PINA

A Fijian village has sprung up on the NSW far north coast. On a sliver of land flanked by Lake Ainsworth on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other, its Sigatoka meets Lennox Head. There’s a cluster of timber cabins on your left, with towels and t-shirts, slung over railings, push bikes left where their riders disembarked and...

When captain Nemani Nagusa leads out the Fijian Drua against the New South Wales Waratahs on Friday it will end a long wait, and kickstart a new era for Super Rugby. Six years after World Rugby’s Rugby Committee met in Suva to discuss ways to further support the game in the Pacific Islands, two teams from the region will feature...

The Swire Shipping Fijian Drua will perform a war cry or ‘I-Bole’ at CommBank Stadium in Paramatta before playing the New South Wales Waratahs today. It’s a new challenge which was put together by Head of Athletic Performance Nacani Cawanibuka, players with some assistance from the I-Taukei Affairs. What’s different about the Drua ‘I-Bole’ is it starts off with the bible...

French Polynesia’s Tauhiti Nena has been elected as the new President of the Oceania Boxing Confederation (OCBC) after polling 80 percent of the vote against his only candidate, Fiji's Manasa Baravilala. The 51-year-old replaces Australia's Ted Tanner, who had led the Continental Federation since 2014, but decided not to stand for a third term. Nena, born in Papeete, on Tahiti, the...

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown welcomes the decision by the Micronesian Leaders to “pause” their withdrawal from the Pacific Islands Forum to enable additional time for further dialogue in seeking a resolution to the current situation. As one of the founding Members, the Cook Islands are acutely aware of the history and standing of the Forum that has been...

Papua New Guinea Justice Minister and Madang MP Bryan Kramer has been referred to the Public Prosecutor by the Ombudsman Commission for 14 counts of alleged misconduct charges. The minister made this known at a media conference Wednesday after the Ombudsman Commission delivered a letter informing him of the allegations and the referral. Kramer has often been labelled as a ‘corruption...

Ramping up vaccinations is critical in the Solomon Islands as COVID-19 crashes across the country overloading the country's fragile health system from the capital city Honiara to remote islands and villages. Free of COVID-19 in the community one month ago, the Solomon Islands has reported nearly 5,000 infections and more than 50 deaths. Last week, authorities said one in every...

The world has failed to meet a single target to stem the destruction of wildlife and life-sustaining ecosystems in the last decade, according to a devastating new report from the UN on the state of nature. From tackling pollution to protecting coral reefs, the international community did not fully achieve any of the 20 Aichi biodiversity targets agreed in Japan...

Australian Defence Force and Republic of Fiji Military Forces personnel are working side-by-side on Atata Island in Tonga to clear tsunami debris, remediate eroded beaches and make community buildings safe. The Australians and Fijians and several other nations are providing support to the Government of Tonga following the undersea eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai underwater volcano on 15 January...

By Jose Sousa-Santos The illicit drugs trade in the Pacific Islands continues to evolve despite Covid-19 border closures. The seizure of more than 500 kilograms of cocaine in Papua New Guinea in 2020 demonstrated that the pandemic had not diminished the trafficking of drugs through the region. Destined for Australia, and with a street value estimated at AUD$81 million...