PINA

Former Associate Minister of Revenue, Sooalo Umi Mene was granted leave by the Supreme Court to withdraw his petition against FAST winner, Vaele Paiaaua Sekuini. His lawyers Lucy Sio Ofoia and Arthur Lesa confirmed before the Court on Tuesday the application to withdraw and publication of intention to drop the electoral petition. In response Vaele filed a motion to withdraw his...

In September 2019, the streets of Auckland, New Zealand were a sea of protesters. Across the globe, several million people were marching as part of the “School Strike 4 Climate” youth movement sparked by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg. But few demonstrations were more sweeping than the one in New Zealand’s largest city, where up to 80,000 marchers filled the streets. Less...

The Speaker of Parliament of Vanuatu Gracia Shadrack has resigned today amid a dispute with the government of the prime minister Bob Loughman. Last week, Shadrack declared the seats of the prime minister, the deputy prime minister and 16 other government MPs vacant for missing three sittings of parliament. The government challenged the move and a hearing of its constitutional application...

Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama has set 01 September, 2025, as the tentative date for the declaration of independence for the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. He told the House of Representatives that the Bougainville position had been tabled at the Kokopo consultation which detailed a five-year timeline from this year to 2025. “Each year comprises a number of key milestones to be...

Ten people have died in Fiji after testing positive for Covid-19 but only four had their deaths attributed to the coronavirus. The Health Ministry said six other patients had died from existing chronic conditions they had while being admitted at the country's main hospital in Suva. This has raised some concern among Fijians who are calling for an explanation over what...

The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) will open its doors to the public on 16 June in celebration of the day the SPREP Treaty was signed. Around 150 guests are expected to attend the Open Day, including students and teachers from seven schools, and diplomatic dignitaries. One special addition that has resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic is the...

Stepping up global efforts to combat land degradation is the only way to safeguard food and water security, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ward against future threats to health and the environment, the UN General Assembly President told ambassadors meeting in New York on Monday. Addressing a high-level dialogue on desertification, land degradation and drought, Volkan Bozkir described restoring nature...

Fiji's COVID-19 outbreak, fuelled by the Delta Variant which ravaged India's public health system earlier this year, is now worse than Australia and New Zealand, health authorities warned. While announcing another 89 new cases of the virus on Monday night, Fiji's Health Ministry confirmed its staff are tired and some working at the country's main hospital have been infected. The Fiji...

Flying Fijians Head Coach Vern Cotter has named a mixture of experience and young players for the two test matches against the All Blacks on July the 10th and 17th in Dunedin and Hamilton respectively. Cotter said “It’s an exciting squad and a perfect opportunity for the players who have been training well and the exposure within the squad against...

by Sue Farran While most Pacific islands have escaped the worst of COVID-19, a cornerstone of their economies, tourism, has taken a big hit. By June 2020, visitor arrivals in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu had completely ceased, as borders were closed and even internal travel restricted. In Fiji, where tourism generated about 40% of GDP before the pandemic,...