PINA

Geopolitical games in the Pacific between major superpowers will not distract island Governments from their main political priorities, the newly-appointed Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna says. The former Cook Islands Prime Minister spoke to regional media in his first Meet the Press Talanoa Session last Wednesday, at which the Secretary-General said the Pacific was open for business with partners...

Vanuatu's prime minister Bob Loughman has defeated a motion of no confidence against him in Parliament this morning. The motion was deposited by the opposition leader, Ralph Regenvanu, citing six main reasons for seeking to remove the prime minister, most relating to alleged excessive and unwarranted spending by government. Loughman won the confidence vote with the support of 27 MPs in...

The Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna says he has no concerns over how quickly national authorities across the Pacific are running their mass vaccination rollout schemes. And he is heartened to see health officials in countries such as Fiji and Papua New Guinea move quickly to address the pandemic, as cases continue to increase in the region's two largest...

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has called for foreign intervention in the position of Commissioner for Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and other top positions in the state departments. Marape said this is to put an end to nepotism and corruption in the country. He made this call when speaking to the Australian High Commissioner to PNG Jon Philp...

The pools for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic rugby sevens competitions have been confirmed as players, teams and fans countdown to the kick-off at Tokyo Stadium on 26 July. The 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams have been allocated to three pools of four teams, according to rankings based upon performances in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and other World...

STAR)---Saints and Tonga coach Kristian Woolf has called for an end to the uncertainty over the 2021 World Cup and says his Tongan players are unwavering in their commitment. Four months out from the opening game between England and Samoa at Newcastle's St James' Park, the 16 competing nations still do not know if the event will be held as...

The Teieniwa Vision Gathering in Tarawa, Kiribati from 4 to 5 February 2020 with the President of Kiribati as the Chair, we, the Prime Minister of Samoa, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, Vice President of Kiribati, Ministers from the Kingdom of Tonga and the Solomon Islands, Ambassador of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, High Commissioners of Australia and...

Samoa caretaker Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr Sailele Malielegaoi says the post election process is not yet complete, and all 51 electoral consituents of Samoa have to be represented at the first convening of Parliament after a general election. Tuilaepa was speaking to Radio 2AP on Monday after the handing down of a Supreme Court decision that not only declared the...

Fiji has reported 241 new cases of COVID-19 infections and one death Monday. Ministry of Health permanent secretary Dr James Fong says five cases are prison officers from Suva who are undergoing 14 days’ quarantine at the FSC Compound in Rakiraki as part of essential movement from red zone to green zone when they tested positive. “They were undergoing 14 days’...

The Australian Department of Defence has announced it will arm the Papua New Guinea Defence Force’s four new Guardian-class Patrol Boats. The equipment will be delivered through the Pacific Maritime Security Programme along with a ‘comprehensive support and training package’, the department said on Friday. Under the $2 billion (US$1.5 billion), 30-year programme, Australia will deliver 21 Guardian-class Patrol Boats to...