PINA

-“It was painless and efficient” commented Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown after receiving his first dose of the Covid-19 Pfizer vaccine at the Rarotonga Hospital. He was welcomed by the efficient and attentive healthcare staff at the hospital who have been working tirelessly over the past 12 days to administer the vaccine to the eligible population of Rarotonga. “I think...

Fiji Government will soon present a legislation in Parliament to allow “on-the-spot” payment of fines for not wearing masks and businesses not adhering to COVID safe measures . Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama announced this on Saturday night while delivering his COVID-19 statement to the nation. Bainimarama said the legislation to change enforcement of COVID emergency would be presented as soon as...

For Pacific writers Julian Aguon and Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner, art and activism are inseparable. But while creative expression can be an act of resistance in itself, both authors also see it as a powerful means of fostering resilience and inspiring others to action. Aguon, a human rights lawyer and writer from Guam, and Jetñil-Kijiner, a Marshallese poet and...

Pacific journalists will have a key role in making sure commitments by governments at next week’s United Nations Special Session of the General Assembly (UNGASS) on anti-corruption are going to be implemented, regional journalists attested at a pre-UNGASS webinar session from Palau on Wednesday 26 May. Supported by the United Nations Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption (UN-PRAC) Project and the Pacific Islands...

Samoa's prime minister-elect was locked out of the Pacific nation's parliament in extraordinary scenes Monday, as her political rival refused to accept electoral defeat prompting claims of a coup. Fiame Naomi Mata'afa arrived at parliament ready to be appointed Samoa's first female prime minister, accompanied by judges in formal robes and horsehair wigs whose job was to witness her swearing...

By Andrew Hunter, Facebook News Partnerships, Australia and New Zealand & David Grant, Accelerator Program Manager Funding and knowledge shared with news organisations participating in the Facebook Journalism Project’s Accelerator program has helped publishers to thrive despite perilous business conditions brought on by COVID-19. Australian and New Zealand publishers participating in the Facebook Journalism Project’s Reader Revenue Accelerator in 2019 and...

Get vaccinated. Protect yourself, your family and all those around you. You know it’s the right thing to do, writes Prime Minister Mark Brown. Monday we welcomed our first planeload of tourists in more than a year. It was a sight I have been looking forward to seeing for quite some time now. That same plane also delivered our first batch...

By Andreas Illmer Samoa is set to get its first female prime minister, marking the end of unprecedented political drama in the small Pacific island nation of 200,000 people. On Monday, the Supreme Court finally validated Fiame Naomi Mata'afa's shock April election win, ending weeks of political stalemate and calling off a re-run. She unseated the world's second-longest serving prime minister...

There were tears, singing and applause as the first travel-bubble flight from New Zealand landed in Rarotonga on Tuesday. Passengers on board Air New Zealand flight NZ940 didn’t let the bad weather in the Cook Islands deter their excitement as they broke into applause when the pilot announced the arrival on the tarmac. It was the first time visitors were allowed...

au has confirmed that Covid-19 has not arrived on land in Kiribati despite the first case being confirmed from an I-Kiribati crew who just arrived from Papua New Guinea. In his address to the nation on Radio Kiribati, President Maamau said the man is being isolated aboard a reefer ship at the Betio port and his condition is being strictly...