PINA

The health impacts of COVID-19 are well known in places like Fiji and Papua New Guinea but even Pacific countries with no community transmission of the virus have been devastated by the economic fallout from the pandemic. A survey by aid organisation World Vision in PNG, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Timor Leste found that nearly 60 percent of households have...

While Fiji prepares to welcome Australian tourists back to its beaches for Christmas, other Pacific countries aren't rushing to follow suit. The announcement last week that Fiji would start accepting international visitors from December saw a flurry of holiday bookings to the tropical destination. Sydney resident Andrew Aston said planning a Christmas trip to Fiji with his partner Zac felt like...

Geopolitical competition in the Pacific is not necessarily the heated knife fight that international media often make it out to be. That's according to the president of the Federated States of Micronesia, a Pacific Islands country of significant geostrategic interest, who is taking an optimistic approach to the subject of regional security during a time of crisis. The FSM is an...

The loss of work and skyrocketing food prices, brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, could lead to an increase in child stunting in the Pacific, experts have warned. A new report from World Vision, found that 60 percent of people in Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste having lost their job or main source of income due to...

By Nic Maclellan As France’s Overseas Minister Sébastien Lecornu visits Noumea, supporters and opponents of independence are debating whether the next New Caledonia referendum on self-determination should proceed in December. Key independence parties have long called for the referendum to be held in late 2022 and are pressing Lecornu to defer the poll. Anti-independence politicians believe that the vote should...

As the 2022 General Election looms, firearms are being smuggled into the Papua New Guinea Highlands region from various parts of the country, says an identified firearms dealer. According to the dealer who is from the Southern Highland’s upper Mendi area who agreed to speak to the Post-Courier anonymously, the demand for firearms has increased significantly –– especially from intending...

Fiji is one of six Pacific Island countries to have submitted its enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) in the 2020/2021 timeframe. Regional NDC Hub Project Manager, Christian Goerg says the six countries are Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Marshall Islands. Speaking at the GIZ Pacific NDC Hub Regional Media Dialogue Tuesday, Goerg says the enhanced NDC’s contain...

French Polynesia's president Edouard Fritch says the vaccination law will be amended as opposition to any form of compulsion continues. Following weeks of protests against the law making Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory, some unions consider strike action. Fritch said changes may be discussed as soon as this week and would be aimed to clarify the importance of the vaccination. Last week, President Fritch...

A leading anti-independence politician in New Caledonia Sonia Backes has rejected calls for the referendum on independence from France to be postponed, saying it should be held as planned. Pro-independence politicians have asked Paris to postpone the vote, which is due on 12 December, until next year because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Kanak population. About 10,000...

Richie Berrington crunched a fabulous 70 and Josh Davey took four wickets as Scotland moved to the brink of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Super 12 with a 17-run win against Papua New Guinea. Berrington arrived at the crease with Scotland on 26 for two and struck nine boundaries in a 49-ball knock that set them on the path...