PINA

Fijian Speaker of Parliament, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau has rejected three petitions against the iTaukei Land Trust Amendment Bill. Three separate petitions were filed by SODELPA leader Viliame Gavoka, Opposition Whip Lynda Tabuya, and MP Jese Saukuru, calling for Bill 17 to be withdrawn. Ratu Epeli informed the House the Bill was introduced, along with the 2021/2022 National Budget, a majority of...

by Nick Rogers and Richard Reinen-Hamill With a resolution to Samoa's election crisis seemingly reached, several Pacific experts have set out how the country may be able to avoid a repeat in future More than three months after a nail-biting election contest, the people of Samoa finally know the identity of their next government. April’s contest left Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono...

Australia’s AstraZeneca vaccine rollout in the Pacific Islands to hit one million doses by the end of the week, according to International Development Minister. Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Zed Seselja, says the vaccine rollout to island nations has had “significant uptake” as COVID-19 continues to impact the region. Australia has committed 15 million doses of AstraZeneca to assist...

Fiji records 715 new cases of COVID-19 and 11 deaths Tuesday. Ministry of Health and Medical Services permanent secretary Dr James Fong said 97 cases were from the Western division and 618 cases from the Central division on Vitilevu, Fiji's main island. He also reported 11 new COVID-19 deaths from 22-27 July including a health worker. “A 46-year-old healthcare worker from the...

Minister for Defence Inia Seruiratu says Fijians are not playing their part in helping to end the COVID-19 outbreak in Fiji. With case numbers above 20,000 and about 200 people dead, Seruiratu has told parliament that government measures and restrictions are futile without public acceptance and compliance. “Our complacency and disobedience are perhaps the greatest security threat to our hopes to...

The United States and the Federated States of Micronesia have agreed on a plan to build a military base in the Pacific island nation, in line with the Pentagon's strategic ambition to increase its footprint in the Indo-Pacific region and keep China at bay. Reaching a consensus on defence buildup in Micronesia capped the “high-level defence talks” held this week...

By Makereta Komai, PACNEWS Editor in Tokyo Ahead of today’s semi-final match against Great Britain, New Zealand men’s sevens rugby coach Clark Laidlaw is determined to atone for the disappointment quarter-final exit in Rio 2016. After beating Canada 21-10 in the first quarter-final match Tuesday, Laidlaw is happy that his boys have made it to the semi-finals. "Sevens is such a fickle...

Tongan taekwondo player Malia Paseka of Tonga’s brief and bruising Olympic debut consisted of just two things: being kicked in the head and falling down. Neither ideal when you are the first female fighter from your nation ever to take on the best in the world at Olympic level. But Paseka insisted it was all “a pleasure and an honour” after...

Fiji, New Zealand and South Africa have qualified for the medal quarter-finals unbeaten on day two of the men’s Olympic Sevens tournament at Tokyo Stadium. New Zealand will get the last eight under way when they take on Canada, who qualified on points difference from Ireland, at 17:30 local time (GMT+9). Great Britain, who lost their first match of Tokyo 2020...

Samoa has turned a new political page as the country’s first female Prime Minister, took office today and conducted its first Cabinet meeting at the Government House in downtown Apia. Fiame Naomi Mata’afa was first elected into parliament in 1985 when she was 27 years old. Today, she occupied the Government’s seat of power in a building named after her late...