PINA

Fiji’s next general election should not become a battle of dividers, of people who pit province against province, religion against religion, or ethnicity against ethnicity, says newly-appointed President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere. While opening the 2021-2022 session of Parliament Monday, he said voters deserved better. “We should not only ignore candidates and party leaders who engage in that sort of politicking, but...

Efforts to reform global pandemic preparedness and response are happening too slowly, the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response said on Monday. Presenting the findings of a six-month accountability report, Co-chairs Helen Clark, former President of New Zealand, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former President of Liberia, warned that “uneven” progress in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic...

Fijian President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere says some Parliamentarians are blinded by political ambition to accept the threat climate change poses on communities around Fiji. Ratu Wiliame while opening a new Parliament session Monday said that he is worried that some have lost sight of what is happening at the grassroots level due to climate change. He said people will need to...

By Akka Rimon, PhD Student, Australian National University and Anote Tong, Distinguished Global Leader-in-Residence, University of Pennsylvania Despite the progress and momentum of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, we are still not moving fast enough to avoid the worst of climate change. It is heartening that more than 190 countries and organisations agreed to rapidly phase out coal power and...

New data released by The Lowy Institute has predicted only a third of Papua New Guinea's adult population will be fully vaccinated by 2026 as the island nation battles to stay ahead of the pandemic. Lowy Institute researcher Alexandre Dayant said the analysis “revealed a region divided”, placing nations like Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands well behind neighbours...

Fuiono Tenina Crichton is the new Samoa Member of Parliament for Falealupo following the Supreme Court decision Monday to disqualify Tuitogamanaia Dr. Peniamina Leavai from the by-election. The Fa’atuatua ile Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party candidate filed a petition questioning the eligibility of his rival and Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP). Chief Justice, Satiu Simativa Perese and Justice Niava Mata...

Two Congress members are asking the U.S Department of Energy to provide more information about the effects of U.S nuclear waste in the Marshall Islands. The U.S conducted 67 nuclear weapons tests in the Marshall Islands from 1946 to 1958, exposing Marshallese people to radiation that continues to have health and environmental implications. The U.S then stored the atomic waste...

Papua New Guinea Police have busted a drug trafficking and methamphetamine (meth) underground operation based at the Sanctuary Hotel. In a raid on the hotel on Tuesday last week, police seized five firearms, several rounds of ammunition of various calibre, meth, cannabis, ingredients and utensils used for manufacturing meth in several rooms. Police Commissioner David Manning said hotel owner Jaime Pang,...

A meeting of the IMO this week is the first test of translating promises made in Glasgow into bold action. The world must turn its gaze to shipping By David Kabua Last week all eyes were on Cop26, the global climate conference in Glasgow, and rightly so. World leaders, youth, entrepreneurs, and citizens gathered and debated how we will save ourselves from...

Ikale Tahi coach Toutai Kefu believes Tonga are capable of making the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals, if eligibility rules were to change. The World Rugby Council will consider a proposal this week to change the sport's eligibility rules, making it easier for players to switch their international allegiance following a three year stand-down. Under the current regulations, once a player has...