PINA

Papua New Guinea’s three biggest hospitals are fighting an uphill battle against COVID -19, with one reporting two to three deaths per day. The Port Moresby General Hospital, Mount Hagen General Hospital and the Goroka Base Hospital –– the latter two based in the Highlands region –– all reported that no one is safe in Papua New Guinea from COVID-19. “Everybody...

Fiji has recorded 22 new cases of COVID-19 Monday, increasing the total number of cases to 51,154 and 632 deaths since the outbreak in April. Permanent secretary for Health, Dr James Fong said there have been 3,941 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 8,898 active cases. “There have been 51,154 cases during the...

New Caledonia has recorded another seven fatalities linked to Covid-19, raising the tally of the outbreak to 157. Another 155 people have tested positive, bringing the number of infections to 8,142 since the start of the outbreak four weeks ago. 5,810 of the cases are now reported to have recovered. 277 Covid-19 patients are in hospital and a further 109 are being...

Japan’s new Prime minister, Fumio Kishida, on Monday called a parliamentary election for 31 October and vowed to bolster the country's response to the coronavirus pandemic, shortly after being formally confirmed by lawmakers in the top job. Kishida, a 64-year-old former foreign minister with an image as a consensus builder, earlier unveiled a cabinet line-up dominated by allies of former...

A New Zealand Supreme Court ruling against seabed mining has been described as important for the Pacific region. After a long legal process the Supreme Court has ruled against a bid by Trans Tasman Resources to mine the South Taranaki seabed. The ruling was welcomed by Te Paati Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer of Ngāti Ruanui iwi in South Taranaki, who led...

A lot of ANZ customers in Fiji were struggling which was expected in the business environment, according to ANZ Country head to Fiji Rabih Yazbek. “So from ANZ’s perspective, we’re kind of stepping up and committing to helping our customers,” he said. “It’s a tough environment and we are focused on being able to support the customers, the community and the...

Eighteen students from the University of the South Pacific USP) have successfully passed their assessments from the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC) internship webinar programme. Held in August, students from across the region not only grasped essential development purposes of PCRIC and other international sovereign disaster risk finance (DRF) programMEs but they also deftly conveyed their personal ideas about...

Climate change is a contributor to poverty in Fiji, says Pacific Islands Forum director programmes and initiatives Zarak Khan. He made the comment in a World Bank Report on Archipelagic Economies. Khan said Fijians had lost income when their resources and sources of income were damaged by natural disasters caused by climate change. “I’ve got relatives living in Nabouwalu in Fiji and...

While the world has taken to living with Covid-19, Papua New Guinea still has a lot to learn in doing the same, PNG Prime Minister James Marape says. As he arrived into the country after a two-week trip to the United States, Marape said that while he was prime minister, that still did not stop him from going through the...

Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and the outgoing Commander Rear-Admiral (ret’d) Viliame Naupoto officiated the promotion ceremony of the new Commander Republic of Fiji Military Forces(RFMF) Brigadier-General Jone Kalouniwai to the rank of Major-General at the Officers Mess in Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Nabua today. The occasion was witnessed by the Minister of Defence Inia Seruiratu, the deputy Commander Commodore Humphery...