. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare on Monday survived a no confidence motion in parliament, after accusing the Pacific nation's most populous province, Malaita, of being "Taiwan's...

They want to create ‘world class’ surf waves by excavating two channels through coral reef off a pristine Fijian island group. But this Kiwi-led group, backed by some serious heavy-hitters, is being slammed for pushing what’s been described as essentially a dredging project. By Cass Mason and Melanie Reid A New Zealand-registered company is facing intense opposition to its proposal to...

Two Fijian citizens who had travelled back into Fiji from Nigeria on 25 November have tested positive of the Omicron variant. This was confirmed by the Ministry of Health and Medical Services permanent secretary, Dr James Fong who says last week travellers who had arrived from an African state and were undergoing quarantine in a border quarantine facility had tested...

The leader of the Solomon Islands survived a no-confidence vote in Parliament on Monday following riots in the capital last month. Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare told lawmakers in a fiery 90-minute speech that he’d done nothing wrong and would not bow down to “the forces of evil” or to “Taiwan’s agents.” At one point he picked up his chair and...

The matter against six Fiji Opposition Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) Members of Parliament has been transferred to the Suva High Court. The Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) had made an application to transfer the matter to the High Court on the grounds that it is of public interest and the accused are parliamentarians. The matter involves SODELPA MP Salote...

Low-lying islands in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) are experiencing massive flooding that threaten the communities across the nation. “We are watching what’s happening,” FSM President David Panuelo said in a statement, “And, first and foremost, I would ask our citizens to feel assured that their government is aware of what’s happening and is ready to take action.” The FSM...

The Australian opposition has attempted to blunt a Coalition scare campaign by ruling out negotiating a stronger emissions reduction target if next year’s election results in a hung parliament. The senior Labour frontbencher Chris Bowen said his party had “paid a big price” in the “climate wars” over the past decade, and a central task of an incoming Albanese government...

The Cook Islands says its first case of Covid-19 is a good test ahead of the opening of its borders next month. The case is a weak-positive result from a 10-year-old boy who travelled from New Zealand with his family last week. The case was detected on arrival when the boy was asymptomatic. The family arrived on a repatriation flight with...