PINA

The Samoa Cabinet has approved the medical transfer to New Zealand of opposition leader Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegoai. A Cabinet minister said the former prime minister will travel on the next available flight. The 76-year-old former prime minister was admitted to intensive care last Thursday and stayed in the hospital for five days. Health officials told Radio Polynesia last week that Tuilaepa had...

Vanuatu’s right to vote in the 193-member United Nations (UN) General Assembly has been suspended over unpaid dues. It still owes VT90,000 to the UN. This was confirmed by the Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Yvon Basil to the Vanuatu Daily Post. Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea are among eight nations losing their voting rights. The other countries are Venezuela,...

Communication with Tonga remains intermittent after the weekend’s volcanic eruption severed the kingdom’s undersea cable connection with the rest of the world. The lack of a backup service has reignited debate over previous government decisions which have been the subject of controversy and court cases. It could be weeks before services are fully restored. The 827km cable between Tonga and Fiji was...

By Rick Perez Guam remains a key target for the Chinese military. During the Cold War Guam was a target of the Soviet military in part because Sumay was home to Navy submarines that carried intercontinental ballistic missiles containing nuclear warheads. Guam was also a choice Cold War military target because long range Air Force bombers responsible for nuclear attack...

Holiday Inn Vanuatu Men’s Cricket Team Assistant Coach, Eddie Mansale, will lead the national team for the next few months following the unfortunate resignation of former Ireland International and Vanuatu High-Performance Manager, Jeremy Bray. Bray submitted his resignation to Vanuatu Cricket eleven months into a three-year contract due to a combination of personal reasons and travel complications resulting from the...

Officials in the Australian state of Victoria have talked up a possible bid for the 2026 Commonwealth Games - four years earlier than had been initially planned. The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) is still seeking a host for its flagship event in four years' time and has expressed confidence the venue for the event will be announced in the first...

Tonga is facing an “unprecedented disaster” from a massive volcanic eruption that covered the nation in ash and 15-metre tsunami waves that destroyed almost all the homes on two small islands, the government has said. Hampered by a communications breakdown caused by the severing of a major undersea cable, authorities had not released an official update since the blast on...

Preparations are being made to send a specialist cable repair ship from Papua New Guinea to Tonga to fix breaks in the Tonga Cable that have crippled phone and internet connections to and from Tonga. The cable, which would normally carry almost all communications traffic to and from Tonga, has been out of action since shortly after the eruption of...

New Zealand is ready to assist Tonga in its recovery from Saturday night’s undersea eruption and tsunami, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Defence Minister Peeni Henare said today. “Following the successful surveillance and reconnaissance flight of a New Zealand P-3K2 Orion on Monday, imagery and details have been sent to relevant authorities in Tonga, to aid in decisions about...

A group of Tongan seasonal labourers stranded in New Zealand's South Island can continue to work until a flight is available to take them home, their employer said. About 70 labourers from the Pacific Island Kingdom were scheduled to return home on Thursday but Air New Zealand cancelled the flight due to ash clouds caused by last weekend's volcanic eruption. Eighteen...