PINA

Australia will open its border for fully vaccinated tourists and all visa holders, a decision branded “bittersweet” by those who have missed funerals in recent weeks due to ongoing restrictions. Scott Morrison on Monday announced the nation would open to all fully vaccinated visa holders, including tourists, on 21 February, almost two years after borders were first closed. The borders have...

Three of New Caledonia's four members of the French legislature have jointly declared support for Emmanuel Macron in this year's presidential election. The three politicians of the anti-independence Caledonia Together party - Philippe Gomes, Gerard Poadja and Philippe Dunoyer - issued a joint statement, even though Macron is yet to formally register a re-election bid. In the 2017 election, voters in...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Monday announced the release of a US$5 million (SBD$40.3 million) grant from its Pacific Disaster Resilience Programme (Phase 3) to help finance the Government of Solomon Islands’ response to community transmission of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Solomon Islands experienced a sharp increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases and recorded its first COVID-19-related death since an imported...

By offering more effective training opportunities through its Seasonal Worker Programme, the Australian Government can contribute to the lives of workers and their home communities and better realise its development goals, Rochelle Lee-Bailey and Elise Howard write. Seasonal workers from Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste are an integral part of the agricultural labour force in Australia and New Zealand. Workers...

Australian and New Zealand rugby officials are mulling a rule change to allow Super Rugby games to start with uncontested scrums in the event of a Covid-19 outbreak this season. As the Queensland Reds reel from a viral cluster that has felled five of their biggest names just 10 days out from the start of the season, competition administrators are...

Pacific athletes are celebrating a female surfing championship that took place in Hawaii over the weekend, an event that has been generations in the making. The annual Pipe Masters has been running for more than 50 years and is known for its huge waves that form large, tube-like tunnels that surfers can ride through. Local wildcard Moana Jones Wong won the...

U. S Secretary of State Antony Blinken will aim with a trip to the Pacific this week to remind the world that Washington's strategic long-term focus remains with the Asia-Pacific region despite an escalating crisis with Russia over Ukraine. Blinken is due to depart on Monday for Australia, Fiji and Hawaii for meetings with key allies and to reaffirm a...

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare says he has been informed that one in two residents in Honiara are infected with the COVID-19 virus. That means close to 50,000 people living in Honiara are now infected with the virus. The Prime Minister made the startling revelation during his nationwide address on the national broadcaster, SIBC. He said the situation in Honiara is...

The Pacific Islands Forum and the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC) have confirmed a new partnership which includes the placement of a Forum PCRIC Regional Coordinator to provide advice and capacity building to Pacific Island Countries. In a virtual meeting held this week, the PIFS Deputy Secretary General, Dr Filimon Manoni and PCRIC Chief Executive Officer, Aholotu Palu, reaffirmed...

Fiji Rugby Union Chief Executive Officer John O’Connor has today confirmed the appointment former Sevens Rugby World Cup winner Viliame Satala as an Assistant coach for the Fiji Airways Fijian 7s team after discussions with Fiji Airways Fijian 7s Head Coach, Ben Gollings. He also confirmed the appointment of dual Olympic Games gold medalist Jerry Tuwai as player/assistant coach to...