PINA

By Marty Logan Do you know if midwife services are available at the Saupia Health Centre in Paunangisu, on the island of Efate in Vanuatu, in the Pacific Islands? I do, and I’ve never been within 1,000 kilometres of the facility — I found the information online within seconds thanks to a data platform called Tupaia. Developed in 2017 as a...

By Keith Jackson A report by Transparency International PNG (TIPNG) on how the Papua New Guinea government is meeting its obligations under the United Nations Convention against corruption has highlighted “a multitude of deficiencies hindering the successful implementation” of the Convention. In summary the TIPNG report concludes that the PNG government has been only partially compliant with its obligations. This is...

The European Union reaffirms its commitment to help the Fijian Government fight its second wave of COVID-19 by providing a further EUR 5 million (FJD$12.3 million) to support sustainable rural livelihoods. The funds are targeted at the implementation of the agriculture sector strategy of the Government of Fiji. At a time when the fiscal environment is extremely constrained, they take...

The World Bank’s Board of executive directors has approved a US$30 million project in Marshall Islands, where access to high-speed internet remains extremely limited and costly, that will secure faster, more reliable, and more affordable internet access across the country. In addition to expanding online access, the Digital RMI project aims to promote private sector investment in climate-resilient digital infrastructure...

Vanuatu Council of Ministers (COM) has approved a VT10 million (US$89,280) donation to support Fiji during this COVID-19 pandemic. This was formally recorded in COM decision No. 182, during the Council’s 18th Ordinary Meeting. Director of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and External Trade (MOFAICET), Yvon Basil ,affirmed that Fiji is one of Vanuatu’s very close partners. “Vanuatu has a good relationship with...

Fiji Airways, Fiji’s national carrier, today commemorated its 70th anniversary. The occasion was marked by Fiji Airways staff connected virtually from around Fiji and global offices to reminisce the airline’s 70-year history and rally around their commitment to ensure its survival post-pandemic. Fiji Airways took off on its first flight one 1st September 1951, as founder Harold Gatty’s 7-seater De Havilland...

Lady Patricia Scotland, the secretary general of the Commonwealth, and a long-time target of the Conservative government, faces a challenge for her post from the Kenyan defence minister with the support of the Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta. Kenya’s defence minister, Monica Juma, was nominated on Tuesday for the post in a surprise move, which came despite the fact no date...

Fiji has recorded 505 new cases of COVID-19 and seven new deaths Tuesday, increasing the total number of cases in the Pacific nation to 46,646 and 494 deaths since the outbreak in April. Permanent secretary for Health, Dr James Fong said 343 cases are from the Western division, 105 cases are from the Central division in Vitilevu, Fiji's main island...

More than 160 seasonal workers from Vanuatu have landed in Darwin to bolster the Northern Territory's mango-picking workforce for this year's harvest. The workers arrived on a chartered flight from Port Vila on Tuesday and will spend the next 14 days at Howard Springs quarantine facility, before heading to work across Top End orchards. The group will join dozens of ni-Vanuatu...

Members of the Papua New Guinea Special Police Forensic Criminal Investigation Team (SPFCIT) on Monday arrested and charged former Acting Managing Director of PNG Power Limited, 48-year-old Australian woman Carolyn Blacklock in Port Moresby. The team established under office of Commissioner of Police have been conducting a combined forensic and criminal investigation into high level financial crimes. Blacklock is alleged to...