PINA

Fiji has recorded 591 new cases of COVID-19 and six new deaths Monday, increasing the total number of cases in the Pacific nation to 44,118 and 442 deaths since the outbreak in April. Permanent secretary for Health, Dr James Fong said 498 cases are from the Western division, 89 cases are from the Central division and four cases are from...

Samoa has received COVID-19 vaccines from the Government of Japan through the COVAX Facility – a partnership co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the World Health Organisation (WHO), with UNICEF as the key delivery partner. The 112,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, manufactured in Japan, will contribute towards fully vaccinating more...

A community leader questions why officials haven't heeded to calls for more Pacific-led organisations to lead their own vaccination drives. Pasifika peoples account for more than half of cases in New Zealand's Delta outbreak. Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield made the revelation in Monday's press conference, in which it was also announced that Aotearoa will extend its nationwide lockdown until 11:15pm...

The Australian federal government will introduce a dedicated agriculture visa to help fill a COVID-induced labour shortage across the farming, fisheries and forestry sectors. The Australian Agriculture visa, aimed at enticing Pacific and Southeast Asian workers, is not capped and will include pathways towards permanent residency and regional resettlement. It is unclear at this stage which countries will sign up for...

The only Pacific nations that still have the death penalty enshrined in law, are Tonga and Papua New Guinea, although it has been decades since either country has carried out an execution. But as Tonga's parliament considers a proposal law to introduce capital punishment for serious drug offences, the issue is back in the spotlight in Papua New Guinea too. A...

One of the Pacific's biggest suppliers of seasonal workers to Australia, Tonga, has been blacklisted by the State of Tasmania because of COVID-19 rules, despite the country not having a single coronavirus case. Siona Vaka, who is Tonga's Seasonal Worker Liaison Officer, said they became aware of the problem when Australian companies were told they could no longer bring in...

Internews and Earth Journalism Network (EJN) is collaborating with Media Associations in the Pacific identify at least 5 journalists or freelancers to be commissioned to do multimedia or in-depth, feature story on the environment and climate change. The proposed stories should highlight climate-related issues and relate to issues to be discussed at the UNFCCC COP26 meeting in Glasgow from 31...

Samoa Police Commissioner Fuiavaili'ili Egon Keil has tendered his resignation to the Minister of Police Monday morning with his exit effective immediately. The Samoa Observer caught up with the Police Commissioner as he walked out of the Minister of Police, Faualo Harry Schuster's office today. “Today I can confirm that I have resigned as the Police Commissioner of Samoa," said Fuiavailiili...

Two people arriving in Palau on 15 August tested positive for Covid-19, the nation’s Ministry of Health and Human Services stated. These mark the nation’s first positive active cases of the virus. Ritter Udui, MHHS incident commander, confirmed that both travelers flew in from Guam. However, she was waiting to be briefed on their point of origin. “We’ve started contact tracing and...

Samoa's Attorney General, Savalenoa Mareva Betham-Annandale, and the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, Tiatia Graeme Tualaulelei, were each suspended from their duties as of 20 August. They have been suspended for two weeks, until Friday 03 September 2021. “The Attorney General has been suspended from her post, on the basis that I have formed a preliminary view that I do not...