PINA

There's been a strong uptake from Pacific Island athletes getting vaccinated against Covid-19 in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics. The Summer Games are scheduled to begin on 23 July, after being delayed by 12 months because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The International Olympic Committee said vaccination was "encouraged" but not compulsory for athletes. Leaders at the Pacific Islands Forum meeting in...

Tom Trbojevic scored a hat-trick as a dynamic New South Wales crushed Queensland 50-6 Wednesday to draw first blood in the best-of-three State of Origin rugby league series. In front of a raucous sell-out crowd in Townsville, Brad Fittler's men took charge with a three-try blitz in nine first-half minutes, sending them to the break 20-6 ahead. And there was no...

In the wake of the Marshall Islands government dropping its 14-day quarantine period for fishing boats to enter Majuro lagoon, tuna transshipment activity leaped during May, doubling the totals of the previous four months. Transshipment data from the Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority (MIMRA) shows there were 24 transshipments in May, which included 22 involving transfer of tuna from purse...

A United States Congressman, Ed Case, from Hawaii, says Washington needs to change its view of the Pacific. He said this is the driving force behind his championing of the Blue Pacific Act, which has been before the House for the past year. The legislation, which has significant support, is aiming to establish a broad and co-ordinated U.S policy towards the...

Japan's Government says nuclear wastewater it plans to dump into the Pacific Ocean will be treated. Earlier this year it announced plans indicating that 1.25 million tons of wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant would be discharged into the Pacific. Last month, the outgoing Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Dame Meg Taylor, expressed concern over a lack...

Fiji's parliament has been forced to close as Covid-19 cases surge in the South Pacific country, overwhelming quarantine facilities and prompting calls for a nationwide lockdown. After a staffer was found to be a close contact of a positive case, speaker Epeli Nailatikau said the legislative buildings in the capital Suva were shut. “As a precautionary measure and out of an...

--Vanuatu Prime Minister Bob Loughman has called on the people of Vanuatu to remain calm as relevant agencies deal with the issue had at in the political arena. The PM made the call during a media conference Wednesday after the Supreme Court granted an application to stay the decision of the Speaker, who had announced that 19 Members of Parliament...

Health officials will now question the honesty of health declaration forms from overseas travellers because of the positive historical Covid-19 case, says Prime Minister Mark Brown. The man who has the historical case is a Cook Islander who works for an Australian company based in Egypt. He has been charged with making a false declaration on a Cook Islands travel document...

The Fiji Nursing Association says it is concerned about the welfare of members who are taking care of COVID-19 patients in hospitals. President Alisi Vudiniabola said with the increasing number of cases across the country and the added burden on health resources, she wanted to ensure nurses were well taken care of. “We just want to ensure our members are being...

The Morrison Government and the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) are working in partnership to support over 170 Olympic and Paralympic athletes from eleven Pacific nations to prepare for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Due to the impact of COVID-19, many Pacific athletes face significant challenges in completing final training programs and critical qualifying events. With support from the Australian...