PINA

The East Asia and Pacific region’s recovery has been undermined by the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant, prolonging the distress for firms and households, likely slowing economic growth and increasing inequality, the World Bank said on Monday. Economic activity began to slow down in the second quarter of 2021, and growth forecasts have been downgraded for most countries in...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has joined with the governments of New Zealand and Australia to help Solomon Islands overhaul its tax system to expand and secure the country's revenue base. The US$20.1 million, five-year Domestic Resource Mobilisation Project will restructure Solomon Islands' Inland Revenue Division (IRD), install a new tax administration information system, train and upskill staff, and deliver...

Eighteen months after the onset of the pandemic, tourism, the life blood of the economy, is still at a virtual standstill, trade flows are disrupted, and business activities are curtailed. As a result, the economy is expected to contract by a further 4.1 percent in 2021. The impact on livelihoods is severe and exacerbated by the frequent severe tropical...

The United Kingdom is a long way from the Pacific. But London is front and centre of moves to secure this region against the perceived China threat while Pacific Islands themselves complain they are sidelined. The AUKUS alliance has come as an unwelcome surprise to at least one Pacific leader. Kiribati President Taneti Maamau said he was not consulted. He has told...

The President of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), David Panuelo, has committed his island nation to the Global Methane Pledge; which seeks a 30 percent reduction from 2020 methane levels by 2030. In a letter to John Kerry, the U.S Special Presidential envoy for Climate, President Panuelo said “This ambitious goal, when coupled with mitigation of other short-lived climate...

The British High Commissioner to Fiji George Edgar received the Pacific youth demands for the upcoming COP26 climate summit during the Youth4Pacific: Pre-COP Gathering, which concluded on Friday. The two-day Youth4Pacific: Pre-COP Gathering, held virtually on 23 – 24 September 2021, had close to 610 young people from the Pacific and the Pasifika diaspora participating from 33 countries. There were six...

By Clementine Rendle, Regional Legal Advisor at the International Committee of the Red Cross Snow isn’t something we picture when we think of Pacific Island countries, with their stretches of crystal-clear water, warm sand and palm trees. But as ash fell from the sky onto the Marshall Islands in 1954, it floated down like snow. This snow didn’t melt away...

The Fijian Drua today announced a further five players who will join the squad for the club’s debut Super Rugby season. Stepping onboard the Drua are outstanding 7s forward Ratu Meli Derenalagi, Flying Fijian and former NRC Drua stalwart Serupepeli Vularika, Suva prop Meli Tuni, Namosi flyer Vinaya Habosi, and NPC Premiership winning Tasman Mako forward Te Ahiwaru Cirikidaveta. Fijian Drua...

British High Commissioner to Fiji, George Edgar has emphasised the importance of a strong Pacific voice in Glasgow, Scotland during the global climate change talks, known as COP26 in November. While receiving the Youth4Pacific Declaration on Climate Change, Edgar assured that the voices of Pacific youth will be passed on to the COP26 Presidency. More than 600 participants from 33 countries...

Come visit the Maldives, its president entreated the world at this year’s United Nations General Assembly(UNGA), moments before switching to an impassioned plea for help combating climate change. The adjacent appeals illustrated a central dilemma for many small island developing states: their livelihoods, or their lives? The United Nations recognises 38 member states, scattered across the world’s waters, as small...