PINA

Papua New Guinea's biggest hospital, which recorded four Covid-19 deaths in one week, and more than 80 patients admitted, will scale down services from today, Port Moresby General Hospital chief executive officer says. Dr Paki Molumi warned of a third surge in Covid-19 cases which he said was worse than the second one. “This is the worst we have experienced,” he...

By Island Times Team (First of the two-part investigative article on the US pandemic assistance to Palau under the WIOA programme) After a handful of complaints and social media inquiries, the Workforce Investment Opportunity Act (WIOA) office, a U.S federal government grant programme burst into national attention as early as 19 February last year as two individuals went on radio...

Between 2009 and 2018, the continuous rise in sea temperature cost the world 14 percent of its coral reefs – that’s more than the size of Australia’s reefs combined – a UN-backed report revealed on Tuesday. In the Sixth Status of Corals of the World: 2020 Report, experts from the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, funded by the UN Environment...

A constitutional case over the recent pardoning of three former Prime Ministers of Vanuatu, Rialuth Serge Vohor, Joe Natuman and Charlot Salwai, has been filed against President Obed Moses Tallis. Daily Post was informed by a reliable source that the Ombudsman filed the case to challenge the legality and rational of the pardoning. Article 38 of the Constitution which provides for...

Improved water management, monitoring and forecasting are needed in the face of a looming global water crisis, the UN World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and partners said in a report published on Tuesday. The warning comes as floods, droughts and other water-related hazards increase due to climate change, while the number of people experiencing “water stress” continues to rise amid population...

As the countdown continues, the Pacific voice will be amplified on the global stage at COP26 in Glasgow with the announcement of five High-Level Climate Change Champions Tuesday. The High-Level Champions are Cook Islands Prime Minister, Mark Brown - Fiji's Minister of Economy and Climate Change, Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum - Palau's Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment , Steven Victor...

A new World Bank study examining the potential legal implications of sea-level rise on the maritime and legal rights of Pacific Island nations provides a pathbreaking review of the key legal questions and highlights that some international legal conventions may need to be reconsidered. The new study, Legal Dimensions of Sea Level Rise: Pacific Perspectives, sets out the latest developments...

Fiji has recorded 49 new cases of COVID-19 and four deaths Tuesday, increasing the total number of cases in the island nation to 51,203 and 636 deaths since the outbreak in April. Permanent secretary for Health, Dr James Fong said there have been 62 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 8,871 active...

The minister in charge of next month’s crunch Glasgow climate summit has challenged Australia to nearly double its 2030 emissions reduction target and urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to attend the talks in person. Alok Sharma, the president of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, framed Morrison’s participation as a test of Australia’s friendship with Britain, warning the ravages of...

An Australian security expert says the Pacific would be at "at real risk" if military conflict did break out over Taiwan, as China steps up its military activity and Taiwan says it's preparing for war. Beijing has sent a record number of fighter jets into Taiwan's defence zone over its National Day weekend, amid a surge in nationalism on the...