PINA

Papua New Guinea’s top Covid official has blamed his country’s poor response to the pandemic on its shattered health system and “a cabal of multilateral agencies and international NGOs”. PNG Covid controller David Manning told a University of Melbourne conference that the international aid sector had ­undermined his government’s efforts to run contact tracing and roll out vaccines. The accusation came...

United States congressional leaders have ramped up pressure on the White House to elevate focus on negotiations over Compacts of Free Association with the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and Palau — and to resolve all outstanding issues in the U.S nuclear test legacy with the Marshall Islands. Ten Congress members signed a letter earlier this month to Jack...

The British High Commissioner to New Zealand says it's not her place to single out specific countries which need to do better on climate change, but that everyone could stand to be more ambitious in the aftermath of COP26. In an exclusive interview with Newsroom, Laura Clarke said the climate summit in Glasgow succeeded at keeping the goal of limiting...

A landmark judgment in the Pacific country of Kiribati has ruled the government’s actions in blocking an Australian, a judge on Kiribati’s high court, from returning to the island were unconstitutional. When David Lambourne left Kiribati in February 2020 to attend a conference in Australia, he thought it would be a brief and uneventful trip. Instead, the Australian judge, who...

Slow vaccine take-up among Pacific nations will dramatically hamper regional COVID-19 recovery efforts with some countries not expected to reach high rates for another five years, new research shows. It comes as Australia has began to open up its international borders to nearby neighbours, New Zealand and Singapore, as part of its slow reopening to the world. But the rate of...

Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says Fiji remains on track to welcome back tourists in less than one week. Speaking on Radio Fiji One’s – Nai Lalakai programnme, Bainimarama says it’s pleasing to note that 90 percent of Fijians are fully vaccinated. He said Fiji is one of the most highly vaccinated countries in the world and this is good news...

The Cook Islands Prime Minister is calling on the international finance community to recognise the debt small island states are taking on for climate adaptation and mitigation. Mark Brown said because the world's largest emitters refuse to phase out coal and because COP26 failed to deliver any positive climate finance outcomes, countries like his have to dig deep into their...

By ‘Ofa-Ki-Levuka Guttenbeil-Likiliki As in 2008, 2010 and 2014, none of the female candidates standing in Tonga’s 2021 general election were successful. Out of a total of 38,500 votes, 34,198 were cast for the male candidates and only 4,352 were cast for the 12 female candidates, down from 14% of total votes in 2017 to 11% in 2021. The only female...

The World Rugby Council will consider a proposal this week to change the sport's eligibility rules to make it easier for players to switch their international allegiance, following a three year stand-down. Under the current regulations, once a player has represented one country at international level they cannot turn out for another, unless they utilise an unintended sevens loophole. Former Tonga...

Vodafone Flying Fijians were held 15-all by a tough Georgian side in its final Northern tour test match in Madrid, Spain. The Lelos made a perfect start in the first half and proved too strong for the Flying Fijians in every aspect of the game. Their forwards were on the right track, outplaying the visitors in the majority of the...