PINA

For two years Niue has been in it's own bubble of the Pacific sheltered from the virus which has plagued the rest of the world. Now, Niue has recorded its first case of covid-19. It came into the country through a New Zealand passenger onboard a flight from Auckland which arrived on Monday local time. They are now in quarantine along with...

Vanuatu Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed that the current COVID-19 community transmission was the result of a quarantine breach. Director of the Department of Policy and Planning at the MOH, Dr Samuel Posikai, made the confirmation when he and the Acting Director of Curative and Hospital Services, Dr Sereana Natuman, were updating the public about the community outbreak. Dr Posikai...

In response to the recent visit to the Pacific by U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and the release of the Indo-Pacific Strategy of the United States, the Pacific Elders’ Voice have the following points to make about regional security in the Pacific: 1.The primary security threat to the Pacific is climate change. This fact is clearly articulated in the...

The Queensland Reds side has been confirmed for their first home game of 2022 against the Fijiana Drua at Suncorp Stadium this Saturday, as part of a double header, which will see both the Reds women and men in action. Head coach Simon Craig has made minimal changes to his match-day-23 that travelled to Perth last weekend. In the forwards, vice-captain...

By Mereseini Marau The Blue Pacific has one message at the fourth session of the intergovernmental conference for the new legal instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdictions (BBNJ)- preserve the ocean for the future generations. After two years’ postponement, negotiators are gathering in New York to resume negotiations on BBNJ. Pacific Ocean...

There are 43 political parties eligible to contest the 2022 General Election after eight new ones were registered, and 11 de-registered, by the Papua New Guinea Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates Commission. Registrar of Political Parties Dr Alphonse Gelu said only 43 registered political parties were eligible to field candidates. The 11 parties de-registered had failed to comply with provision...

Australia will boost its defence forces by some 30 percent by 2040, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Thursday, describing it as the country's largest military build-up in peacetime. The force would grow by 18,500 personnel to 80,000 over the 18-year period, at a cost of some AUD$38 billion (US$27 billion), the prime minister said at an army barracks in Brisbane. Morrison,...

Tongan Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni has confirmed to Tonga’s Development Partners that a total of TOP$565.8 million (USD$240 million) is needed to fund the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai Recovery and Resilience Building Plan 2022-2025. The plan was recently endorsed by Cabinet and is government’s guiding document on the recovery and resilience building plan following the events of 15 January. Hu’akavameiliku made the statement...

Almost 500 million people have been infected with the coronavirus since March 2020 and new variants are still a threat. This Friday marks two years since the World Health Organisation (WHO) characterised the global spread of COVID-19 as a pandemic. The UN health agency’s assessment was made six weeks after the virus was declared a global health emergency when there were...

The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for The Metals Company (TMC) deep sea mining test by its Nauruan subsidiary, Nauru Ocean Resources Inc (NORI), received over 600 comments across a range of critical issues. Government and non-government organisations declared it sub-standard and not fit for purpose as a risk management tool. Dr Catherine Coumans, MiningWatch Canada (MWC) said, “The EIS has supposedly...