PINA

Fijian Defence Minister Inia Seruiratu says taking over funding of the general operations of the multimillion dollar Blackrock peacekeeping and humanitarian response facility in Nadi will be a huge responsibility. In a press conference, Seruiratu said discussions were ongoing on the funding and how the facility would be maintained. “Like all other projects we have been provided with in the past,...

A Former Australian high commissioner to Solomon Islands says the involvement of Chinese officials in training local police is setting off alarm bells in Canberra. The move from Beijing follows last year's violent riots which targeted Chinese-owned businesses in the capital, Honiara. James Batley, who led the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) and now a distinguished policy fellow at...

Tongan King Tupou VI has consented to relocate people from his estates who were affected by the volcanic eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai and tsunamis. Among the worst hit areas in the catastrophe on 15 January, were the royal estates of Kanokupolu in Tongatapu and Mango Island, in Ha’apai. The affected people from Kanokupolu will be relocated to one of the...

A seabed minerals company has been accused of rushing a landmark mining test in the Pacific. It comes as the company Nauru Ocean Resources prepares to conduct deep-sea mining ahead of the first international guidelines for the practice. Nauru is sponsoring Nauru Ocean Resources, a subsidiary of Canada-based The Metals Company, to run a two-month mining test in the Pacific Ocean...

Cook Islands’ exclusive access to New Zealand’s tourism market is over and the country has to once again compete with the biggest rival in the Pacific. Just over a week ago New Zealand got rid of its isolation requirements for fully vaccinated New Zealanders, opening the door to Fiji and other destinations that will once again compete for Kiwi tourists. Owner...

The world’s countries are currently negotiating a new agreement to protect marine life and govern impacts of activities in the high seas. These discussions will define the future of a vast stretch of ocean previously seen by many as ‘out of sight, out of mind’. Around 64 percent of the ocean’s surface (over 45 percent of the globe in total) falls...

Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Zed Seselja has thanked Fiji for the robust and principled international position on Russia’s unjustified invasion of Ukraine. Seselja also acknowledges the collective position of the Pacific Islands Forum in response to this crisis, during the opening of the Blackrock facility in Nadi, Monday. “The challenges to the rules‑based international order have been...

Two parties of New Caledonia's pro-independence FLNKS movement have restated their intention to attain the territory's decolonisation from France after last December's referendum in which a majority opted to stay with France. The two parties, Palika and the Caledonian Union, held their first key meetings since the plebiscite over the weekend after the Covid-19 outbreak forced the cancellation of their...

By David Marchese “We’re on the front of the front lines of vulnerability,” says Tina Stege. She would know: Stege is the climate envoy for the Marshall Islands, a country of roughly 60,000 people spread mostly among coral atolls halfway between Hawaii and Australia that is facing an imminent existential threat from climate change. In the Marshalls, sea-level rise...

Super Rugby continues to be marred by Covid-19 outbreaks with 1News able to reveal cases have been confirmed in the Highlanders squad. Highlanders high performance manager Greg O'Brien confirmed on Monday the southern franchise has cases in the team but would not disclose the exact figure. It comes after the Highlanders travelled to Auckland last week where they lost to the...