PINA

Chinese investment, workers and diplomatic tentacles are surging across the Pacific region. The United States and its friends – including New Zealand – are rushing to keep that growth in check. National Correspondent Lucy Cramer explains the players and their tactics in the first of a new five-part series, Pawns of the Pacific. When Digicel, a telecommunications company that operates in...

By National Correspondent Lucy Craymer Small Pacific nations are accruing ever greater amounts of debt to China. The U.S and its friends – including New Zealand – are anxious about what might happen if it can’t be repaid. Drive from the airport to Nuku'alofa, Tonga and on the side of the road, you’ll see a ‘China Aid’ sign erected outside a...

Papua New Guinea Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates Commission has confirmed that only 44 parties will field candidates in the elections. Registrar Dr Alphonse Gelu said the commission had de-registered 10 political parties due to non-compliance to issues such as the return of their annual financial statements and others requirements. There were 54 registered political parties. “Three of the 10 de-registered...

Australia opens its international borders to all vaccinated tourists Monday, nearly two years after the island nation first imposed some of the world's strictest Covid-19 travel restrictions. “The wait is over,” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said during a press conference on Sunday ahead of the re-opening. “Pack your bags,” he told potential visitors, adding, “Don't forget to bring your money...

A UN nuclear task force has promised to prioritise safety as it launches a review of controversial plans by Japan to release more than 1m tonnes of contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Japan’s government announced last April that it had decided to release the water over several decades into the Pacific Ocean,...

The 24 new COVID-19 positive cases Saturday, brings the total number of active cases in Tonga to 196, Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni said. Hu’atolitoli Prison recorded one new case, while the other new cases are in the community. “The total number of active cases in Tonga is now 196,” he said. Meanwhile, the 23 repatriates who were announced as positive cases Friday,...

Since it began allowing people into the country in mid-2020, the Marshall Islands has maintained one of the world’s strictest Covid-prevention entry systems. As a result, this western Pacific nation remains one of the few countries in the world that is still Covid-free, even as many of its Pacific neighbors have seen their first Covid spread in the past several...

Solomon Islands has lost millions of dollars in tax revenue as a result of the recent covid-19 lockdowns imposed at the beginning of community transmission last month. Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare announced the staggering figures in his address to the nation. According to Sogavare, preliminary findings from the Central Bank of Solomon Islands (CBSI) show the direct loss of tax revenues...

The Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) are expecting to host IOC President Thomas Bach at its 42nd General Assembly in Nadi, Fiji in May this year. President Bach has a close relationship with Oceania, the smallest of the five continents in the Olympic Movement but positioned in the world’s largest ocean and probably, the most challenging in terms of distance...

Pacific newcomers Fijian Drua had a rude introduction to Super Rugby with a heavy defeat while 12-time champions Canterbury Crusaders ground out a victory as the new season kicked off over the weekend. The southern hemisphere tournament has undergone yet another revamp this year with the addition of two Pacific islander teams for the first time to compete alongside the...