PINA

Tongan King Tupou VI in addressing the first National Symposium on illicit drugs Wednesday said the problem is a national issue that requires an urgent integrated national response. Educating everyone on the effects of illicit drugs is a priority. “Our government must allocate and prioritize finances towards this important endeavour as a matter of urgency,” the king said. The royal address...

The number of COVID-19 cases and deaths has continued to decline globally, with 3.1 million new cases and just over 54,000 new deaths, reported over the last week, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Compared to the previous week, this represents a nine percent decrease in cases, while deaths remained similar, the WHO said in its weekly epidemiological update. This...

The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and the U.S environmental organisation the Nature Conservancy have announced a new partnership to launch a new brand of tuna that will see profits returned to Pacific island communities that are facing escalating climate risks. Pacific Island Tuna (PIT) will supply canned tuna, certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, to Walmart for its...

IMO's Technical Cooperation Committee at its 71st session (TC 71) (20-24 September) has approved the establishment of an IMO Regional Presence Office (RPO) for the Pacific Islands region. If approved at the thirty-fourth extraordinary session of the Council (08 - 12 November 2021), this will see the Pacific Region become the sixth to feature an IMO RPO. The existing RPOs are:...

Tax evasion topped the list of case re­ports that was picked up by the Fiji Financial Intelligence Unit last year. This equates to $54,216,419 (US$25,820,346.71) worth of intelli­gence and 128 cases that was passed on to the Fiji Revenue Customs Service Tax Division for investigation. Director of the Fiji Financial Intelligence Unit, Razim Buksh made the comment dur­ing a Fijian Media...

The Cook Islands made an appearance in the Pandora Papers – the leaked cache of 11.9 million financial records – which includes a high-profile Israeli businessman who allegedly tried to hide over US$1 billion in a trust company here. The Pandora Papers is the name given to the confidential information unlocked from 14 offshore financial service providers – including one...

The global Pandora Papers leak has shed light on the links between an Australian accountant who set up an offshore financial advisory firm in Samoa, and the Pacific nation's government. Asiaciti Trust, founded by Graeme Briggs, is one of 14 such firms that had a total of 12 million internal documents leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Two million...

After months of keeping each other safe and staying home, Tourism Fiji know you’re ready to get out and explore Fiji again In line with the Fijian Government’s announcement of an easing of domestic travel restrictions from 04 October 2021, Tourism Fiji launched their domestic campaign ‘Now is your time Fiji!’. With a plethora of unique and immersive unexplored experiences in...

Papua New Guinea's biggest hospital, which recorded four Covid-19 deaths in one week, and more than 80 patients admitted, will scale down services from today, Port Moresby General Hospital chief executive officer says. Dr Paki Molumi warned of a third surge in Covid-19 cases which he said was worse than the second one. “This is the worst we have experienced,” he...

By Island Times Team (First of the two-part investigative article on the US pandemic assistance to Palau under the WIOA programme) After a handful of complaints and social media inquiries, the Workforce Investment Opportunity Act (WIOA) office, a U.S federal government grant programme burst into national attention as early as 19 February last year as two individuals went on radio...