PINA

Two international statistics organisations have written to Fiji’s Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama to express their concern over the dismissal of the Fiji statistician, Kemueli Naiqama, as CEO of the Fiji Bureau of Statistics from office. Naiqama’s contract was terminated over the release of data desegregated by ethnicity and religious belief in the Fiji Household and Income Survey (HIES) last month. At...

The office of the President of Vanuatu has welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court on the Constitutional application of Ombudsman, Hamlison Bulu, over President Obed Moses Tallis’ recent pardoning of three former Prime Ministers. Principal Private Secretary of the State Office, Peter Bong, said they applauded the court decision which dismissed the application at the conference level. This, he...

The Office of the Electoral Commissioner(OEC) has announced Friday 12 November as the official polling day for Samoa’s seven pending by-elections. In a public statement the OEC confirmed Speaker Papalii Li’o Oloipola Ta’eu Masipa’u has issued the official warrant instructing the Electoral Commissioner to proceed with issuing of the Writs for the seven by-elections to return the seats of electoral...

UN Climate Change will cover the extra accommodation costs of developing country delegates who test positive for Covid-19 during the Cop26 climate talks and need to self-isolate. COP26 president designate Alok Sharma announced the latest solidarity measures in a speech in Paris on Tuesday, setting out his priorities and expectations for COP26. “It will be an extraordinary Cop in extraordinary times....

COVID-19 cannot be removed completely from society. Local and international health experts say discipline is needed to ensure people’s safety. Fiji Medical Association President, Dr Basharat Munshi said the Covid-19 is here to stay and vaccination will guarantee high levels of immunity. “This disease will be downgraded to like a common cold or flu. It will no longer be as deadly as...

Seventeen doctors at the Solomon Islands National Referral Hospital (NRH) continue to avoid being vaccinated. This is according to the chief executive officer of the NRH, Dr George Malefoasi. He confirmed this during a press conference with local journalists at the Prime Minister’s Office. He said there are 95 doctors from key departments at the NRH; of this total number, 17 doctor...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) today announced it is elevating its ambition to deliver climate financing to its developing member countries (DMCs) to US$100 billion from 2019–2030. “The battle against climate change will be won or lost in Asia and the Pacific,” said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa. “The climate crisis is worsening daily, prompting many to call for increased climate finance....

By Ben Bilua Trade talks aimed at creating rules to stop countries providing harmful subsidies to their fishing fleets are reaching a climax with much at stake for Solomon Islands and the Pacific. Mere Falemaka, the Geneva-based Pacific Ambassador to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has spent the last 8 years of her life working for a good outcome for Pacific...

Cook Islands tourism industry is set to face competition from Fiji when the quarantine free travel with New Zealand resumes. After 19 months without visitors, Fiji will welcome fully vaccinated tourists from 01 December, meaning fully vaccinated travellers can visit the country without quarantining. New Zealand is one of 15 “travel partner” countries on Fiji’s green list. New Zealand is also...

The NIWA and MetService assessment of named tropical cyclone (TC) activity indicates 9 to 12 named TCs could occur in the Southwest Pacific basin between November 2021 and April 2022. The seasonal outlook is for normal to slightly above normal activity in terms of overall named TCs in the region. Tropical cyclones have a significant impact across the Southwest Pacific,...