PINA

The most pressing disaster facing the Pacific right now continues to be the COVID-19 pandemic. And every place is different. After closing its borders and aggressively vaccinating, Palau has recently recorded it first case. While PNG has recorded more than 160 deaths and 16,000 cases, in Samoa, there has been only one case and no deaths, according to the World Health Organisation. The...

With more than 100,000 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine remaining and the expiry date looming, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape is appealing to people to take the vaccine that was made available despite a global shortage. Marape, who took the first dose of the vaccine in March, took the second dose Thursday at the Covid-19 National Control...

Newspapers across the Pacific are seeking new newsprint suppliers after the 66-year-old Norske Skog paper mill in Kawerau, New Zealand unexpectedly announced it was closing by the month's end. The company, which made the announcement on Thursday, did not say how many newspapers in the Pacific relied upon its products to produce their newspapers. But it is understood that a significant...

Vanuatu Speaker of Parliament’s counsel has filed an application for the Court to struck out the application by the 19 Members of Parliament in its entirety, with costs. The development on the constitutional application of the 19 Government MPs comes after Supreme Court judge, Justice Oliver Saksak, granted a stay on the Speaker’s ruling on the vacation of 19 seats. This...

Samoa caretaker Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi says he was not aware the Fa’atuatua I le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) was planning a takeover on Thursday, claiming he thought it was going to be a continuation of their negotiations. Speaking late Thursday on state-owned radio 2AP’s weekly programme, Tuilaepa said he did not know FAST was planning to bring...

By Joshua Macdonald BANABA, 10 JUNE 2021 (THE GUARDIAN) --- The last decent rain on Banaba was more than a year ago. Without rain, people on the isolated central Pacific island, which is part of the country of Kiribati, have been forced to rely on a desalination plant for all their water for drinking, bathing and growing crops. But in late November...

The authorities’ actions are reinforcing the already widespread atmosphere of self-censorship, preventing participation in governance and public affairs, and extinguishing an important safeguard for government accountability. We, the undersigned international human rights organisations, call on the Cambodian government to immediately stop its assault on freedom of expression in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent months, the government has...

Ending the “war on nature” must be part of global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday in his message for World Oceans Day. The annual commemoration on 08 June is a reminder of the major role oceans have in everyday life as “the lungs of our Planet” and as a source of food and...

The United Nations Security Council has formally selected the current Secretary-General António Guterres as its nominee to serve a second five-year term in the UN’s top job. The recommendation, made in a resolution adopted by acclamation in a private meeting, now goes to the 193-member General Assembly for formal approval. In a statement, Guterres said it was “a great honour” to...

The man who returned a positive test for Covid-19 last week in Cook Islands will appear in court this Thursday. The man, who is a Cook Islander and works overseas, has been charged with making a false declaration on a travel document. Police arrested the man on Saturday after the matter was referred to them by Te Marae Ora health ministry....