PINA

The Court of Appeal ruled on Friday that the Faatuatua ile Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party was Samoa's new Government bringing three months of political stalemate to a close. The court, the highest in the country, found that a swearing-in ceremony conducted by the party on the lawns of Parliament on 24 May was in fact legally binding, immediately...

By Makereta Komai, PACNEWS Editor at the Tokyo 2020 Games Vanuatu’s flag bearer at the Tokyo 2020 Games due to open tonight was the first Pacific athlete to compete in the men’s 2000m single scull rowing at 8.40am local time. Riilio Rii was placed 6th in a string field of competitors from Greece, New Zealand, Peru, Monaco and Dominican Republic in...

Tackling illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is often a challenge for countries in the Pacific due to many reasons. Unavailability of maritime assets is one. On Monday, 28 June 2021, Solomon Islands officially took ownership of a new Guardian-class patrol boat, RSIPV Taro 06, thanks to the government of Australia. The new asset is the second to be handed...

By Ronald Toito'ona The Noro Port in the Western province of Solomon Islands has become the first e-port in the Pacific region, after launching a digitally integrated catch documentation and traceability scheme on 24 June. The launch was a landmark for the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR), the local tuna industry, customs and health departments – it is the...

-Fiji has recorded 918 new cases of COVID-19 and 15 deaths reported. Permanent secretary for Health, Dr James Fong said that out of the 15 deaths, 12, or 80 per cent were those that were not vaccinated whereas the remaining three had been partially vaccinated. Seven additional deaths during the same period were attributed to non-COVID illnesses. “The first COVID-19 death...

Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says there are no easy ways around this COVID-19 pandemic. “We have to meet it head-on, and we are,” Bainimarama said in Suva while receiving more than 150,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from the U.S Government. He said Fijian frontline workers had been working tirelessly and selflessly in hospitals, homes, offices and informal settlements...

-Vaccine rollout in Solomon Islands and across the Pacific is critical to economic recovery. And Australia is leading efforts to vaccinate countries in the region with its vaccine dose supply expected to reach one million by the end of next week. Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Zed Seselja told Pacific journalists this week that his government is committed...

The Samoa Law Society (SLS) Vice President has responded to comments made by caretaker Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, who has called for younger members of the Society to be reprimanded for dishonoring the Head of State by questioning his powers. During an interview with TV3, Tuilaepa said office bearers of SLS were young and naive ‘faafiapoko and the professional...

The Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) has announced the re-election of its President, Dr Robin Mitchell of Fiji into the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for another four-year term. His new term is from 2021 to 2024. The election was part of the second day of the IOC Meeting in Tokyo that concluded Wednesday, ahead of...

New variants of the Covid-19 virus will make it hard for countries like Cook Islands to achieve herd immunity, says a leading Pacific health expert. Herd immunity is no guarantee, says Doctor Collin Tukuitonga from the University of Auckland. “The problem with herd immunity, it’s not like you get to this per cent and everybody is sweet,” said Dr Tukuitonga. “Herd immunity...